American astronaut
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External Websites
- Space.com - Gus Grissom: 2nd American in Space
- Indiana HistoricalSociety - Virgil “Gus” Grissom
- National Aviation Hall of Fame - Biography of Virgil Ivan Grissom
- Indiana Historical Society - Virgil “Gus” Grissom
- New Mexico Museum of Space History - VIRGIL I. GRISSOM
- NASA - History - Biography of Gus Grissom
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
- Space.com - Gus Grissom: 2nd American in Space
- Indiana HistoricalSociety - Virgil “Gus” Grissom
- National Aviation Hall of Fame - Biography of Virgil Ivan Grissom
- Indiana Historical Society - Virgil “Gus” Grissom
- New Mexico Museum of Space History - VIRGIL I. GRISSOM
- NASA - History - Biography of Gus Grissom
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Also known as: Gus Grissom, Virgil Ivan Grissom
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
Quick Facts
- In full:
- Virgil Ivan Grissom
- Byname:
- Gus Grissom
- Born:
- April 3, 1926, Mitchell, Ind., U.S.
- Died:
- Jan. 27, 1967, Cape Kennedy, Fla. (aged 40)
Virgil I. Grissom (born April 3, 1926, Mitchell, Ind., U.S.—died Jan. 27, 1967, Cape Kennedy, Fla.) was the second U.S. astronaut to travel in space and the command pilot of the ill-fated Apollo 1 crew. He and his fellow astronauts Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee were killed, becoming the first casualties of the U.S. space program, when a flash fire swept their space capsule during a simulation of the scheduled Feb. 21, 1967, launching of Apollo 1.
Commissioned in the U.S. Air Force in 1951, Grissom flew 100 missions in the Korean War, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with cluster. He was a test pilot and flying instructor until 1959, when he was selected as one of the original seven astronauts for Project Mercury. On July 21, 1961, with a 15-minute suborbital journey aboard the space capsule Liberty Bell 7, Grissom became the third man to enter space. Upon splashdown, the explosive bolts of the capsule’s hatch unexpectedly opened, and Grissom immediately had to leave Liberty Bell 7, which sank in more than 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) of water.
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Famous Astronauts and Cosmonauts
On March 23, 1965, Grissom became the first man to return to space as he (as command pilot) and Lieutenant Commander John W. Young made three orbits in the first manned Gemini flight, Gemini 3. During that flight Grissom demonstrated that a space capsule could be maneuvered manually.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.