Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was a United States Air Force (USAF) pilot and a member of the Mercury Seven selected by National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) as Project Mercury astronauts to be the first Americans in outer space.
Chaffee on January 27, 1967, during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission at Cape Kennedy, Florida. == Biography == === Early life and education === Virgil Ivan Grissom was born in the small town of Mitchell, Indiana, on April 3, 1926, to Dennis David Grissom, a signalman for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and Cecile King Grissom, a homemaker.
He also worked at a local meat market, a service station, and a clothing store in Mitchell. Grissom started attending Mitchell High School in 1940.
Army Air Forces during his senior year in high school, and completed an entrance exam in November 1943.
He graduated from high school in 1944. In addition, Grissom occasionally spent time at a local airport in Bedford, Indiana, where he first became interested in aviation.
Army Air Forces on August 8, 1944, at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana.
Grissom used the car to teach Betty how to drive. Grissom married Moore on July 6, 1945, at the First Baptist Church in Mitchell when he was home on leave near the end of World War II.
In January 1945 Grissom was assigned to Boca Raton Army Airfield in Florida.
Although he was interested in becoming a pilot, most of Grissom's time before his discharge in 1945 was spent as a clerk. === Postwar civilian employment === Grissom was discharged from military service in November 1945, after the war had ended, and returned to Mitchell, where he took a job at Carpenter Body Works, a local bus manufacturing business.
Bill for partial payment of his school tuition, Grissom enrolled at Purdue University in September 1946. Due to a shortage of campus housing during her husband's first semester in college in West Lafayette, Indiana, Grissom's wife, Betty, stayed in Mitchell living with her parents, while Grissom lived in a rented apartment with another male student.
After his discharge from military service, Grissom enrolled at Purdue University, graduating with a bachelor's in mechanical engineering in 1950.
Grissom and his wife, Betty, had two sons: Scott, born in 1950, and Mark, born in 1953.
Grissom graduated from Purdue with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering in February 1950. === Korean War military career === Grissom re-enlisted in the military after he graduated from Purdue, this time in the newly formed U.S.
Air Force, earning his pilot's wings in 1951, and flew 100 combat missions during the Korean War.
In March 1951 Grissom received his pilot wings and a commission as a second lieutenant.
Nine months later, in December 1951, Grissom and his family moved into new living quarters in Presque Isle, Maine, where he was assigned to Presque Isle Air Force Base and became a member of the 75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. With the ongoing Korean War, Grissom's squadron was dispatched to the war zone in February 1952.
Nine months later, in December 1951, Grissom and his family moved into new living quarters in Presque Isle, Maine, where he was assigned to Presque Isle Air Force Base and became a member of the 75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. With the ongoing Korean War, Grissom's squadron was dispatched to the war zone in February 1952.
On March 11, 1952, Grissom was promoted to first lieutenant and was cited for his "superlative airmanship" for his actions on March 23, 1952, when he flew cover for a photo reconnaissance mission.
Grissom and his wife, Betty, had two sons: Scott, born in 1950, and Mark, born in 1953.
The Grissoms' second child, Mark, was born there in 1953.
Grissom quickly climbed from the rear seat of the small aircraft to take over the controls and safely land it. In August 1955, Grissom was reassigned to the U.S.
After completing the year-long course he earned a bachelor's degree in aeromechanics in 1956.
In October 1956, he entered USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California, and returned to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio in May 1957, after attaining the rank of captain.
In October 1956, he entered USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California, and returned to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio in May 1957, after attaining the rank of captain.
Grissom served as a test pilot assigned to the fighter branch. === NASA career === In 1959 Grissom received an official teletype message instructing him to report to an address in Washington, D.C., wearing civilian clothes.
He was nearly disqualified when doctors discovered that he suffered from hay fever, but was permitted to continue after he argued that his allergies would not be a problem due to the absence of ragweed pollen in space. On April 13, 1959, Grissom received official notification that he had been selected as one of the seven Project Mercury astronauts.
Grissom and the six other men, after taking a leave of absence from their respective branches of the military service, reported to the Special Task Group at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia on April 27, 1959, to begin their astronaut training. ==== Project Mercury ==== On July 21, 1961, Grissom was pilot of the second Project Mercury flight, Mercury-Redstone 4.
Air Force Institute of Technology for a year, earning a bachelor's degree in aeromechanics, and received his test pilot training at Edwards Air Force Base in California before his assignment as a test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Selected as one of the Mercury Seven astronauts, Grissom was the pilot of Mercury-Redstone 4 (Liberty Bell 7), the second American suborbital flight, on July 21, 1961.
Grissom and the six other men, after taking a leave of absence from their respective branches of the military service, reported to the Special Task Group at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia on April 27, 1959, to begin their astronaut training. ==== Project Mercury ==== On July 21, 1961, Grissom was pilot of the second Project Mercury flight, Mercury-Redstone 4.
Montgomery Award To celebrate his spaceflight in 1961, Grissom was made honorary Mayor of Newport News, Virginia, and a new library was dubbed the Virgil I.
The name references his launch date of July 21, 1961.
Fellow Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra, at the end of his October 3, 1962, flight, remained inside his spacecraft until it was safely aboard the recovery ship, and made a point of deliberately blowing the hatch to get out of the spacecraft, bruising his hand. Grissom's spacecraft was recovered in 1999, but no further evidence was found that could conclusively explain how the explosive hatch release had occurred.
The Apollo 1 crew was awarded the medal posthumously in a 1969 presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Apollo 11 crew. Grissom's family received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 from President Carter (White's and Chaffee's families received it in 1997). Grissom was granted an honorary doctorate from Florida Institute of Technology in 1962, the first-ever awarded by the university.
By July 1963 NASA discovered 14 out of its 16 astronauts could not fit themselves into the cabin and the later cockpits were modified.
2161 Grissom is a main belt asteroid that was discovered in 1963 and officially designated in 1981.
Another possible explanation was that the hatch's T-handle may have been tugged by a stray parachute suspension line, or was perhaps damaged by the heat of re-entry, and after cooling upon splashdown it contracted and caught fire. ==== Project Gemini ==== In early 1964 Alan Shepard was grounded after being diagnosed with Ménière's disease and Grissom was designated command pilot for Gemini 3, the first crewed Project Gemini flight, which flew on March 23, 1965.
His next flight was in the Project Gemini program as command pilot for Gemini 3 (Molly Brown), which was a successful three-orbit mission on March 23, 1965.
Another possible explanation was that the hatch's T-handle may have been tugged by a stray parachute suspension line, or was perhaps damaged by the heat of re-entry, and after cooling upon splashdown it contracted and caught fire. ==== Project Gemini ==== In early 1964 Alan Shepard was grounded after being diagnosed with Ménière's disease and Grissom was designated command pilot for Gemini 3, the first crewed Project Gemini flight, which flew on March 23, 1965.
NASA insisted Grissom got authorization to use the spacesuit for a show and tell at his son's school in 1965 and never returned it, but some Grissom family members claimed the astronaut rescued the spacesuit from a scrap heap.
Grissom Municipal Airport in 1965.
The Gus Grissom Stakes, a thoroughbred horse race run in Indiana each fall; originally held at Hoosier Park in Anderson, it was moved to Indiana Grand Race Course in Shelbyville in 2014. Grissom Island is an artificial island off of Long Beach, California, created in 1966 for drilling oil (along with White, Chaffee and Freeman Islands).
Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was a United States Air Force (USAF) pilot and a member of the Mercury Seven selected by National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) as Project Mercury astronauts to be the first Americans in outer space.
Chaffee on January 27, 1967, during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission at Cape Kennedy, Florida. == Biography == === Early life and education === Virgil Ivan Grissom was born in the small town of Mitchell, Indiana, on April 3, 1926, to Dennis David Grissom, a signalman for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and Cecile King Grissom, a homemaker.
The practice of nicknaming spacecraft resumed in 1967, when managers realized that the Apollo flights needed a name for each of two flight elements, the Command Module (CSM) and the Lunar Module.
The street was renamed in his honor after his Mercury flight. === Schools === Florida Institute of Technology dedicated Grissom Hall, a residence hall, in 1967.
State University of New York at Fredonia dubbed their new residence hall Grissom Hall in 1967.
Grissom Elementary School was built in Houston, Texas, in 1967.
Virgil Grissom Elementary School in Princeton, Iowa was one of four schools in Iowa named after astronauts in late 1967.
The Apollo spacecraft problems were corrected, with Apollo 7, commanded by Wally Schirra, launched on October 11, 1968, more than a year after the Apollo 1 accident.
Betty donated his Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the accompanying museum. Grissom posthumously received AIAA's Haley Astronautics Award for 1968. == Memorials == The dismantled Launch Pad 34 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station bears two memorial plaques to the crew of Apollo 1.
Grissom Hill, one of the Apollo 1 Hills on Mars was named by NASA on January 27, 2004, the 37th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire. Bunker Hill Air Force Base in Peru, Indiana, was renamed on May 12, 1968, to Grissom Air Force Base.
An academic building was renamed Grissom Hall in 1968 at the former Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois, where Minuteman missile maintenance training was conducted.
Grissom Hall, dedicated in 1968 at Purdue University, was the home of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics for several decades.
Grissom's family members attended the 1968 dedication of Virgil I.
7 in Rochester, New York, was named for Grissom in April 1968.
Originally named the Wurtsmith Hill School, it was renamed on November 14, 1968.
The Apollo program reached its objective of successfully landing men on the Moon on July 20, 1969, with Apollo 11. At the time of his death, Grissom had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel and had logged a total of 4,600 hours flying time, including 3,500 hours in jet airplanes.
The Apollo 1 crew was awarded the medal posthumously in a 1969 presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Apollo 11 crew. Grissom's family received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 from President Carter (White's and Chaffee's families received it in 1997). Grissom was granted an honorary doctorate from Florida Institute of Technology in 1962, the first-ever awarded by the university.
Devault Elementary School in Gary, Indiana, was renamed Grissom Elementary School in 1969 after Devault was convicted of conspiring to forge purchase orders.
Grissom Middle School was dedicated in November 1969 in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Grissom High School was built in 1969 in Huntsville, Alabama.
Grissom Elementary School in March 1969.
Grissom Elementary School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was founded in 1969 and dedicated by Betty Grissom in 1970.
The name was created and used unofficially by the Apollo 8 astronauts and was adopted as the official name by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1970.
Grissom Elementary School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was founded in 1969 and dedicated by Betty Grissom in 1970.
Grissom's name is included on the plaque left on the Moon with the Fallen Astronaut statue in 1971 by the crew of Apollo 15. The Grissom Memorial, a tall limestone monument representing the Redstone rocket and his Mercury space capsule was dedicated in downtown Mitchell, Indiana, in 1981.
Grissom Memorial in Spring Mill State Park, near Grissom's hometown of Mitchell, Indiana, was dedicated in 1971, the tenth anniversary of his Mercury flight.
Virgil "Gus" Grissom Park opened in 1971 in Fullerton, California.
Grissom Museum, dedicated in 1971 by Governor Edgar Whitcomb, is located just inside the entrance to Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, Indiana.
Grissom Memorial Elementary School was dedicated in 1973 in Muncie, Indiana.
The Molly Brown was transferred to be displayed in the museum in 1974.
Grissom Middle School was founded in Tinley Park, Illinois, in 1975. Virgil I.
The Apollo 1 crew was awarded the medal posthumously in a 1969 presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Apollo 11 crew. Grissom's family received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 from President Carter (White's and Chaffee's families received it in 1997). Grissom was granted an honorary doctorate from Florida Institute of Technology in 1962, the first-ever awarded by the university.
Grissom was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1981, and the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1987.
Grissom's name is included on the plaque left on the Moon with the Fallen Astronaut statue in 1971 by the crew of Apollo 15. The Grissom Memorial, a tall limestone monument representing the Redstone rocket and his Mercury space capsule was dedicated in downtown Mitchell, Indiana, in 1981.
2161 Grissom is a main belt asteroid that was discovered in 1963 and officially designated in 1981.
In 2020's Disney+ miniseries The Right Stuff, Grissom is portrayed by Michael Trotter. In the 1984 film The Search for Spock, the Federation starship is named for Grissom.
Grissom was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1981, and the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1987.
Astronaut Hall of Fame opened in 1990, his family lent it the spacesuit worn by Grissom during Mercury 4 along with other personal artifacts belonging to the astronaut.
Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990.
Another USS Grissom was featured in a 1990 episode of the TV series The Next Generation, and was mentioned in a 1999 episode of Deep Space Nine.
Grissom is named with his Apollo 1 crewmates on the Space Mirror Memorial, which was dedicated in 1991.
Pinatubo in 1991. Virgil I.
During the dedication ceremony, his son said, "Of all the honors he won, none would please him more than this one today." In 1994, it was again renamed to Grissom Air Reserve Base following the USAF's realignment program.
The Apollo 1 crew was awarded the medal posthumously in a 1969 presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Apollo 11 crew. Grissom's family received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 from President Carter (White's and Chaffee's families received it in 1997). Grissom was granted an honorary doctorate from Florida Institute of Technology in 1962, the first-ever awarded by the university.
He was portrayed in the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon (1998) by Mark Rolston.
Fellow Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra, at the end of his October 3, 1962, flight, remained inside his spacecraft until it was safely aboard the recovery ship, and made a point of deliberately blowing the hatch to get out of the spacecraft, bruising his hand. Grissom's spacecraft was recovered in 1999, but no further evidence was found that could conclusively explain how the explosive hatch release had occurred.
Another USS Grissom was featured in a 1990 episode of the TV series The Next Generation, and was mentioned in a 1999 episode of Deep Space Nine.
In 2000, classes of the United States Air Force Academy began selecting a Class Exemplar who embodies the type of person they strive to be.
In 2002, the museum went into bankruptcy and was taken over by a NASA contractor, whereupon the family sought the exhibit's return.
Grissom Hill, one of the Apollo 1 Hills on Mars was named by NASA on January 27, 2004, the 37th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire. Bunker Hill Air Force Base in Peru, Indiana, was renamed on May 12, 1968, to Grissom Air Force Base.
The class of 2007 selected Grissom.
The Gus Grissom Stakes, a thoroughbred horse race run in Indiana each fall; originally held at Hoosier Park in Anderson, it was moved to Indiana Grand Race Course in Shelbyville in 2014. Grissom Island is an artificial island off of Long Beach, California, created in 1966 for drilling oil (along with White, Chaffee and Freeman Islands).
Bryan Cranston played Grissom as a variety-show guest in the film That Thing You Do! Actor Joel Johnstone portrays Gus Grissom in the 2015 ABC TV series The Astronaut Wives Club.
In 2016 Gus Grissom was included in the narrative of the movie Hidden Figures.
In 2018, he was portrayed by Shea Whigham in First Man.
In 2020's Disney+ miniseries The Right Stuff, Grissom is portrayed by Michael Trotter. In the 1984 film The Search for Spock, the Federation starship is named for Grissom.
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