Virgil "Gus" Grissom born 1926

Virgil "Gus" Grissom, born April 3, 1926, was an astronaut in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs.

His first flight was aboard Mercury-Redstone 4, nicknamed the Liberty Bell 7 in July 1961.  The flight lasted 15 minutes, 30 seconds and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. Explosive bolts on the hatch cover accidentally blew and the capsule sank.  Grissom was in danger of drowning but was rescued by a US Navy helicopter.

His second flight was aboard Gemini III (nicknamed Molly Brown) with fellow astronaut John Young.  They made three orbits and splashed down just under 5 hours later.

Grissom passed away January 27, 1967 in the Apollo 1 capsule during a routine launch test.  A fire broke out inside the pure oxygen atmosphere, killing him and fellow astronauts Roger Chaffee and Ed White.

Mercury-Redstone 4 launched 1961

Virgil 'Gus' Grissom was launched aboard Liberty Bell 7, a Mercury-Redstone 4 vehicle July 21, 1961, the second US spaceflight.  His flight lasted only 15 minutes and 30 seconds and reached an altitude of over 102 nautical miles. 

The Liberty Bell 7 had a new explosive hatch release to allow an astronaut to escape the spacecraft in the event of an emergency.  Grissom's flight went successfully until just after splashdown when the hatch accidentally blew, threatening to drown Grissom.  Fortunately, he was rescued safely but the capsule sank into the Atlantic Ocean.  It was recovered in 1999.

Roger Chaffee, Apollo 1 astronaut, born 1935

Roger Chaffee, born February 15, 1935 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was an astronaut, who perished in the Apollo 1 fire, January 27, 1967.  He had risen to the rank of lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy and was selected as an astronaut in 1963. 

He was capsule communicator for the Gemini 3 and Gemini 4 missions, before being assigned to the Apollo 1 mission, planned for launch February 21, 1967.  During a routine pre-launch test on Janary 27 with fellow astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Ed White, a fire broke out in the capsule.  The flame was fueled by the oxygen rich atmosphere and the burning materials released toxic gases which contributed to the astronauts' death.

As a result of the tragedy, the capsule went under a significant redesign.

Chaffee has been memorialized in many ways, including naming a crater on the far side of the moon after him.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_B._Chaffee

"The Twilight Zone" episode "The Invaders" airs 1961

Another classic and probably one of the most beloved episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Invaders, aired January 27, 1961.  Starring the amazing Agnes Moorehead, it was the only episode to have one character and no dialogue. 

Ms. Moorehead played a lonely woman in remote house who is terrorized by miniature aliens, after finding a spaceship on her roof.  They hit her with ray guns that give her radiation burns, the cut her hand and her foot with a knife, but she eventually gets the upper hand.

The episode was written by Richard Matheson, directed by Douglas Heyes (he is the voice of the alien commander at the end) and scored by Jerry Goldsmith.

According to imdb.com, one of the alien astronauts' names was Grissom, as in Virgil "Gus" Grissom, who was killed in the Apollo 1 fire, which occurred exactly six years to the day after this episode aired.

Gus Grissom launched in Liberty Bell 7, 1961

Virgil "Gus" Grissom became the second man in space July 21, 1961, when he took off in the Mercury-Redstone 4 spacecraft named Liberty Bell 7.  The flight lasted just over 15  minutes and went without problem until splashdown.  The hatch cover which was to be blown open in case of an emergency, accidentally blew off.  Grissom almost  drowned but was rescued.  The Liberty Bell 7 sank and was recovered in 1999.

Grissom passed away January 27, 1967 when a fire broke out on Apollo  1 during a pre-launch test.

Gemini 3 launched 1965

Gemini 3 crew: Gus Grissom (L) and John Young

Gemini 3, the first American two-man mission in space and the first flight of NASA's Gemini program, launched from Cape Kennedy March 23, 1965.  Commander Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Pilot John Young made history.  Grissom had nicknamed the spacecraft Molly Brown, after the musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown, in hopes that the fate of his Mercury flight, Liberty Bell would not repeat itself.  Liberty Bell sank after splashdown.

Although, Gemini 3 did not sink, a miscalculation from the wind tunnel tests put the capsule 45 miles from its intended splashdown point.  Grissom and Young had to wait half an hour before they were recovered.