00:00 On this day in space.
00:03 In 1961, NASA astronaut Gus Grissom completed the second successful human spaceflight mission for the United States of America.
00:10 His suborbital flight in the Liberty Bell 7 capsule lasted 15 minutes and 30 seconds and reached an altitude of 103 nautical miles.
00:17 Everything went according to plan until just after Grissom splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean.
00:22 While Grissom was waiting on the recovery crew to come get him, the hatch on Liberty Bell 7 unexpectedly blew open and water started pouring into the capsule.
00:30 Luckily, Grissom made it out alive, just barely, but Liberty Bell 7 sank into the ocean.
00:36 And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:39 [ music ]
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