00:00On this day in space. In 1961, NASA astronaut Gus Grissom completed the
00:06second successful human spaceflight mission for the United States of America.
00:10His suborbital flight in the Liberty Bell 7 capsule lasted 15 minutes and 30
00:14seconds and reached an altitude of 103 nautical miles. Everything went according
00:19to plan until just after Grissom splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. While
00:23Grissom was waiting on the recovery crew to come get him, the hatch on Liberty
00:26Bell 7 unexpectedly blew open and water started pouring into the capsule.
00:30Luckily Grissom made it out alive, just barely, but Liberty Bell 7 sank into the
00:35ocean. And that's what happened on this day in space.
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