Project Grissom

Virgil “Gus” Grissom was one of the founding seven astronauts that were selected for the famous Project Mercury program, the United States’ first attempt at manned space flight. He completed his first suborbital flight in 1961 on the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft, becoming the second American in Space. He also was the command pilot for the Gemini 3 spacecraft in 1965. Sadly in January 1967, Grissom died when a flash fire consumed the Apollo 1 spacecraft. The 2018 project was named after him as a token of our appreciation for his drive and passion for space.