Mercury-Redstone 4 was the second United States human spaceflight, on July 21, 1961. The suborbital Project Mercury flight was launched with a Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, MRLV-8. The spacecraft,
Astronaut Gus Grissom climbs into Liberty Bell 7
Virgil Ivan "Gus" GrissomProject Mercury Crewed missions← Mercury-Redstone 3Mercury-Atlas 6 →
Launch of Mercury-Redstone 4 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 5
Grissom is hoisted to safety following the sinking of Liberty Bell 7
Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was planned to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on Februar
Mercury-Redstone 4
…only one screw. This theory was accepted by Guenter Wendt, the Pad Leader for most early American crewed spaceflights. During a launch simulation on Apollo 1 in 1967, the combination of a cabin fire and an inward-opening hatch contributed to the death of Grissom, as well as that of the astronauts Ed White…
Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee (left to right) in front of the launch pad containing their AS-204 space vehicle
From left: White, Grissom, ChaffeeApollo program← Apollo 3Apollo 4 →
Official portrait of prime and backup crews for AS-204, as of April 1, 1966. The backup crew (standing) of McDivitt (center), Scott (left) and Schweickart were replaced by Schirra, Eisele and Cunningham in December 1966.
Command module 012, labeled Apollo One, arrives at Kennedy Space Center on August 26, 1966.