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The Liberty Bell 7 launched July 21, 1961. The space capsule spent fifteen minutes in space with NASA astronaut Gus Grissom in the pilot’s seat. Fifty-five years later, and the capsule’s bold space adventure is still known as one of the most significant in history. Now at The Children’s Museum, we get to share the sight and story of the capsule itself...
Gus Grissom named the capsule Liberty Bell 7 based on its resemblance to the historical Liberty Bell. Liberty Bell 7 even had a crooked strip painted in white to mimic the crack on the Liberty Bell. The number in the title is a tribute to the seven astronauts appointed by NASA to the Mercury missions, including Grissom himself.
Liberty Bell 7 was similar in design to Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7, but with system updates like a new stabilization system and an instrument panel redesigned for easier eye scanning. The capsule also had a large viewing window, allowing Grissom to see Earth and Venus from space.
The goal of the capsule was to support and authenticate the success of Shepard’s Freedom 7, and record and gather data from the flight. Grissom reported a very smooth liftoff. The only difficulty he experienced during the actual flight was with the attitude controls, which he described as "sticky and sluggish." The 15-minute suborbital flight was reassuring that astronauts could handle pressure on the body from space. Upon descending, The Liberty Bell 7 popped its chutes and landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean.
Though the landing was successful, obtaining the capsule was not. The hatch of the Liberty Bell 7 blew too early. Water flooded into the capsule and Grissom’s spacesuit. The helicopter sent to retrieve the capsule could not hold it due to the weight of the water, and its engine started to fail. The metal cord latched between the capsule and the helicopter had to be released. There was no other choice but to abandon the capsule and save Grissom’s life, leaving the Liberty Bell 7 to the Atlantic.
On July 20, 1999, at 2:15 a.m.,(one day before the mission’s 38th anniversary) the Liberty Bell 7 was lifted from 15,000 feet below the Atlantic Ocean. Once lifted, the capsule was immersed in a container of seawater to prevent further corrosion and sent to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center to be disassembled and cleaned. Now, in 2016, the capsule will celebrate the 55th anniversary of its flight right here at The Children’s Museum.
We've been honroed to host the breathtaking and historic Liberty Bell 7 for the past two years. On Nov. 25, 2018, it began its journey to its home at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center.
