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Mercury Capsule recovered after 38 years
38 years after it's sinking the Mercury capsule that Gus Grissom flew into space. Officially called the Liberty Bell 7, it was recovered from a depth of 15,000 feet (about 3 miles). They were unable to recover the hatch, meaning that the mystery of whether the hatch bolts blew prematurely, or Grissom activated them too early while remain a mystery. It's going to be cleaned and put on exhibiton-the Discovery Channel footed the bill. Hats off to them.
The article was a bit misleading. The capsule won't be going on tour immediately. It's currently in a protective cannister, still submerged in water.
The capsule is being delivered to the Cosmosphere in Hutchision, KS for cleanup and restoration, which may take up to a year. The restoration process, I've heard, will be on full display in a glassed workroom.
After the restoration, it will be taken on tour and then it will be permanently housed at the Cosmosphere. If you are ever going through central Kansas, the Cosmophere is worth checking out. I'm only about an hour away, so I guess I'll go check it out when I can..
More information is here.
jf
Mercury Capsule World Tour coming soon. The last one was 38 years ago. :)
Save the whales. Feed the hungry. Free the mallocs.
I grew up about an hour from where the Capsule will end up (the Kansas Cosmosphere). Having grown up with *the* geek museum, the Smithsonian Air and Space was a letdown. If you get ANY chance, go to Hutchinson. Smallish town (40k), but *the* center for space artifacts. Besides the museum, a major industry in town is space restoration (capsules, suits, etc), and recreations (who built the sets for Apollo 13? Not NASA... the Cosmosphere).
Their page is marginal, but it can help you find the place. http://www.cosmo.org You'll understand when you walk in the main door and notice a complete SR-71 Blackbird hanging over you.
Also, you had to hit the switch on the escape hatch hard, and you ended up with a bruised hand. Gus didn't have that. This means hardware failure to me.
There is more info, and more pictures at
0 dispatch.html#a
http://www.discovery.com/exp/libertybell7/99072
It has a nice discussion of the explosives on the inside of the capsule, and some more pictures.
I saw a documentary a year or so ago which said that Grissom died in the fire on the Apollo 1 because the hatch could not be opened fast enough to save them.
The hatch had been redesigned just before the incident so that it would take at least 15 seconds (or something like that) to open, thus preventing the possibility of the hatch being opened accidentally, or by a panicked crew member before they could be restrained.
The tragic irony was that Grissom had insisted on the redesign himself. He was a great man and a sad loss.