Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom, pilot of the Mercury-Redstone 4 (MR-4) “Liberty Bell 7” spaceflight, enjoys a meal aboard the recovery ship, USS Randolph, following his 15-minute, 37-second suborbital space mission.

NASA

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom , born April 3, 1926, in Mitchell, Indiana. As one of NASA’s first seven astronauts, he became America’s second astronaut to fly in space when he launched aboard the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft on July 21, 1961, just weeks after Alan Shepard’s historic first Project Mercury spaceflight.

In this photo, Grissom is seen enjoying a meal aboard the recovery ship, USS Randolph, following his 15-minute suborbital mission. Although the flight itself was smooth, the situation turned dangerous after splashdown when the capsule’s hatch blew prematurely and the spacecraft began flooding with water. Grissom escaped, but his spacesuit also filled with water as the recovery helicopters attempted to save his sinking spacecraft.…