A space capsule has been recovered from its watery grave after nearly four
decades. After splashing down in the Atlantic in 1961, the explosive bolts on
Virgil “Gus” Grissom’s Liberty Bell 7 capsule detonated prematurely, blowing the
hatch open. Water poured in and Grissom nearly drowned. During a previous
recovery attempt in May, the team lost an expensive robot submersible. Although
the capsule has now been recovered, its hatch is still missing, making it
impossible to tell if equipment failure or Grissom’s itchy trigger-finger was to
blame.
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