Tim
Line Up and Wait
50 YEARS AGO
July 17, 1961 — Air Force Capt. Virgil I. Grissom, slender, terse-talking veteran of Korea, was picked today as the astronaut for the United States’ second man-in-space effort Tuesday.
If all goes as planned, the $820-a-month test pilot known as “Gus,” will be shot like a bullet 300 miles southeast over the Atlantic Ocean about 7 a.m.
On the projected flight, the native of Mitchell, Ind., will reach a maximum altitude of 115 miles.
July 17, 1961 — Air Force Capt. Virgil I. Grissom, slender, terse-talking veteran of Korea, was picked today as the astronaut for the United States’ second man-in-space effort Tuesday.
If all goes as planned, the $820-a-month test pilot known as “Gus,” will be shot like a bullet 300 miles southeast over the Atlantic Ocean about 7 a.m.
On the projected flight, the native of Mitchell, Ind., will reach a maximum altitude of 115 miles.