MERCURY-REDSTONE-4 - Full Mission 3 - Failed Capsule Recovery - Gus Grissom (1961/07/21)

After splashdown the hatch cover accidentally blew. Part 3 of the Mercury-Redstone 4 full flight videos. The spaceflight lasted 15 minutes 30 seconds, reaching an altitude of more than 102.8 nautical miles (190.4 km), and flying 262.5 nautical miles (486.2 km) downrange, landing in the Atlantic Ocean. The flight went as expected until just after splashdown, when the hatch cover, designed to release explosively in the event of an emergency, accidentally blew. Grissom was at risk of drowning, but was recovered safely via a U.S. Navy helicopter. The spacecraft sank into the Atlantic, and was not recovered until 1999.