Summary

This report reviews the day's successful flight of the Mercury spacecraft "Liberty Bell 7," piloted by Virgil "Gus" Grissom. Highlights of coverage of this 16-minute suborbital flight include the following: Walter Cronkite describes Grissom's spacesuit as the astronaut begins his short trip to the space capsule; countdown, liftoff, flight, and re-entry are covered in real and simulated footage; and footage of the capsule's splashdown, the successful recovery of Grissom, and the loss of the space capsule is included. Cronkite concludes the program with an appraisal of the mission and notes the loss of the irreplaceable film record of the mission due to the sinking of the space capsule after splashdown. Includes commercials.