Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

At the insistence of the Mercury astronauts, an egress hatch affixed with explosive bolts was added to the one-man Mercury capsule to allow a quicker emergency exit from the spacecraft. It was first flown on Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom's "Liberty Bell 7" during the Mercury-Redstone 2 suborbital mission in July 1961, and jettisoned accidentally after landing, resulting in the sinking of the capsule and the near-drowning of the astronaut. All further missions using the hatch had no problems, however.

This particular hatch lacks external shingles and has been modified to carry a micrometeoroid experiment built by Bendix. It never flew in space. In 1973 the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston transferred it to the Smithsonian.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type SPACECRAFT-Crewed-Parts & Structural Components Manufacturer Honeywell Inc.
 Dimensions 3-D: 71.1 × 67.3 × 49.5cm (28 × 26 1/2 × 19 1/2 in.)
 Materials aluminum, titanium?
 Inventory Number A19740035000 Credit Line Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.