WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Media gather at the KSC Visitor Complex for the kickoff of the Discovery Channel's Liberty Bell 7 Space Capsule Exhibit, which will open to the public on Saturday, June 17. At the podium is Mike Quattrone, executive vice president and general manager, Discovery Channel. Standing to the left of the podium is Rick Abramson, president and chief operating officer of Delaware North Parks Services of Spaceport, Inc., and far left, Jim Jennings, deputy director of Kennedy Space Center. Liberty Bell 7 launched U.S. Air Force Captain Virgil “Gus” Grissom July 21, 1961 on a mission that lasted 15 minutes and 37 seconds before sinking to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, three miles deep. It lay undetected for nearly four decades before a Discovery Channel expedition located it and recovered it. The space capsule is now restored and preserved, and part of an interactive exhibit touring science centers and museums in 12 cities throughout the United States until 2003. The exhibit includes hands-on elements such as a capsule simulator, a centrifuge, and ROV pilot.