By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Cosmosphere is excited about the return of the Liberty Bell 7 to the museum that restored it.
"It was the second manned American to go up into space, piloted by Gus Grissom for a 15-minute sub-orbital flight, by all accounts textbook," said Cosmosphere CEO Jim Remar. "After splashdown, as Grissom was preparing the capsule, the hatch blew prematurely. The craft instantly flooded with water. Grissom escaped, almost drowned, but was able to be recovered. Unfortunately, the craft sank. It was at the bottom of the ocean for 38 years and then an expedition led by the Discovery Channel, which the Cosmosphere was involved in, went out to locate and recover the spacecraft, brought the craft back to Hutchinson, where it was restored and because of the efforts that the Cosmosphere provided, the Smithsonian and NASA signed title of the craft over to the Cosmosphere, so its actually owned by the Cosmosphere.
The craft was originally supposed to go to a museum in South America next, but instead it is coming home for awhile.
"Liberty Bell was going to go down to Sao Paulo, Brazil and be on display in an exhibition down there," Remar said. "Due to the COVID pandemic, that exhibit has been pushed back, probably to mid-2021. It was an opportunity for us to bring it back to Hutchinson and put it on display, probably through the first part of next year before it goes down to Brazil."
The spacecraft will be on display beginning on Tuesday, June 16.