Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (1926–1967) was the second American in space, flying Liberty Bell 7 on July 21, 1961. An Air Force fighter pilot in Korea and a test pilot selected as one of the Mercury Seven in 1959, his suborbital mission was overshadowed by the sinking of his capsule after the hatch blew prematurely at splashdown. He later commanded the first Gemini mission (1965) and was assigned to command Apollo 1, but perished in the capsule fire during a ground test on January 27, 1967, along with Ed White and Roger Chaffee.