posted 09-19-2006 12:23 PM               

After a nationwide six-year tour, the Liberty Bell 7 returned Monday, September 18, 2006, to Kansas for a permanent landing in its new home at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center.

The spacecraft was moved to the Hutchinson museum by flatbed truck and lowered by crane into the building's lower level. Liberty Bell 7 will be a permanent exhibit in the Cosmosphere's Early Spaceflight Gallery.

The exhibit, which will include a number of items that traveled with the capsule during its U.S. tour and tell the story of its flight, sinking, recovery and restoration, will cost about $100,000 to build and take about a year to complete, Cosmosphere President Jeff Ollenburger told The Hutchinson News.

Returning Liberty Bell 7 to the Cosmosphere's collection makes the museum one of only four places in the world where visitors can see a complete set of flown manned Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft. The Cosmosphere also houses the Gemini X and Apollo 13 capsule Odyssey.

"Liberty Bell 7 also elevates the Cosmosphere the elite status of being the only private museum in the world to own a flown manned American spacecraft," said Ollenburger.

Liberty Bell 7, piloted by Mercury astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom, sank shortly after splashdown on July 21, 1961. Recovery attempts were unsuccessful until 1999, when a team led by Curt Newport and financed by the Discovery Channel located and rescued the craft from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The Cosmosphere's restoration team restored the spacecraft.

Since 2000, Liberty Bell 7 has toured the major museums in the country, including stops in Chicago, Denver, St. Louis, Boston and Phoenix. Most recently it was in Florida, where it was on display at the Kennedy Space Center.

Liberty Bell 7 was open to public visitors at the Cosmosphere today.

posted 09-19-2006 12:29 PM               

To the sounds of a Titan spacecraft launch audible from a neighboring concrete bay, the well-traveled Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft made its final flight Monday.

The four-minute ride on the end of a crane, from a flatbed truck parked on 11th Avenue into the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center basement, might have been the last time the storied capsule is airborne. But it might be at least a year before it reaches its final destination.

posted 04-07-2014 06:46 PM               

Mercury space capsule shipping overseas for German art exhibition

A historic American spacecraft that spent decades sunken under the ocean will soon ship overseas for an exhibition that explores the "space between art and science."

Liberty Bell 7, the NASA Mercury capsule that Virgil "Gus" Grissom launched onboard in 1961 to become the second U.S. astronaut to fly in space, will travel this summer from its home at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kansas to the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn.

Once there, the spacecraft will be a part of "Outer Space: The Space Between Art and Science," a temporary exhibit that was developed in cooperation with DLR, the German Aerospace Center. Liberty Bell 7 will debut on display Oct. 3 through Feb. 22, 2015.

posted 04-07-2014 09:42 PM            

The Kansas Cosmosphere is a world-class museum that I have visited several times. When you first come up on it you think "I'll be done with this in an hour or two," but it's so well laid out underground with so many things to read and see it becomes an all day visit.

The one downside... it's in Kansas. Not exactly a place many would come to visit just to see a space museum. I was fortunate that I had recurrent training there which allowed me to go up to Hutchinson a few times and see their Smithsonian-like collection.

posted 06-19-2014 10:14 AM               

A crane from Belger Cartage lifted the Mercury space capsule out of a 15-foot-deep freight well at the southeast corner of the Cosmosphere and gently set it back down on a trailer for the first leg of its journey to Germany, where it will be on loan for an exhibit titled "Outer Space: The Space Between Art and Science," in Bonn.

...from the Cosmosphere, Liberty Bell 7 was taken to the museum’s SpaceWorks division on Whiteside Street. SpaceWorks technicians will refurbish its display case with better lighting and a positive pressure component to help protect the capsule from the environment.

Liberty Bell 7 will then be crated up and placed on a truck for the Port of Houston on July 30. There it will be placed aboard a ship for the ocean journey to Germany. From a German port, it will be trucked to the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn. It is expected to arrive there on Aug. 29. SpaceWorks personnel will meet the Liberty Bell 7 to unpack it and prepare it for display in Bonn from Oct. 3 through Feb. 22.

posted 04-20-2015 07:58 PM               

Mercury space capsule returns to Kansas after overseas art exhibition

A historic U.S. spacecraft that launched the second American astronaut to space has landed back in Kansas after spending eight months overseas.

Liberty Bell 7, the Mercury capsule that NASA astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew on a 15-minute sub-orbital flight in 1961, returned to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson Monday (April 20). The small craft, which was barely large enough to seat its one pilot, was on temporary display in Bonn, Germany as part the exhibit "Outer Space: The Space Between Art and Science" that ran from October 2014 through late February of this year.

"She's back!" Cosmosphere officials wrote on Facebook, sharing photos of the capsule as it was offloaded from a truck and into the museum's SpaceWorks restoration and fabrication facility. "Liberty Bell 7 has safely returned from her voyage across the sea."

posted 03-24-2016 03:21 AM               

Mercury spacecraft departs Cosmosphere for three-year exhibit in Indiana

Liberty Bell 7, the historic NASA capsule that launched the second American to space, is leaving its museum home for the home state of its astronaut pilot.

The Mercury spacecraft, which was flown by Indiana-born Virgil "Gus" Grissom in July 1961, has departed its display at the Cosmosphere in Kansas for a three-year loan to The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. There, it will be part of an "immersive space object experience" set for debut this summer.

The new Schaefer Planetarium & Space Object Theater at The Children's Museum will initially showcase Liberty Bell 7 in a "dynamic light-and-sound presentation" that, along with other real space vehicles and equipment, will help tell stories of missions, astronauts and events throughout the history of space exploration.

posted 03-30-2016 12:17 PM               

Look what just landed at The Children's Museum — Liberty Bell 7, the historic U.S. spacecraft that launched the second American astronaut to space!

NASA astronaut and Indiana native Virgil (Gus) Grissom flew this Mercury capsule on a 15-minute suborbital flight in 1961. It's on loan from the Cosmosphere and will be on display in the new Schaefer Planetarium and Space Object Theater beginning June 25th.

posted 06-27-2016 12:13 AM               

Hoosier astronaut's Mercury capsule stars in Children's Museum exhibit

The space capsule flown by the second American to launch into space is now part of a new exhibit in the home state of its astronaut pilot.

Liberty Bell 7, the Mercury spacecraft piloted by Indiana-born Virgil "Gus" Grissom, debuted on Saturday (June 25) at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The 55-year-old capsule is one of the highlights of the museum's three-part exhibit, "Beyond Spaceship Earth," which also features a walk-through recreation of the International Space Station and an Indiana Astronaut Wall of Fame honoring hoosiers who have contributed to the nation's space program.

posted 08-29-2019 11:54 AM               

Liberty Bell 7 Mercury Spacecraft Set To Land At Museum At Prairiefire

On Friday, Aug. 30th, visitors to the Museum at Prairiefire in Overland Park, Kansas, will have the opportunity to see an amazing piece of space history when the Mercury spacecraft Liberty Bell 7 is unveiled in a new exhibit called: "Liberty Bell 7: The Peril and Promise of Space Exploration."

Opening to the public at 10 a.m., this new traveling exhibit produced by the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, features the spacecraft which was recovered from the ocean floor in 1999, after spending more than 40 years submerged at a depth of more than 15,000 feet. SpaceWorks, a division of the Cosmosphere, helped to retrieve and conserve Liberty Bell 7 capsule.

In addition to Liberty Bell 7, museum goers can take advantage of another unique exhibit produced by the Cosmosphere with the "Apollo Redux" interactive exhibit. This hands-on experience allows visitors to sit at an authentic historic back room mission control console — the same ones that helped Man get to the Moon — while learning about the different roles of both historic and modern-day mission control personnel.

Both exhibits will be available to the public through January of 2020.

posted 06-04-2020 11:28 AM               

Beginning Tuesday, June 16, visitors to the Smithsonian-affiliated space museum in Hutchinson, KS, will have the opportunity to get up close to an amazing piece of space history when the Mercury spacecraft, which took the second U.S. astronaut into space, returns to its home museum. The craft will be on display in the Cosmosphere Grand Lobby through the remainder of 2020.

posted 06-15-2020 04:50 PM               

Liberty Bell 7 is back!

That's right — LB7 has splashed down back home at the Cosmosphere for the remainder of 2020! We couldn't be more excited to have her back after being on exhibit throughout the world for almost six years!

posted 06-16-2020 12:48 PM               

Here is a photo of the display from Evergreen Exhibitions, which staged the tour with Discovery:

posted 06-16-2020 01:28 PM            

The staging was such that the vehicle was out of reach for all but the tallest of visitors: I am 6ft 5" tall.

posted 06-16-2020 02:08 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by PeterO:
When I saw the exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science in May 2002, it had a case on it.

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posted 10-16-2020 11:39 PM               

The restoration work was impeccable and LB7 has held up remarkably well given the travel in recent years. What I was most taken aback by was the smell of salt water... still evident more than a decade after she was raised.

We also scanned a Mercury training suit, Apollo 8's Earthrise camera and both CM and LM lithium hydroxide canisters. It was interesting juxtaposition to see our 2020 Creaform MetraSCAN optics capturing the 1968 camera.

It is my hope to partner with the Cosmosphere again in the future.

It is my intention to make these photos "open source" if anyone wants to print, etc. I simply request that you give credit to Creaform/Peter Martinez.

posted 03-30-2022 10:00 AM               

Historic Liberty Bell 7 to land at Planet Comicon Kansas City for exhibit

The Mercury spacecraft was the second manned U.S. spaceflight in July 1961; LB7 will be at Planet on loan from the Cosmosphere International SciEd Center & Space Museum

Planet Comicon Kansas City, in partnership with the Smithsonian-affiliated Cosmosphere, is thrilled to announce that the historic Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft will be on exhibit during Planet, April 22-24, 2022, at Bartle Hall. Planet will be the first comicon in the country to exhibit a flown, manned spacecraft. Piloted by Gus Grissom, one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, the Project Mercury spacecraft was launched on July 21, 1961 and featured the second manned U.S. spaceflight in history. The Liberty Bell 7 will be available for attendees to view for the duration of Planet's 2022 event on loan from the Hutchinson, Kansas-based Cosmosphere.

Piloted by Gus Grissom, one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, the Project Mercury spacecraft's sub-orbital flight lasted 15 minutes in 1961 and was a textbook mission until splashdown, when the hatch door prematurely ejected off the craft, filling it with seawater. While Astronaut Grissom was rescued by helicopter, the LB7 craft sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and stayed there for 38 years before an expedition led by the Discovery Channel and the Cosmosphere recovered it from its resting place at a depth of more than 16,000 feet. Space is not an unknown frontier to Planet Comicon Kansas City fans. Over the years, Planet has welcomed guests from the fantastical world of Star Trek, Star Wars and beyond.

"As a lifelong manned spaceflight enthusiast, I was honored during the early years of Planet to host astronauts Al Bean and Ed Mitchell, who walked on the moon on Apollo's 12 and 14, respectively, as well as Dick Gordon, command module pilot of Apollo 12 who orbited the moon while his crew-mate Al Bean walked on its surface," said Planet Comicon Kansas City CEO/Founder Chris Jackson. "Bringing LB7 to Planet 2022, especially when we already have a renowned guest like Adam Savage, who is also a space flight enthusiast, is a no-brainer. I'm excited to share this treasured piece of US history with Planet fans."

In addition to the generous loan of the LB7 for display, Planet Comicon Kansas City and the Cosmosphere will work together to enhance the science and STEM-based activities at Planet, while also sharing the historical relevance of the LB7 and the Cosmosphere's spacecraft programming. Photos, presentations and more will be available during Planet Comicon Kansas City and in conjunction with the Cosmosphere.

posted 04-29-2023 02:24 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by PeterMart:
This week my team and I had the privilege of "behind the glass" access to Liberty Bell 7.

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