posted 12-06-2002 08:26 PM               

Now to change gears, what does everyone think should happen to the suit? Should NASA get it back? Or should it remain in the control of the Grissom family? It does look too me that NASA never gave the suit to them as a permanent possession, however, I don't see any harm that the family controls it. But, if that is allowed to stand what kind of precedent does that set for other space relics? Should the Whites, for example, get Ed White's space suit that he flew in on Gemini 4 that is in the Smithsonian? Where do you draw the line?

posted 01-12-2003 01:00 AM               

As space memorabilia collectors, that should be good news right?

But what prevents the Grissoms from selling the suit to someone who sees a stronger financial return by cutting it into pieces and selling those fragments to us (collectors)? Sure, we all get to own a piece of a flown spacesuit but the world loses an intact artifact of which there are only six.

Even if that extreme scenario were not to transpire, these suits are falling apart due to age. We are fortunate to have an institution like the Smithsonian that is investing money into preserving the suits for future generations. Are the Grissoms prepared to do the same? Should they be allowed to let the suit degrade until it is no longer intact?

Gus borrowed the suit from NASA to share with his son's class in 1965. That much is documented. Never did the Grissom family own the suit. The fact that NASA agreed with the family's decisions throughout the years as to where to display the suit (most recently at the AHOF) does not mean that NASA couldn't have requested its return at any time.

posted 01-12-2003 10:26 AM               

It is, of course, just my opinion on this, but to have them parading around saying that Gus, Roger, and Ed were murdered is absolute lunacy... almost as implausible as the "We did not land on the Moon" freaks.

Do they really believe that people like Chris Kraft, Deke Slayton and Al Shepard would allow themselves to be involved with a program that could do that to a fellow flyer? Maybe they did not know about it you ask?

To have something like that occur, there would have to be thousands of people involved ...from technicians on the pad to upper management to insure its secrecy... and at that time the space program was covered from "Launch to Splashdown" by hundreds of thousands of press. A secret of that magnitude, someone would have spoken out and come clean.

posted 01-14-2003 02:21 PM            

Gus was not the first American in space, nor was he the first American into orbit. The NASM has Shepard's and Glenn's suit so they own the real crown jewels.

The reason most people remember this suit is that Gus very nearly drowned while wearing it. Hardly NASA's finest hour!

posted 01-14-2003 02:53 PM               

Dear editors,

In your article "Houston, We Have Another Problem; An Unseemly Wrangle Over A Hero's Clothes", you fail to mention a key consideration over who now owns Virgil "Gus" Grissom's Mercury spacesuit. Namely, Grissom signed a loan agreement with NASA in 1965 (which the space agency still possesses) to share the suit with his son's class for 'show and tell'. At no point, did the Mercury astronaut -- or for that matter, any Mercury astronaut -- own his suit.

Robert Pearlman, editor
collectSPACE

posted 01-15-2003 11:07 PM               

Look at the field of sports memorabilia, where it is not unusual to find items such as Babe Ruth bats and Jackie Robinson uniforms that have been cut up and slapped onto cards. Sure, it makes it much easier for people to own a piece of memorabilia, but at what cost to historical preservation. And is it really worth it?

posted 01-16-2003 06:44 PM               

It did it as a result of a rush to get the job done in a fast and sloppy manor. It was carelessness that caused that fire. GO fever if you will. But, the astronauts had it too. They did, after all, willingly alow themselves to be stapped into what they knew to be a dangerous vehicle.

So, Gus as spacecraft commander, has to assume some amount of responsibility for the loss of his life, and that of his crew.

I do believe that NASA should treat the Grissom family better than they have. I don't think that they should get a blank check, but something better than they got is in order. They need to be gently, but firmly told that they do not own, or control the suit, or Liberty Bell 7. It is not thiers.

I do believe that it is in NASA's best interest to find some way to patch things up with them. Far too many people already believe we never landed on the Moon. I know, I am surrounded by them at work. Yes they are serious, and so far I have been unable to convince them otherwise. Even going as far a showing them my dust. They were not at all impressed, and laughed at it.

This is getting very serious. So I hope that NASA will do the right thing by the Grissom Family. They don't need to give them the suit,

posted 01-19-2003 04:08 PM            

I have done quite a few school star parties this year at Elementary, Middle and High Schools. That's where the PTA and the school management invite members of the local Astronomy club to come set up our telescopes and let the students look through them. The star parties are often scheduled to follow a school play, ball game or dance. Times when the children are on school grounds after hours.

We always get a great response from the kids but sometimes I'll have a high schooler say to me in a loud voice, "I heard we never went to the moon!" This really bugs me. It's like hearing, "The holocaust never happend! You'll have to dig up 6 million dead Jews to prove it was real!"

I don't want to get mad at the student who said it because I'm a guest at his school. What I do is remember something Arthur Clarke once said.

Clarke said that after returned from the moon the crew of Apollo 12 visited him in Sri Lanka. Anyway they were all riding in Clarke's car with Pete Conrad asleep in the front passenger seat. Clarke said, "Do you know that there are people who don't believe you went to the moon?" Right then Conrad woke up and yelled, "I don't believe it either!!!"

posted 01-19-2003 05:26 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Ed beck:
...but, where do you find green cheese?

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posted 01-20-2003 09:28 PM               

I remember seeing a helmet on top of the suit at the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Was that taken to Indiana? Or is that another helmet that was displayed in order to show what a complete suite looks like? If that is what happened, who's helmet is it?