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As Grissom's craft began to push against the top of the atmosphere, the Gs rose—to ten, then to a fearful 10.2—and communication dimmed a little, but never wholly stopped. Grissom reported clearly at 65,000 ft. that the Gs were much lower now. Then, with the capsule at 40,000 ft., the men on the Randolph and the choppers strained to catch their first glimpse of it. Automatically the small, tough drogue parachute opened at 21,000 ft., checking the capsule's falling speed. One minute later, the great, striped, red-and-white main parachute (with a 6-in. triangular tear in it) blossomed like a zinnia and gently lowered the Liberty Bell 7 toward the almost waveless sea. Four choppers flailed toward the impact point.
Off with the Hatch. So far, the shoot had been a creditable demonstration of space virtuosity. Arriving two minutes after impact, the helicopters found the Liberty Bell 7 standing erect in the water. For unexplained reasons, Grissom first radioed from the capsule that he was ready to leave, then said: "Give me three or four minutes. I will be ready for you." Actually, he spent 11 minutes inside, presumably checking instruments. As one helicopter circled the capsule in an effort to cut the capsule's antenna before attaching a cable, Grissom announced suddenly: "I am going to have to take my helmet off and blow the hatch off."
What happened next added a new element of mystery to the recovery operation. "When we were about ten to 20 feet away from the capsule," reported Pilot James Lewis, "we observed the hatch being blown. We saw the astronaut egress from the space capsule and go into the water immediately after the hatch was blown."
The hatch, which is close to the water, is released by small explosive bolts that can be fired all at once, but it is not normally used until the capsule has been hoisted clear or at least stabilized in an upright position by the pull of a helicopter's cable. In this case its opening was disastrous. The sea was comparatively calm, but the Liberty Bell 7 was not built for seaworthiness with its hatch open. It wobbled, took in a surge of water and began to sink. Astronaut Grissom swam through the tepid water in his buoyant, silvery space suit, taking in great gulps of sea water dyed bright green to mark his landing. Though his remarks from the capsule at first led observers to believe that he had released the new-style hatch, Grissom later reported that he only meant to indicate his intention to leave through the hatch eventually. Said he: "I'm positive I did not blow that hatch." Scientists speculated that a simple short circuit might have blown the hatch prematurely.
Horse-Collar Rescue. Whatever the cause of the mishap, the next few moments were hectic. One helicopter tried to snap up the Liberty Bell 7. The second could not come too close to pick up Grissom because of the rotor blast of the first. So Grissom swam 25 yards to a calmer spot, where the second helicopter lowered a "horse collar" and lifted him out of the water. Hurried back to the Randolph, he made his first remark seconds after stepping aboard: "Give me something to blow my nose. My head is full of sea water."
Otherwise he was A-O.K. Within minutes he was talking on the telephone with President Kennedy.