After being selected as one of the Mercury 7 astronauts in 1959, Gus Grissom became the second man in space, piloting the Mercury-Redstone 4 mission on July 21, 1961. The end of this flight resulted in the space capsule sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Previously-unseen footage from The Real Right Stuff depicts the tense post-flight press conference. Stream the original documentary now on Disney . | National Geographic TV

Bart builds his argument around timing, behavior, and testimony rather than technical detail. He recalls Gus Grissom openly questioning readiness, pointing to basic communication failures and equipment problems that, in his view, contradicted the confidence required for a lunar mission. He references rehearsal footage showing malfunctions and recounts statements from Grissom’s widow, who recounted her husband describing unusual intelligence presence on the launchpad shortly before his death. Gri