COUNTDOWN TO RECOVERY

When asked how it was communicated to him onboard the Randolph that the MR-4 launch had taken place, Jim Lewis vividly recalled the facts.

“My log book shows that we flew two missions that day,” he stated, “the first being a checkout flight of just over a half hour. As I recall, our plan was to lift off the carrier at the same time the booster lifted off from Cape Canaveral. We were waiting in the cockpit with engines running and received word that the launch occurred via ship-to – aircraft radio. All that remained was to engage rotors and take off once clearance was granted from flight control.

“Once MR-4 had lifted off, we had about fifteen minutes to get there and begin recovery operations, and I believe the carrier was standing about five miles off the impact area. We flew at about ninety knots, so getting into the primary recovery area quickly was no problem.

“I was initially occupied with observing the sky above, searching for the Liberty Bell 7 parachute. Beyond that, I was intent on executing the mission procedures and plan. I finally saw the spacecraft on its chutes. I couldn’t say what altitude, but it wasn’t very high.” 3

With Liberty Bell 7 now heading towards an ocean splashdown, gently swinging and slowly rotating beneath its main parachute, Grissom heard from the crew of the radio relay airplane call-signed Card File 23.

“We are heading directly toward you,” the pilot announced, as he observed the bell­shaped spacecraft floating downwards past 3,000 feet. At this time, Jim Lewis aboard rescue helicopter Hunt Club 1 also established radio communications with Grissom, letting him know that he was positioned about two miles southwest of the projected splashdown site.

As Grissom prepared for splashdown, the protective heat shield at the base of the capsule detached on schedule with an audible “clunk” and dropped about three feet below the spacecraft. This action in the landing sequence also revealed the attached perforated landing bag, which would absorb much of the shock of impact when the spacecraft smacked down on the water. Following splashdown, the bag’s next job was to help stabilize the craft by filling up with seawater. It would then act like a sea anchor, to keep the spacecraft upright until it could be hauled out of the water by the recovery helicopter. Salt water would then drain out through air holes in the skirt of the bag.

In the Mercury Control Center, Flight Director Chris Kraft was wary of proclaim­ing the space flight a success, but as he later wrote he was entirely pleased with the way the MR-4 mission had gone. “Grissom was good,” he observed. “He handled the maneuvers to perfection, using the three systems of automatic, manual, and rate com­mand, a combination of the two.

“His Earth observations were cogent, and his call-outs during reentry were on time and worry-free. Then he splashed down.

“The radio link between the low-flying aircraft, the helicopters, and mission con­trol was touchy. We only heard part of it. Gus was down and safe… Then next we heard excited voices, too garbled to understand clearly.”4