American Space Flight
Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis”
A rocket engine-powered aircraft created for supersonic research by the United States. The first recorded object to break the sound barrier.
Year: 1946
Coverage: Hutchinson, KS
Alt Text: Profile view of the Bell X-1 orange single-seater plane at the entrance of the Cosmosphere museum gallery.
Photo from Launchnext.com
Mercury-Atlas 1 Wreckage
The Mercury-Atlas 1 (MA-1) capsule exploded 59 seconds after liftoff on July 29, 1960. This failure prompted significant structural improvements to the Atlas rocket, which enabled manned American spaceflight to begin with the Mercury missions.
Year: 1961
Coverage: Hutchinson, KS
Alt Text: Wreckage of Mercury-Atlas 1 hanging in the Cosmosphere museum gallery.
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Liberty Bell 7
An aircraft flown by by Virgil “Gus” Grissom, who later died in a testing accident for Apollo 1. After splashing down, it took on water and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean until the Cosmosphere and Discovery Channel retrieved it in 1999.
Year: 1961
Coverage: Hutchinson, KS
Alt Text: Profile of refurbished Liberty Bell 7 without hatch to allow visitors to view interior of capsule.
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Gemini X
A crew capsule for NASA’s Gemini Program. Flown by Commander John Young and pilot Michael Collins, who would go on to be the command module pilot for Apollo 11, the first mission to land on the moon in 1969.
Year: 1966
Coverage: Hutchinson, KS
Alt Text: Profile photo of Gemini X capsule with hatch removed to show where Young and Collins would have ridden. Hatch set to the side of the capsule.
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Apollo 13 Capsule: Odyssey
The capsule for the seventh crewed mission in NASA’s Apollo space program and the third planned to land on the moon. After a fuel cell exploded and damaged an oxygen tank, the crew was forced to return home without landing on the moon. Deemed NASA’s most successful failure, it highlighted the need for redundancy in safety protocols for future missions.
Year: 1970
Coverage: Hutchinson, KS
Alt Text: Apollo 13 Odyssey capsule set up at the angle it would have been when entering the atmosphere with the heat shield toward the ground. The capsule’s lights are on and the hatch has been removed and set to the side.
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The History of Early Space Flight 