History in Our Backyard Webinar- Lost Spacecraft- The Search for Liberty Bell 7 May 16, 2024

Mercury astronaut Gus Grissom flew America’s second manned space mission, but unfortunately, his capsule sank following splashdown, becoming the only NASA spacecraft never recovered. Although it was deeper than the Titanic, Liberty Bell 7 was located and recovered by renowned underwater search and recovery expert, Curt Newport, in 1999.



Curt Newport retired in 2022 after 47 years in the underwater profession. He participated in over 150 undersea operations in water depths down to 5,500 meters (over 3.4 miles). He supported numerous undersea operations such as the salvage of Air India Flight 182, the Space Shuttle Challenger, the recovery of Liberty Bell 7, TWA Flight 800, the broadcast of live images from the RMS Titanic, and the USS Indianapolis, as well as many classified missions involving the loss of military aircraft.