Houston, we have a problem...

[bookworm_020]

Originally Posted by razark

The Liberty Bell 7 was lost in the Atlantic, not the Pacific. They didn't recover the hatch, which could have finally put to rest the question of why the hatch blew early.

They did work out it out. They came to the concusion that it was the external hatch release cord had come loose. The redesign for the apollo missions was one of the reasons that the Apollo 1 crew was killed (they couldn't open the hatch fast enough)

[razark]

Originally Posted by bookworm_020

They did work out it out. They came to the concusion that it was the external hatch release cord had come loose. The redesign for the apollo missions was one of the reasons that the Apollo 1 crew was killed (they couldn't open the hatch fast enough)

The loose lanyard was Grissom's theory of what happened, and was accepted by some people, including Pad Leader Guenter Wendt. However, there was never a conclusive answer as to what really caused it.

But yes, the incident did lead to problems with the hatch of Apollo 1, including Grissom. Even if they had been able to undo the bolts and unlatch the hatch, they wouldn't have been able to open it against the pressure in the spacecraft, because the hatch opened inward.