The Liberty Bell 7 was a suborbital spacecraft used in the early days of the United States' human spaceflight program. Launched on July 21, 1961, it was part of the Mercury program and piloted by astronaut Gus Grissom. The mission lasted about 15 minutes, reaching an altitude of approximately 118 kilometers before safely splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, the capsule sank after landing due to a hatch failure, which caused it to fill with water. The Liberty Bell 7 was later recovered in 1999, and it is now displayed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, serving as a significant artifact of early space exploration.