Remembering American Astronaut Gus Grissom on His 88th Birthday [VIDEO]

Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, the second American to fly in space, was born this day, April 3rd, 1922. He would become the first member of the NASA Astronaut Corps to fly in space twice. Take a moment to remember Gus Grissom by viewing some of the tributes made in his honor.

Unfortunately, one of Grissom's footnotes in history involves his death, along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chafffee, during a test for the Apollo 1 mission, on January 27th, 1967.

Gus Grissom was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. There is a crater on the far side of the moon, near the "Apollo" crater, which has been designated "Grissom Crater"

One special tribute paid to Grissom would come in 1984, when the universe of Star Trek named a starship in his honor. The U.S.S. Grissom, NCC-638, was an Oberth class science vessel featured prominently in the movie Star Trek III: The Search For Spock.

Today, April 3rd, take a moment to remember this pioneer in space exploration, American astronaut Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, on his birthday.