Original DCI press kit for the Discovery Channel movie ‘In Search of Liberty Bell 7,’ which first aired on December 12, 1999. The kit’s impressive tri-fold folder with die-cut capsule front cover measures 25.5 x 12 open and features appealing underwater imagery of the sunken spacecraft with nearby ROV submersible and images of Mercury-Redstone 4 pilot Gus Grissom and Recovery Expedition leader Curt Newport. The kit includes facts and biography sheets, a glossy photo of the 1961 splashdown rescue, and five 35 mm color slides. In fine condition. Accompanied by a signed letter of authenticity from Newport, who states: “I certify that this DCI Presskit was given to me by the Discovery Channel and is from my personal collection.”
After unsuccessful attempts in 1992 and 1993, Oceaneering International, Inc. and a team led by Curt Newport lifted the Liberty Bell 7 from the Atlantic seabed and onto the deck of the recovery ship Ocean Project on July 20, 1999, the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. The spacecraft was found after a 14-year effort by Newport at a depth of nearly 16,000 feet, some 350 miles east-southeast of Cape Canaveral. Among the items found within were parts of the flight gear, several Mercury dimes, and five one-dollar bills, the latter taken to space to be souvenirs of the flight. The spacecraft was transported to The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, where it was disassembled and cleaned and is now on permanent display.
