"In Search of Liberty Bell 7," which premieres tonight at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, is more than a documentary about how the ill-fated capsule was located and retrieved after 38 years at sea. It braids the troubled tales of Grissom, who survived the loss of his capsule only to die tragically a few years later in the Apollo 1 fire, with the quest of Curt Newport, who has spent his professional life working on underwater salvage projects.

Raising Grissoms capsule had been a personal goal of Newports for 14 years and this year, thanks to two expeditions financed by the Discovery Channel, he fulfilled his dream.

The film, which will be broadcast from 9 to 11 p.m. Sunday on the Discovery Channel, gracefully weaves the challenges of the underwater search with the urgency of Americas early forays into space. Spaceships and submersibles find common ground in sky and sea.

Executive producer and director Peter Schnall cast a wide net to set the tale of Grissoms lost capsule in the historical context of the Apollo moon landing. Against this backdrop, the trials and tribulations of the recovery missions pale, but keep pace. Schnalls cinematography is compelling and pairs well with the extensive and crisply edited archival footage that animates Grissoms story.

As for the search itself, the film rests squarely on the engineering shoulders of "how-to," and skirts the thornier question of "why bother." Obviously, the primary driver for the capsules recovery was to produce a film. But what motivated Newport, who is not a naturally born showman?

Despite pockets of thin veneer, "In Search of Liberty Bell 7" is a fresh, well-researched and lively portrayal of space in the 60s and a testimony to the timelessness of tenacity.