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ROUGH DRAFI': l/13/62
CODE SCG: MD:dd
MEMORANDUM to Director, Office of Space Sciences
Subject: Considerations and (tecommendations of'Mtwmed
0
'},pace~lorationYollowing the~tJ rview ( February 27) ~
with Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, q7coi{"i(i_erm presented a
~ detailed and factual description of his observations
during the MA' 6 flight. He answered rather well the many
and varied questions presented to him during the limited
interview. ftespi te the fact that he was ~ 1 it~ e ve1 , 'n ~
\ ~·t"· l..,
properly Q~"- o.
a number of his observations remain of
~.~ JV?
~ interest aad ~ further explorationJ"1further~re,
it is evident that the astronaut can perform various scien-
~
tific experiments , ~has the aeiil~y capability of doing
com act
so despite the many limitations imposed.by the. Mercury capsule.
Some commezits* on f£ 01. Glenn's observations are presented
below \)~•u •~LL
•-, -. . IA.~
r·
t N.,c~~- clc--+'""""'""!
"\
kun.inous ~ rticles : In response t o ~ a series
of questions, Col. Glenn described the velocity field of
ii.- QM~
the luminous particles, their brightness 8'1./i. outside the
in
shadow of the spacecvaft, the coloring aBa sunlight and
their shape. field, the particles !all.
For the velocity
in
moved at preeise)y the same speed and !!.ll,.moved a~ precisely
the same direction except for particles coming very close
_,_ .... ~"'~•"<- f .-L
to the spacecraft. This occurred similarl:i, :i,Q, all three
, . ..~d'f¥t.....~
orbits. From t.l¼e ~ -eie Vconsiderations alone, it may
be stated that the luminous Jparticles observed by Col. Glenn
were not extra~errestial particles but were particles asso
ciated with the spacecraft or ~fte la~@Mftg e~ the booster.
--- PAGE 35 ---
-2-
The consistency in the observations on the three separate
orbits would require that the particles were associated
with the spacecraft itself ( I have heard that O'Keefe
~.... ~ ~~ ~ 6\ANI&~~ -..,..laA, ,,_ - ,
has i;c;r,r9~9d the life support system which ~
~
\wM. ~ \:
.... ~ ~ ~ \'""~\~)
wat9z: i;a:t;e apaee) Col. Glenn iJjf described the
~ .,.,
particlei and the luminosity. The fact that the coloring
a,~aPen~ ~~~,~
was a yellow-green and the eiiee~ive observational pi,e-
became fluorescent in sunlight. ~e particles observed
in shadow were observed in the scattered light from the
spacecraft and were probably illuminated only by visible
~-
~~f the spectrum.
- ;l-
The change of angles of the ~particles approaching
e.""'1ft,-
close th the~ spacecraft~ be attributed to the
since
repJesive charge HD the polarities of the particles
and spacecraft were the same. The ability of Col. Glenn
to observe the particles under improper dark adaptation
~ indicate'that an astronaut would be in a position
to carry through a series of experi'1nents to investigate
C.o~.L"
the physics of Q.QmROMS in the solar environment. P.1wpe1 ry
~ d ° \ h e various gases and dust particles ejected
~ while
from the spacecraft during~ ! c ~ . ~ n d ~tH'l,BS,!
.o-\,,..U\..c.l, ~ ~~~ ~ >
the spacheaft is in sunlight could be ~ by the
a.\~ ........ c\M,\t.~~'
astronaut- scientist ~ 1&.,"U!S...lt'emld!.r.sr--~~~09...~~~ed
~
Observati~ns of.~low ana:-/iaze: Limited by poor
dark adaptation, Col. Glenn was not able to descibe any
--- PAGE 36 ---
-3-
significant observations of the sta/ ield or the moon. In
the absenf e of atmospheric scattEring the sun appeared a
brillant white, but showed no signs of corona . It is of
interest, however_, to consider Col . Glenn's observation
-.'t o{ '- band six to eight degrees
9'f t~e twill a- eix-~e -eiga~-aegPee-e&Ba
above the horizon, with a haze layer about two degrees
Although it has been speculated that
wide at the top. ~5'~~1!:irl~-.eilli-il~e
observation = ~\:-
the multipa~wl:l:,ers of the 1'window cause the high
0~
angle~ the horizon ~ ~ ti&..,.a;l.la-~l'O"l~tm~te2:~~~, this
~ o~~~
~ likely because of the variatio~ a.ad angle of
\Jw&. ~ - - . > - " I ~Ill'\. ~ ~~w.-\ 0 :\.,:u .~ •
view a;i,10w :ee Sel '-l.lina.._o& P0'5ft'D1 Bi& the space craft,- ~.\ t.e'-M'" "~••:~
~ that he did not see any double imag~ing
~ ~
~ :La any of his ~ observations 1'1:rurther-
_.,'4'4.
more, he was able to infii.is8a:ec that the stars e»serve</t,hrough
the haze layer became less intense while changi ng angle
_,,,..,._ .,"C
~ the horizon . ~ USSR repo:i;l,s
by Tito'V! also ind ., .__ _,,<>I' :fJ
o\~t.. ... ~,..... ~'-u"~ .t.,.a4!d.,. ~ -sm rJ.-.uL,,:.,,. •.,.\. •
~ ~ l ~-.llt.,dicated a high angle haze layer . ,. n i'1 e,v:ia.ewe ~het . s f ~ ~ ~
7
-4-.,. &.·\u.~ ~~\AM ~U\~c.~Ch4.,, ...p. 4~"-"-'1--f.a~-,,.
Au-6her investigations of the air glow and haze layerKiG£
should be carried out .
~~
Meteorology: The strikinJ ~ of lightning dis-
charges as observed by Glenn point the way to consideration
l~.,\
of an j ■ I · on system for monitoring lightning storms over
the earth using the meteorological satellite . The mapping
~ ......~.l. ~
of the distribution of thunderheads i(Ji)oG. lightning during
the night appears to be relatively straightforward) while
the similar :mapping during daylight appears feasible because~
of the short time constanu of the lightning flashes .
-..3- .A
Recommendati ons : 'l!bere &ve ,..,.~ - o t ! - number of
--- PAGE 37 ---
-4=
~~ kehwc..4Ack~
recommendations ~paeP te ~a eper en+, following the very
successful flight of the Mercury capsule.
fi. The astqrnaut-scientist r.a,;rryi ng g,.i,;t "iB:e ob-
~.."'-<;\-,. C , ~ V \ · ~ bt
s-e,~:rt..lreD.~~:im...,a....~ac.~~~le should publish~der his
• :\.a.. "
~1~~-'"" A...~
name {with an associat~)ai111s0Heral M~ie--lc in a widely
?'"', •!) • bre ♦ eMSars• Utt- ► , these first
distributed scientific journal •. In this manner, '4;a.e obd
hand
servations would have wide distribution, be properly
~ ...C2.A.-._
cridited to the observer, and pePtioala¥ly be edited
for correctness .
. . Additional support to the astronaut in carrying
out scientific observations is warranted particularly
in consideration of Col. Glenn's attiftude and interest in
carrying out such observations. Several instruments may
be added to the spacecraft, within engineering limitations~
eJ.,
to assist in obtaining further detail~data.
Q., -~""'-
Col. Glenn suggested that t.ae follo discussioms
would be to his interest. Such follow-on discussion is
strongely recommended for further questions and exchanges) ~
inform the astronaut aihalysis
to ova~~ate-~eP-tao-astPeRa~t of the results of t h e ~
and study of his observations.
C . It is of se.e:~ a:t-importanli" that proper dark
adaptation methods be incorporated into the spacecraft system
so that the astronaut may optimize his visual observations.
c o"'tl'le\.s
Investigations of the physics of OQB!!fteft~s and the
feasibility of the ~ l " th-tificial ~omet "experiment
may be carried out directly by the astronaut in a relatively
strai-ghtforward way. ~ These experiments should be
'"t.- ~---\; .,;.. -o.\.u.~~ ~ ~'(W\-~•
carried out ae eB Bi@eM ~~ the feasibility of this ~ .
--- PAGE 38 ---
-5-
1 ~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~&Ao..~ ~~ -,14-. ~ 0 - tlM Q..
..
ForVai:r ~low aea. optieal etttd:ies, .the photo-
.,,.... A..~ ,:...... >MC,--. p .,..c,,h ...~ o...
multi lier :Be! "b systeml ~ series of filters r:-
4,-~J►"'-> --~c.~... ~-- . t . . ~ - - ~ ~ u.v. ~\_,..,, - ... ~
(including~a J;,Oii~e flaorceeent ~lain fi]:l;er to stuely
½ ~t-..Av,.u.,,,-.o:..c.. )
tac ultra viole:!T) should be incorporated into the
spacecraft.
~iUJ£e -a :au.ml:lal' ef eeicntifie exper i:tJ.c:nto appear
reasanabl.e--f'o-l:leri~ncces£ of :ehe Me1cwy or'eito~,
: ] I'
~J1~h~~ consideration of the preseno/~lanned
manned-space-flight-program, some reeommendatiGns are
~,c:r-\N·~ '"'Q ,_.f"•'ltC..~ ,..,Q.U.. .oc.~41•,u&..
.,..__ ~, .....,,_.\..,. lo.\u.
apparent ts" take advantage of ,tae im~eYement& ;L;e tac ~•~~.
~gj ent 1 f1 c
expJ oration af tbe saJ ar £ystem and in
~'-h;;:t_~ ~ In. ~ ¼..~; ~\ S(, a'.., ,'
astJ?efl:Ofl\Y • At headquarters, ;U; i.r. recomme:ee,e,4 that •
_ ~ ~~\ £)• A . \t,rogram (ahief and supporting staff i;e ~ae
~ r e p o r t i n g to the G.irector of ~pace
~ciences for scientific exploration ei in the !Manned
~pace°Tliiht ~ rogram as:111.,
~'YI. ~ - ~ t
~o ~ - a committee or sub-conmdttee QQ forwed
oa.e.~
indluding such people as RGefte, ~Utt , Minnaert, Towsey,
tn.
Sekera, asg £0 forta- to ~ the scientific community
aB.e. i;a.e ~ Y and,
• ')/ c ..,..... rl. .:that a branch or dividion at one of the centers
-::,-, "',_""~o..,. <Y,l ~ '-' -r7
• 1 #tDf\~ 8 \. ,Q.suc el .&»4(.WEOK4A-
~ as a scientific team fo¥ aireefllsupport of the
.>,>-UV\.... ~ --t-A:,-~i.; _,£.,,.r~-..,...,s.
astronaut-scientists "ao oei-e into sys-sola1Y spa~e.
V\A.. Y),,J.~
\~ u L t),, "" 7 '2.-; .,.,_,_
--- PAGE 39 ---
B 2 3 196 ?
U.\h <!.°""""U)4.. '2'"3ol!I- '3oco 0 ~
0
-~ Vje0/2 w~Jo...:,
caJ v-nf c~-4
--- PAGE 40 ---
.....-- --:-1---
,___ • - - UN IVERS IT Y OF CA LI FOR N I A
LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABOltATOllY
(CoNnACT W-740S•BNG-36)
P.O. Box 1663
LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO
IN JU!PLY
a1P1a TO: J -l6•8J.2
,,
I
..
JUL I 7 1962
Dr. Jocelyn Gill
Room 62033
Federal Office Bldg. No. 6
Headquarters, N.A.S.A. I
.-.·.. riot, ¥..; ,
Washington 25, D. C• . I
,.
l ,, # u,\ 1AA l1 0,i
Dear Dr. Gill:
-The June 29 issue of Science brought to my attention J. H. Glenn's comments
on "The High layer~'. It seemed possible that the layer he described could be
.
accounted for as a region of relatively large nitrogen peroxide (N0 2) concentration,
and the past two weeks have been spent in checking this hypothesis • Unfortunately
I am not familiar with either photochemistry or upper atmosphere physics so the
following analysis leaves much to be desired; the hypothesis seems tenable, however,
f .
so I would like to bring it to your attention.
Effective path length and comparison with possible surface observations.
Referring to Figure 1, the height (H) of a point at a distance (L) from a point
on the surface of a sphere of radius (R) can be found from the formula
(1)
which has the solution
(2)
--- PAGE 41 ---
Figure 1
I
Vertical path (No. 1)
No. 3
No. 2
Figure 2
--- PAGE 42 ---
LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY
UNIVl:R■ ITYOf' CAI.IP'ORNIA
LO■ AI.AM0e, Nl:W MUICO
ro: DATE: Ju}¥ 13, 1962
Fox- th, followins I will assume that the concentr.a tion ot absorbins mo1ecu1es
in the region of interest can be described adequate}¥ by an exponential decrease
w1 th altitude above the bottom, of the layer, hence, can be represented by
where Y is the scale height in the layer and H must lie in the .ia.yer • . Then the
.number of molecules per cm2 is found to be
(4a)
(4b)
~ [-1 + V1 + y2 + ·2y sin e ] dy
• RPo
Je (4c)
' I
(5)
where the integral is over the range of y desired (usua.l.ly O ➔ ex,).
·For a vertical view (sin 8 • .l) path, the sollltion is simpJ.¥
(6)
where Po is the density at the base of the layer.
L
--- PAGE 43 ---
LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY
UNIVll:llalTY 0,, CAL.1,,0IINIA
LOe ALAM0e, NIEW MUICO
• 1'0z nr. Jocelyn Gill DATBz July 13, 1962
For a horizontal path (sin 8 • 0) te.nsent to the baae of a layer (path No. 3)
we ·note that y << l in the contributing region, hence, can get an approximate form
~ ex, ~r.
N • RPo
l
O
•e
Y2
ccy (7)
which has the value
~
N•\J 2 Po (8)
Here Po is the density at the base of the layer, as in eqµation (6).
'I
I
An astronaut's view thru a layer :from above would see twice the path computed
by equation (7), ·giving
N3 • Po ✓ 2nRY molecu.les/-cm2 (9)
f •
Aline of sight tangent to the earth and passing thru a layer at base altitude
H (path No . 2) will have
. .1!J.,
N- ~y [pl e y J (10)
..fu.
and we note that [P1. e ~] is the density at H1 , the base of the layer, which we
set eqµal to Po as in equations (6) and (9),
RY • ~ (11)
N,a • Po -L • Po -
2H1.
r-
--- PAGE 44 ---
LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY
UNIVEllelTY Of' CAl.lf'OIINIA
LOe AI.AM09, NllW MIIXICO
tO: Dr. Jocelyn Gill DATE: July l.3, l.962
Aaeuming that 'Y • 7 km 1n ~ abaorbing layer, ve note that a. surface obaerver
vieving a layer at an altitude near l.00 km vill have availabl.e the ratio
(12)
An astronaut · vieving along path No. 3 woul.d have a mu.ch greater thickness, as
2,rR ; 75 . (l.3)
y
Viewing thru the layer to a point ne.ar the surface and out again the enhancement
would be mu.ch less,
(14)
Light received by an observer :from a "point source" in space is attenuated by
-uN •
a factor e where CT 1s the absorption plus scattering cross section, giving
I -aN
-• e (15a)
Io
and I •.
1n .!_ • -CTN (15b)
Io
--- PAGE 45 ---
LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY
UNIVl:RatTY 01" CALll"ORNIA
L.09 ALAM09, NIIW MUICO
TO: Dr. Jocelyn Gill -5- DATI: July 13, 1962
From the repcrt 1n Science, I infer that for the layer reported,
(16)
or
(17)
giving
aNi • o.o4 ± 0.027 (18)
and
0N2 • 0.22 ± 0.15 (19)
Any such absorbing layer present during the day would result in rapid heating, and
•I
reradiation in the infra-red range from whatever bands may be present. However,
the absorbers postulated below would be destroyed by photodissociation and/or
heating during the day. Hence, it is not surprising that solar spectra have not
shown such an absorbing layer.
StellarJplanetary or lunar spectra might show the existence of such a layer,
if the absorption spectrum has sufficient structure.
Setting (20a)
we find the effective path length Xi.
(20b)
~ • 3.9 x 106 cm (starting absorption at (20c)
.100 km altitude)
'
--- PAGE 46 ---
LOB ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY
UNIVltRelTV 01" CAL.ll"ORNIA
LOe AL.AM09, NltW MUICO
Dr. Jocelyn Gill DATB a July 13, 1962
(20d)
X4 • 7 .8·x 106 cm (20e)
Absorbers Present in the Upper Atmosphere
'lliree constituents of the atmosphere near 100 km altitude absorb light through
most or •all of ,the visible range, as would be re_q uired to get a noticeable d1mm1ng
of starlight.
They are: l) N~ (nitrogen peroxide)
v
2) 0 - (negative atomic oxygen ion)
3) 02 (negative molecular oxygen ion)
Of these, I found no cross section data for o;.· For 0-, Massey (Negative Ions;
Cambridge U. Press) gives curves showing absorption cross sections starting at
• • -l.8 • . •
5620 A and approaching~ 4 x 10 cm2 /ion 1n the region A< 5000 A. 'lb.ere is
•
very little structure (only the onset at 5620 A).
From ecpation (17) we find that
N3(0-) • ~ 3 ± 2 _18 • (7.5 ± 5) X 10l.7
4 X 10
could explain the observed attenuation.
For an effective path length of 5.4 x 107 cm, we have Po• (1.4 ± 1) x 1010
negative ions/crn.3 •
Since the daytime free electron concentration in the E layer is 1.5 x 105 and
the night vallle is~ 104 it seems- hard to believe such a high nighttime concentration
•
of negative atomic ions.
--- PAGE 47 ---
LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY
UNIVll:R■ ITY 01" CALll"ORNIA
L.09 ALAMC>e, NllW Mll:XICO
tO: Dr. Jocelyn Gill July 13, 1962
NitroGen peroxide haa been extensive~ studied and two papers were fou.nd
' '
which gave absorption coefficients in the visible region of the spectrum. Wiley
and Foord (Proceedings of the Royal Society Al35, 174 (1932) give a coefficient
which I convert to
er ~l - 3 x 10-l.9 cm2/molecule
depending on the wavelengths selected by their filters (the lower value was for
the range 4900 < ). < 525·0 A) •
Hall and Blacet (J. Chem. Phys. 20, 1745 (1952) give a curve obtained with
' .
a Cary spectrophotometer having ~ 5 A resolution. Maxinrum absorption occurs in
the range 3500 < ). < 4500 A and drops to ~1/2 the peak value at 5000 A. They
give no data for longer wavelengths. I convert their absorption coefficients to
~ 6 x 10-ia cm2 /molecu.le at 4000 A, and~ 3 x 10-ia cm2 /molecule at 5000 A.
Structure produces changes in cross section of~ 2 x 10-ia cm2 /molecule at wave
lengths separated by a· few angstroms.
Ta.king an 'a verage value of 4 x 10-ia cm /molecule ·we find
2
1
• and using X3 • 5. 4 x 107 cm
Po• (1.4 ± 1) x 1011 molecules/cm3
. •.
--- PAGE 48 ---
LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY
UNIVIEll81TY OP' CALIP'OIINIA
LOIi ALAM09, NIEW MUICO
TO: Dr. Jocelyn Gill DATE: July 13, 1962
Readily detectable structure would produce ve.r1e.t1ons of o-N1 and aNa ot
about half the attenuation figure given in equations (18) and (19) which is
near the threshold of detectability.
I have not yet found an author who estimates the concentration of Ne or
N02 'in the atmosphere; Bates and Nicolet discuss the reactions which lead to it
in the book "'lhe Earth as a Planet", edited by G. P. Kuiper (Volume II of
The Solar System).
Nicolet calculates the photodissociation time as 200 seconds during daytime,
and shows the concentration must be so low that no effect on solar observations
would be found.
As a general conclusion, it seems to me more likely that N02 would be
responsible for an absorbing layer, generated perhaps with the aid of downward
diffusion of NO to higher pressure regions favoring oxidation to N~. 'lhe
color suggested by Glenn fits very well', as may be quickly verified by looking
thru. the vapor space above concentrated nitric acid.
Experimental Proposal.
Ideally, one could ask for the absorption coefficient as a function of wave
length (over a very wide spectral range) and time after sunset on the air volume
investigated.
I t seems possible to get very useful data with a relatively simple experiment
perhaps possible of inclusion in one of the manned orbital flights.
Using a slow-speed movie camera, photograph the star field and such planets
(including the moon) as opportunity permits, with approximately a 10° field of
view and enough exposure to pennit photometric measurements as the light sources
--- PAGE 49 ---
LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY
.. . .. '
UNIVERSITY OP' CALIP'ORNIA
L.09 ALAM09, Nl:W MUICO
1'0: Dr. Jocelyn Gill DATE: July 13, 1962
"pasa through" the atmoaphere, especially the abaorbill6 layer (perhap auch
• ••• sequences already exif:>t). At the expected orbital height, I estimate a 7 km
thick layer w~ld subtend,.., 1/2 degree and a given light source would "pass
through" it in eight seconds. Attempts to derive a density distribution would
requ.ire a fair number of points in the 111-1/2 or 2 degrees" (divide by 3 ?)
so a frame interval near one per second _seems desirable. If operated continuously
thru the ni.ght passage approximately 100 feet of 16 mm film would be required
per passage •
As a crude attempt at spectroscopy, color filters could be used on some of
✓
the sequences, without too serious light loss. For example, a Corning No. 5030
or No. 5543 filter would limit exposure to the wavelength range of maximum
absorption by N02 (light loss may be considerable) ·and a Corning No. 3480 filter
would limit exposure to the wavelength range where 0- absorption is negligible.
Relatively broad band interference filters would be useable on the brighter
stars and planets. Direct visual observation through such filters would also be
useful, especially if photography is impractical and the astronaut tries to
reproduce any attenuation noted by neutral density filters in combination with
the same filters and stars used in space.
Photometric observations of some of the "intense" airglows mentioned by
various authors would also be very instructive • The increased intensity due to
J
external tangential viewing woul~ help a great deal, and precise height de
.
terminations could be made •
It may be useful to ask Glenn and Carpenter to reproduce the dimming (as well
'
/ as memory allows) by narrow strips of neutral density filters against the star
1
• I 1
--- PAGE 50 ---
. ' .
..
LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY
UNIVERSITY OP' CALll"ORNIA
l.09 ALAMO., NIEW MUICO
TO: Dr. Jocelyn Gill
--
10 DATI: July 13, 1962
field they saw, or to compare the intensity and color changes noted with that
thru an absorbing cell containing N02 • • 'Ihe required thickness is readily availabl.e.
Acknowledgments
The author has benefited greatly from discussions with several associates,
especially as regards references to sources of upper atmospheric .and photochemical
data.
Dr. Robert Sherman has assisted in location of data on the absorption cross
section of N02 • Dr. Arthur Cox suggested a number of references and confirmed the
author's belief that reasonably accurate photometric observations could be made on
photographs of a star field. Dr. Ieston Miller has emphasized the importance of
even crude control of the wavelengths responsible for exposure. All of the men
mentioned ·above are members of the Los Alamos Scientific Iaboratory.
Dr. J. A. 0' Keefe of the Theoretical Division of the Goddard Space Flight Center
generously discussed the observations of J. Glenn and S. Carpenter, and my hypo
thesis regarding N02 absorption. He has referred me to the excellent articl.es in
"'Ille F.a.rth as a Planet" and encouraged my submission of this letter.
Future Work
I would, of course, be interested in your opinion, and that of other experts in
the field, of the above hypothesis. If your group recommends inclusion of such
J observations on a future flight, we may be ·able to help on some points in data
acquisition. I am sure the project would deserve review and .control by a panel
--- .......... of men such as Bates and Nicolet.
Respectfully submitted,
~y--~
BOB E. WATI'
BEW:jo Assoc. J-Div. Ldr.
Distribution: and Grp • .Ldr. J-16
.I
l - Dr. Jocelyn Gill.
'
--- PAGE 51 ---
In ~ly refer to: SGC:Mt:llll.
21 Feb~ 1962
MQl)BANDt){
Subject: Poeaible 1eritit1c Viaual IIitoruat1on
Obtained 1>f J. H. Gl.enn
1. Two (2) 1ntentl'ting obaervationa r e ~ in the Pree ,
as ddcribed by Colonel GJ.enn ~ the NA-6 flight. It 11 ot
Vit4U. 1ntereat to obtain a more 4ataUttd deacl'iption at tbfte ob e ~
t1ona in order that the &ccur&cy Md the detail• ot 'What,.. obseried
may~ Pl'Ol*.rly Neoi"decl for ,oientitic eriJ.:uat1on. The two obaer
vatioDB wre:
( ) T h e ~ ot the ~ t m.Jl!lbW or lUIJliriowl particles
ap~tl.y travelling Vith t 1Pt,Cecratt at 1'r1endlhip-7 euifri1t ;
and
(b) Th altitudel or angular view o~ the -upper limb
ot the tmo•ph&re.
2. The thouunda ot 1Ulll1n0ul parttcl.• • <!ascribed u
travelling with tM apaoeoratt. It la in;IOrtant that Glenn describe
1n a.eta:11 preci~ th• obaervationil characteristic ■ under 'Which he
aaw the piirt,1,.cl.. 1n or4ir to obtain an ..timate of the b~tne•e
ot th•e ~ l c l • . 'fhe quat1cma that ww.d like anawerad
What-. the bMi1 ot 01mn'• 4eterminat1on wt that the particles
vere tuall.y t:s'Yell.1.ng ¥1th tho •pacecn:'aft and. vh4tther thia condi•
t1on peraiated on aubuquent c>i'bit . In .a.dition, the ge<JDetey- or
the obaMrrYatiana ehow.d be turther deacribed in order to ~rive th
geanetric 41itrtbut10n at the parbicles relative to the e&pacecratt•a
v:l.iuknr. ( ~ preoue obeervat1onal tw and th4I poe1t1on of sun-
1.ight lum1noa1ty can NllkJ:U:y be a.t4tj,ni;ned trom the orbit of the
pacecratt itaelt). 'l'hee• particl• ~ be pocentr1c 1n origin
and may' be ••pended in the - ~ - '1'bera ~ .t leUt tw
hypot 1• tor a;pla1n1ng pantclAa tr&vellbJg v1th the apacecn,tt.
'l'he intensity c ~ to atarl~t aboul.4 lMt 4-termlned 8.1.ao
tbia 1.nformat1on ia ot ~ • 1n 4 - ~ turther ~ormation
about the a olute JIUlabex- and cros1•aectiona ot the 1)$'t1cl• may
rel.ate to tbe dujt content or zodiaciil 11~ u WU u the gegen
echein.
--- PAGE 52 ---
--- PAGE 53 ---
HAND-CARBX
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
WASlijNGTON . O.C.
SPECIAL
GPO 16-76611- 1
--- PAGE 54 ---
\ NASA HEADQUARTERS ROUTING" SLIP
ACTION ~
CODE NAME (if necmary)
APPROVAL
1-n
CONCURRENCE
1. ~ - ~ ~
I J.. -- -••
r FILE
-- 11h-l .-"" "" INFORMATION
l;._ OU IR·~ / C . 1 Rec'd INVESTIGATE AND ADVISE
\,fC
,,,_ II NOTE AND FORWARD
3. V I I '/ I / II I
NOTE AND RETURN
~ JA ~ .il/f.l
- , -
PER REQUEST
4.
- / r ,A ~ 1'Ji f 1
.... - - RECOMMENDATION
SEE ME
5.
.5(] ~ 011~ SIGNAT.t.JRE
- REPLY FOR SIGNATURE OF,
6.
7.
REMARKS:
oJ~
:;, ,~fa
ODE, NAME,
FROM:
~
GC
I Dubin l~?h/62
NASA form 26 (Rev. July 19~9) • U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1959 Ol'-51302.1
--- PAGE 55 ---
In reply refer to: SGC:ML:ml
21 February 1962
MEMORANDUM
Subject: Possible Scientific Visual Information
Obtained by J. H. Glenn
1. Two (2) interesting observations were reported in the Press,
as described by Colonel Glenn during the MA-6 flight. It is of
vital interest to obtain a more detailed description of these observa
tions in order that the accuracy and the details of what was observed
may be properly recorded for scientific evaluation. The two obser
vations were:
(a) The report of the great number of luminous particles
apparently travelling with the spacecraft at Friendship-7 sunrise;
and
(b) The altitudes or angular view of the upper limb
of the atmosphere.
2. The thousands of luminous particles were described as
travelling with the spacecraft. It is important that Glenn describe
in detail precisely the observational characteristics under 'Which he
saw the particles in order to obtain an estimate of the brightness
of these particles. The questions that we would like answered are
what was the basis of Glenn's determination~ that the particles
were actua.lly travelling with the spacecraft and 'Whether this condi
tion persisted on subsequent orbits. In addition, the geometry of
the observations should be further described in order to derive the
geometric distribution of the particles relative to the spacecraft's
window. (The precise observational time and the position of sun
light luminosity can readily be determined from the orbit of the
spacecraft itself). These particles may be geocentric in origin
and may be suspended in the atmosphere. There are at least two
hypothesis for explaining particles travelling with the spacecraft.
The intensity compared to starlight should be determined also as
this information is of importance in determining further information
about the absolute number and cross-sections of the particles and may
relate to the dust content of zodiacal light as well as the gegen
schein.
--- PAGE 56 ---
,
- 2 -
In a similar manner, the observations of the horizon and the
extent of the atmosphere are of great interest in determining the
distribution of various atmospheric characteristics. The precise
lighting conditions regarding the position of the sun and the
intensity of the outer edge of the horizon as observed by Colonel
Glenn may be used in the consideration of what Glenn actually saw.
For example, he may have seen the limit of the atmosphere (based
on the 8 degree limb described in the press, the atmosphere
apparently extended to over l50 Km) by Rayleigh scattering; he
may have seen the airglow; or he may have seen the MIE scattering
from dust in the atmosphere. The true limiting angle of his
observations and a graph of the itltensity drop-off with angle from
the earth should be obtained in addition to the lighting conditions.
It is recommended that this information be obtained from
Colonel Glenn as soon as possible.
Maurice Dubin
Head, Aeronomy Program
Geophysics & Astronomy Programs
Office of Space Sciences
F______
L
SG_........fl___
Fellows
--- PAGE 57 ---
DRAFT OF NOTE ON THE SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS
Towa rd the end of the flight, between 16 hr and 47 min (UT) and 17 hr
and 03 min (UT), 24 May 1962, Lt. Cdr . Carpenter made a series of observat i ons
on a l uminous band vi sible a round the hori zon. The most de ci s i ve observat i on
wa s made wi th an ai r glow f i lter suppli ed by Mr. Iawrence Dunkelma n of Goddard
Space Fli ght Center. The f i lter transmits a narrow ba nd of wavelengths,
approx i.mately 11 Angstroms wi de at the ha lf power poi nt and centered at t he
wa, ve length of the strongest radi ation of the ni ght a i rglow, namely 5577 Angstroms
The f i lter cut out a ll other Ught, but passed the light of the , luminous ba nd,
which i s thus i denti f i ed a s the 5577 l a ye r .
Lt. Cdr. Carpenter noted tha t the layer was very bri ght. He f ound
t hat Phecda:Ursae Majori s, magn i tude 2.5 was lost to s i ght a t the brighte s t
pa rt of the layer. Assuming that the i mage of Phecda occupi es about 1 SY.Uare
-8 o_,)J-
mi nute of' arc on the retina, or 8.18 x 10 steradi ans, O.ssuming that a s tar of
magni tude o.8 yi elds 10-
6 lux (1umensJm2 ) we f i nd that the brightness of t he
l aye r i s about 3 lumen1m2 )(steradian) or 3 x 10- 4 st i lbs. Thi s i s e ~ui va l ent
~t (S"-~)
t o about 4 x 104 erg;,m2 )(sterad:i.anh_, taking the le a st mechani cal e y_ui va le nt
of light as 1. 6-1 x 10- 3 watts per lumen f or 556o A as per the AIP ha ndbook . It
is about 50 t i mes as bright as a white surface i lluminated by moonlight.
The a ngular he i ght of the layer was found i n 5 d i fferent ways :
1. By dire ct esti mate - 8° to 10°.
2. By noti ng that it is approximately twice the height of
t he twilight layer. Lt. Cdr. Carpenter estimated the he i ght of the twi light
l a yer a,s 5 sun diameters , whi ch means 2-1/2 degrees, hence the he i ght of the
5577 layer would be 5°.
3. By observation of the star Phecda (ju Ma) a s it pa ssed
t he middle of the luminous band.
--- PAGE 58 ---
4. By noting the time when Phecda was halfway f rom the
lumi nous oand to the horizon.
5. By noting the fact that when the cross of the reti cle
r.~
,th(.. 'A 1,( ·1 i) ~ /).\ \>.-.( !
i s set diagonally,~ just covers the distance from the band to the hori zon.
By method 3, we make use of the time of passage through the middle
J
of the layer. This point is marked by a re f erence to a mark on the telemeteri ng.
enl:y: ee found on ~he gr ottae. etatiea ta:r;,e s,
.:i. ~ '-"'' .;i.--,c.:h •" .,.;.~1 ).."f' cn\:!r . L\ t r f e ,, 4e r
v a:'.. efl 1:,Pe Mt yet svail:a:til.e, ~ l,y careful timing of the capsule t ape'/\ it
,,.
appear s to have been very close to a 4h "1,m j.9s, capsule elapse d time, i.e.,
16h5cPl/5s. UT. For this instant the capsule coordinates as i nterpola ted from
the Woomera tra cking data, were - longi tude - 127° 40:0
latitude = -18° 49:8
he i ght = 226 kilometers
At thi s moment, the l i ne of sight to ( Ursae Majoris was t angent to
t he l ayer of maxi mum thi ckness of 5577. The angular zen i th distance oft U Ma
a t t hi s time was found to be 101°42 1 • A line of this zeni th dista nce i s t a ngent
t o a spherical shell of the proper radius whi ch i s 137 ki lometers below the
capsule or 89 ki lometers above sea level. Ac cordingly, thi s observa t i on should
be i nterpreted a s i ndicating that the densest part of the 5577 l aye r i s at a
he ight of 89 ki lometers, which is in good a greement with rocket mea sures.
The lower limit of the visible light appeared to be near 78 ki lometers ;
r t / ht 5/ derrmtat1f . i3/no. t p nie1d aysif1fi,/ bt, j~i n1 a 1/1111io/u~ / hell
/1 s /ex-p/c~ to/dim/nisVgragla11r d~wara
.
i, /a6arentlbri ~~e9i , e4en} r /4 is
faf~8} 1/ _v}r/ ¢1/1• .
#J.JJiJlliJJJlfl:!J°Y:!iJJJ,~v.~ir
The f i lter observati on on the airglow was made at 17h 0~ 6s, UT.
--- PAGE 59 ---
Sunrlse was observed at about 1m later, while the observation was going on.
It follows that the airglow is visible even when the twilight band is very
strong. An attempt to observe i t in the day is certainly indicated. In this
connection, it should be noted that Capt. V. I. Grissom reported a grayish band
at the top of the blue sky layer. (Pesults of the Second U. S. Manned Subqrbita l
Space Flight, NASA, GPO (1961). le remembers this layer as narrow and grayish
i n color, representing an actual i ncrease in intensity. He po i nted out the
approximate position of the layer on one of Lt. Cdr. Carpenter's photographs
at the height of 1.7 degrees above the horizon. Grissom may have observed the
da ytime airglow.
Carpenter did not note any structures, either vertical or horizontal,
in this layer. He did not observe it completely around the horizon but believes ·1 l
to be continuous all the way. It does not appear possible that this layer can
a ctually absorb starl:ight. Any layer at this level capable of absorbing a
noticeable fraction of the light (25i or more) would also scatter light strongly;
i t would therefore be a very prominent object on the daylight side. In fact, it
is not definitely visible on the photographs of the day side. Thl s i s entirely
i. n agreement with Lt. Cdr. Carpenter's impression, namely that the decreased
visibility of stars passing through the layer was a contrast effect.
A remarkable feature of this observatton is the discrepancy between
the eye estimates of 8',.10° for the alt i tudes above the hori zon, on the one
hand, and the results of timed observations on the other. The latter i ndi cates
altitudes of 2° to 36 . The latter are clearly correct; f or example, Carpenter
noted tha t when one ann of his reti cle was at an angle of 45°, it covered the
space between the horizon and the bright band. The crossann is 1.21 centi meters
i n length and it is a distance of 26.2 centimeters from the astronaut's eye.
At an angle of 45°, i t subtends a vertical angle of about 2°.6.
--- PAGE 60 ---
It thus appears that there i s a strong i llusion whi ch exaggera tes
angl es near the horizon, and whi ch was evi dently also present i n MA-6 , s i nce
Lt . Col. Glenn a lso reports 7° to 8° as the height of the luminous ba nd. The
i llusion is perhaps comparable to the well-known illusion which makes the moon
seem larger near the hori zon.
Carpenter also noti ced and photographed the Glenn e f fect. He reports
white objects resembling snowflakes, seen at sunri.se on all three orbits. '
However, he also saw these objects 7 minutes after the f i rst sunrise and aga i n
43 minutes after sunrise; and zll, llm, 23m, 26ffl, 3(1!! and 45m after the second
sunri se. It i s thus quite clear that they are not related to sunri se, except
pe rhaps i n the sense of being most easily visible then.
Carpenter managed to photograph a few of these particles. Some of them
we re very considerably brighter than the moon, which was then very near the f i rst
quarter. At this t i me, the moon i s about -10; the particles may have been be
t ween -12,5 magni tude (10 x bri ghter than the moon) and -15 magni tude (100 x
bri ghte r than the moon). The second i s -considered more l i kely, in vi ew of the
appearance of the full moon (-12,5) as shown on MA-6 photographs. At -15 , the
parti cle brightness i s consistent with centi meter size snowflakes. The
partic les were verbally described by Carpenter as between l mm and 1 cm i n size ,
and having a strong visual resemblance to snowflakes.
Shortly before reentry, just at sunri se, Carpenter performed the de
ci s i ve experi ment of hitting the capsule walls with hi s hand. The blows promptly
resulted i n the liberation of large numbers of particles. It i s thus clear that
17
at least those parti cles observed in the MA-6 flight emanated from the capsule .
The possibility that the particles might be dye marker or shark re
pe l lant , both of which are green and both of which a re exposed to the va cuum,
was considered by Mr. Frank M. Crichton, NASA capsule inspector. Crichton had
te st s made which demonstrated that ne i ther materi al tended to escape f rom the
--- PAGE 61 ---
package i n a vacuum. The possibility that it might represent small partic les
from the fiberglass i nsulator was also considered; in view of the smallness of
the fi bers, it appears l :lkely that they would have been blown away at once,
l Lke the Mylar confetti. The dynamic pressure of 1 dyne m2 is sufficient to
L\I'" \\, ••''\
remove at once~weighing less than about 10 to 100 milligrams cm2 ; which
corresponds to a thickness of the order of 0. 3 to 1 mi llimeter for most
ordinary substances.
As menti oned in the MA-6 report, there are two plausible sources
withi n the capsule for these parti cles.
(1) Snow formed by condensation of steam
from the life-support system.
(2) Small particles of dust, waste, bits
of i nsulation and other sweepings.
The latter are very consp i cuous in a zero g environment, when there
l s nothing to keep them down; it is found to be extraordinarily difficult to
free the i nterior of the capsule of such material. Undoubtedly, the exteri or
parts of the capsule which are exposed to the environment will contain these
things, and they undoubtedly play a part i n the Glenn effect. In pa rticular ,
a corkscrew shaped piece observed by Carpenter was probably a t urning or
perhaps a raveled piece of insulation.
On the other hand, there is considerable evidence which points to
snow as the source of the majority of the material. In the first place, water
is dumped out of the capsule i n far larger quantities t han any other substance.
In the second place, the material looked like snowflakes both t o Glenn and to
Carpenter. In the third place, the fre ~uency with whi ch the Glenn e ffe ct i s
reported by Carpenter appears to be correlated with the tempera ture of the
exterior of the capsule as recorded by thermocouples in the shi ngles. The
temperature was always lowest at night, falling to temperatures of -35°C just
--- PAGE 62 ---
be f ore sunrise, a nd rising to plus 10°c just a fter sunr"i se. DJ.ri ng the se cond
da y , the tempera tures were lower, rea ch i ng about -25°c during portions of the da y .
From about 3h 3dn, CET, on the second period of sunli ght, the temperatures were
h i. gher, ·,. nd, bnly one part l cle is ment i oned .
I f' the effect i.s indeed due to condensation of moisture, t he n t he
broad end oi' t he capsule is a more likely source than the na rrow end , be cause
t he temperatures were 200c or more higher at the n;:i.rrow end.
The condensation probably took place ·Lnside the capsu le, r a ther tha n
outside, because even at the lowest recorded sh i.ngle ·i..<::l.ilJ;)r.::-:.l·ture , a round -50°c,
the vapor pressure o ver ice amounts to about 0.039 milliba rs. Although this
pressure is very low, i. t greatly exceeds the ambtent pressure at the lowest
capsule altitudes. Accordingly, it is not possible that snowf lakes should f orm
under these circumstances, even though it is true that the capsule mu st be
surrounded by an expanding atmosphere of wa ter vapor.
If the water-vapor expands freely, ;_ t is clear tha t the pressure at a
dis t ance of 1 meter f rom a hole 1 cm in di ameter wi.11 be of the orde r o i'
1/10 ,000 of the press ure at the hole. Hence i t i. s f airly cle ar t hat t he pressure
i nside the capsule will be far higher than the outside pressure, i n sp i. te of the
presence of 18 one-centimeter apertures. Hence condensation within the capsule
l s more likely than condensation outside. It is noteworthy tha t no f ormati on
of rime was noti ced either on the window or on the balloon stri ng . It i s con
s i dered most likely that tne particles of the Glenn effect are snowflakes f ormed
-L n the capsule, between the cabin bulkhead and the heat shi eld by the steam
e xhaust from the li.fe-support system. It is suggested that they es cape i nto
spa ce through the porte, being driven outward. by the expanding vapor. Note
t hat at 02 52 47, Carpenter noted a particle moving faster than he. At 02 50 00 ,
he planned to observe sunrise and was facing forward. This particle was thereby
probably seen east of him. Most of the particles are seen behind hi m and f alli ng
--- PAGE 63 ---
• • J ...
back. This supports the idea that the partlcles probably are pushed outward by
t he expanding steam from the capsule, before they begin to stream backward. It
l s probable that many of the particles lodge on the outside of the capsule,
since Carpenter i s quite sure, from the direction of streami ng a cross the
wi ndow, that the particles came from a point near where the knocking was done.
Carpenter obtained two excellent photographs of the sun when just
abov~ the horizon. These photog.ra:phs plainly sh~w. the flatte~ed,, sa\.lsage- . .. ·kc.h""' ,, + ~\:~
Ct, fft.,;~c. ( n~'(':, thh \- v:,h .. 1" \\(. ';,(..\.v .,.,_,, \ , \(~ \-h<v ~h-'- y--r,'> •,,11 0,v I>' • ~"',\,( ei,., tr,-, , ,1 ·t )c ,., .., ,rr l " '"~ '>
shaped f onn photographed earlier by Glenn.,'\ Calculations of this theoretical
shape are being made at this ,time for compar.i son with the astronaut observations .
The flattened shape is due to the fact that the lower port i on of the sun's d i sk
is seen through layers whtch refract the l.ight much more strongly than those
through which the upper part is seen. As a conse~uence, the whole d Lsk appea rs
flattened. A s i milar, but much smaller flatten i ng has long been known to be
observable f rom the ground. A part of the i nterest of tht s phenomenon comes
from the fact that at great distances, as at the moon, the e ffect of this re-
frac t i on is to make the sun appear as a red ring of light around the earth.
--- PAGE 64 ---
r
SCIEN'.rinc DEBRIEFING ,
... .
•'
Ji.me 1, 1963
(First Experiment • Flashing Light)
John McKee: One of the first questions that I have regards some estimates
you made of the beacon distance. Were those based ·entirely on the knowle
of how bright it was tram p~vious aircraft training ·or do ·you feel there
was some other distance cue somehow involved in the ·test.
J
Cooper: No. If I had no prev;ous experience on the light·, I don Vt believe
I would have had any possibility of telling how far it was except· that on
that second night pass after ejecting the light. Apparent'.cy the sun was
shining on it as I saw this steady glow, up to about · my level on the orbital
path. At that time I bad a little bit more depth perception on it ·a nd could
') .
seem tp note the proper drift on it. That was the first time that I •saw it.
and t o the experiments we _q;f,d on :the aircraft When we had radar measurement •
I
you notice the pitch rate.? -- or what was the sensation?
. Cooper: · No, I ~idn't notice any 'rate as such. I cou1d really feel
the spacecraft and to me it felt Jµst like there were doors banging ·open
down there,.,as it departed and Just a li~tle bit .of a Jolt: through _~he : t' h .·
• • \ I • ' ~. A~ ~ ... .' .
spacecraft. It was a good so~d thump when it 'took· oft. • ·' • • •• '. , '' ,r~·:/; ._, :
ri-~
--- PAGE 65 ---
Scientific Debriefing
Bill .Armstrong: Act~ Gordo, it turned out, it gave you about a half of •
a degree per second in the opposite direction. This was very apparent on th
postfiight record. You can see your ·thruster ·acti~ when you start to pitch
' '
up El.lld then as you come right to the bottom of the curve you can see this
little blip on your rate; and then the attitude started back' the other we;yo
.I t was real definite. Something on the order of a half of e. gegree per ·secon
or e. little moreo It was real definite where it occurred. Well what it does
is start your pitch back the other ·~•
·' a:riy thruster action to go ,back 1n the other _
direction, to pitch back down .afte~
' I
you deployed. You. went to cage - to retroattitude and the attitudes just
and start back .over. It was real ·clear on the records where it went 1out ..
/
Shepard: Say, in regard to the first question, do you think because you
. '
had th~ earth as background you could Judge d~stan~e, . because you ha~ e ,
as background'l
Cooper: I think possibly so~ Of course it's like an airplane when it·•s '
a considerable distance out. It is almost impossible to judge the distan
awe;y. You can talk yourself into believing it -is almost any distance fro
. . I
you, ,. And when it gets on 1n closer you really have a bit m?re perspective
on ito I did feel that I had almost Judged the distance on that first t
In fact I didn't even "!:>elieve that was it when .I first saw ito t cou1tln't
• I I•
, . ." think of anything ·else that it could be but it was just solid lighto ~d -~ {_ 1
-, ' . . • ·,. • . . ., i . • . ;r. ~ t ..._.., ··~~ ,[!, '"'
it turns -' out looking ' back now 6n it, · I -am..sure this.... was
~ .
because_the s~.'. :~- ::· -~~ .~,,
--- PAGE 66 ---
Sci~ntific Debriefing -3-
had not completely set; !')11-sure 1'113' ·retro pack .area was in the eunligh~•-,. , .
'
I'm sure that is what I saw
. glowing,--was
'
the sun reflecting ·off of it.
. AJ.though I had, not seen it tram· previous viewing OD tbe day side or the
night _si~eo
McKee: When you didn't see it OD the first night side, did ~ou have any
personal feeling that the light' wasn't ~hing? Did you correct your
1;
1
.· attitude when you didn't see .it or· did you have any feeling what the problem .··:. F,.. ~ ...,,
., , - • I • l •, • 'I- - • •~ -, • '
. -
, was? ,. • -,-~ ;' _·•:
... ,~ ' . ..
-
Cooper:. I Just don't have any idea. I kept doubting Jey"Sel~~ • This was
the first time of course that I .had ever tried
. aligning to small end forward, . • . ·,.'.,
a 180° yaw -as weJ.call it and of course aligning , on the night sideo I begaxi I
. . /
' to doubt that I was aligned properly, I went to the star charts and rechecked
, • • ., " r
1
!' r and found 1n fact that I was not quite aligned correctly at· first . . ·But then ..• :•..:,
,, , ¥ ,, ~
I did double check ' and found that I was --- I'm sure several times thru the ' .·,· >.'.--~ i
~
..: • - • " • t
• , l't J ') • f •"''"
night I was aligned exactly ·on and in using the horizon .line J~t about 1n : ,,: • •,
,1• ~.
•. I , . .
.the middle of the window even moving up and down almost.. invariably• ,.
- -- •
don't have any idea why I didn't see it.
Bill .Armstrong: You .did change your ·attitudes? ·That was one of·the th
. .
I wanted to Knowo• I?o you remember at the beginning of t~e night phase,
. you first start looking : low and then toward th~.'·eni· •• ~ o/ -did·. • '
' .
ust sort /of scan the area or vb&:
--- PAGE 67 ---
Scientific Debriefing -4-
Coo:per: Well first I started trying to get Tfl¥. 180° yaw point. This is
not the easiest thing in the world to get on the night side, and particular~ . . , ,_
......
when you have to go into your ■tar charts 50 ~ute1 ahead ot Where :,ou had •
norn:ia.;uy been used to using them. ir:.finally did find star patterns that gave
'
-me the proper orientation. \
,I was wiing, around 15 to 120 degrees pitched downi ·,.'.,, ,·.
' ,. :•
I .was just keeping the horizon ~ th~ sort of bottom p~ of the Window ~d~•:-1·!_·, :./·:~'l~·~ ;{
\ ')" \ •'
I • t .., ,f-
I got_around. ·this area, I then tried varying ·the· attitude ~P and down to- '· • ,•• ·,
look for the light~
. ..
I
1
She:pard: You mentioned ' in your repOrt that,--you talked about approx
25 minutes a:f'ter you caged your gyros, that you saw' a ·lot of li'ghtning
par'tfcularly in that area. .: • '.o:.
Cooper: · Well, · this is .,one possibility· that there was a slight compromise
to the . light. 1 Particularly on the first night side there was co~iderabl
large lightning down ther_e . I found concentrations of large thundersto
•right up .in there and saw quite a lot iof -light flashing through fairly
I
large areas. I still don't believe that even on the other night
spite.• of these I still could\
.. ... . .
see :the light even with -:this as a·- ba.ckgroun
, ~ ·•·
.
It is r~ally not an excuse for ·not seeing it ,and I really honest]¥ _ C ••
I ', . . ~-- ; .- ~ ...... - ----··· - ••
say why I didn •t. . I had 'b~gun ~o doUbt th~t ,1~ was re .. flash
~ .., ~ • • • I • I •
--- PAGE 68 ---
Scientific Debriefing -5-
Cooper: The moon was probably 14-al. It was down to about a third moon.
It was a ver:, distinctive moon vb~ you ·could see it but it' wasn.'t causing
the great amount of light tbat a . twU moon would have caused. , , I could see
I
the glow on the ground, on. the· clouds :~d on the land, from the moono ., It
'.
up just at t1:ie .last part c,f the ~n1Jtrt. ·It- was never ·close to th~ moo:Q.
1
deylighto
. Bill ,Armstrong:
'i. in-the retro pack area; they ·ran •.cooler, this flight.
Bill Carmines said th$t they- b-4: ~;ualJ~· flashed the light at thi~ lo~r '
temperatures without .any probla. Re talked to Langley people and he says
'
. that i~ the light had fail~ 1;0. work the first time it would have never
. .
: , ·warmed enough later in the n:1~t to start flashing. It is hard to visuali~T .. ~: ; . '
- , .'· •• ,1 ~ tip'. • • ;.
it no~ having been ·working t-he f:Lrst time Bll;d then ·worked the second t:1.me.,,.·, •
Do ·you think your _att,itude. ,..~~ •-eauld you tell any difference •in your
attitude, the second night vl,Am -~ $.alf the ·llgbt. In yaw as C?JDPared
·: st •do you think 70\1. . • : •• ~ed d~ ~b~ter the
. ·,(
--- PAGE 69 ---
I'
.'
Scientific Debriefing -6-
Cooper: Well, not realq. As I went into both night sides I cc;>u.ld pretty
well estimate 18o0 yaw. The first' night side I was not complete:cy around,
,
,·~
I started :,awing around &114 ni,gbt wu audde~ upon me and I wasn°t quite in ' '
• / I
0 0 '
the :t'ull 180 positi~, so I did have to hunt ,for 'the 180 posi~ion a little' •
'
bit• . On the second n:i..ght -side af'ter -I ejected the -light, I was alre&q¥ in_'
I • I
· m:, 180~ position before ·g oing -into the night side. '
..... ~+~•
Merce;: H6w ·liigb above or ·below horizon line or -~dow did you look ·for light! ./; :; , • •
• I • I , . I ,
. ' ,
In other words how .f ar down "or :how; high did you go with your ·pitch .attitude?
/ ¾:,'
• I
')} .. . • ::.;,
Cooper: On the first night s.i de I .allowed it to drift very, very slow:cy and •·~ • _• .. , : ,
.,. . ... ' "'J. :,
, \t. , .. , .. t
' changed them as I needed to, 'very very· slight:cy to keep m:, yaw on 180° and· /./. '.., Y·
\ t,
it varied back and forth very ·sl.igbt:cy. But X went '&1.1 tlle ~ down to . •' ;~ ~;~ ·, ,,,.~
)
' I t\ '• ' ,
where the horizon ·1would fill the ·whole window and up to where. I Just ba.re:cy , ..,- ¼·.J., ·;
\ • •, · • . •. . • ., • ~.. , __ i .1,.·.t- \,. r
~ •r • ~ \,. • • • ' • • ;"' ,' "..' •' :'i #
h¢ the horizon in sight. / "7 '
. ,· . . '
Bill ,.Armstrong: · Did you see it cane right a'WIQ" ·when · you·:iooked .on
I nigb.t'l
'I
,,. /
; '
/ In oth •
· ·- :rd8 °you :picked it up.
• J
--- PAGE 70 ---
Scientific Debriefing -1-
Cooper: .Almost. Almost as it began to get dark. Of course it gets dark
Just like that. Zam it gets dark~ I had Just,--it was dark earth background
and as I say 'lI13 first teeling on at,eing it was definitely coming :f'rom below_
j
very very slowly. As I watched it was getting higher in 'lI13 line of sight to the
I
·earth. In other words as I ·was holding -the earth on .a fixed place1ton the
window this was coming u~. It was · coming up in relation to me, and was
finally ·up to 'lI13 level. And ·. as I saw it coming up it was solid light. My
first though. on it was -that it looked Just like th·e missiles that I have seen .
I , ' • • • • I • ' ~
launched at night :f'rom Cape C~veral; when rou 're t:cying at night at a ·high·•
altitude. and see them launched. It didn't have the same glow but it· was .....,
• ' • • ' .. ' • ' ':,I ••
• • ·1 I' -
very· very bright, and solid and <seemed to becoming up. ,, •'
Bill Armstrong:_ That is something else we checked into• . It would have be~--;~
impossible for this light to have been steady_for -you. It is neceSS_!ll'Y to
, / '
fully charge the condenser and then get a quick discharge. •,· •
Cooper: That's why I think .it mat have been the suns~ine on it
Because of t~e altitude we were both at, the sun ·would be shining on it at
that point. I had Just gone •into :the night side.~ Even though i~ was dark
• I ' ..
• . I
if I had yawed around to zero _yaw it ·would have been in ·. the bright sun.,
. ~ f • • •
'
I I
--- PAGE 71 ---
Scientific Debriefing -8-
of t he window when I first picked it up. By the time it got up to where
• • : '
was may'be 15 degrees higher ( 1n relation_to me and m:, l.ine •of sight) 1
.• I
suddeacy saw it flashing.
. I \
Bill Armstrong: ~at' a ,.1ust where it would have been. If woul.d have·
-.
'. '
just coming to the horizon.
John Boynton: ·Was this predominantly ~bove the horizon?
Bill Armstrong: In the first orbit, no. On the first orbit it is' very-1low~
That is why' he •might not have seen it the initial part of the orbito
I
about 20 or 30 minutes thru the1night s~de, it passes through the horizon
and then it goes about 25 or 30 degrees high. It goes· through a fai,rly
large angle change. at first, and the further out it gets of course the
smal.ler the angle .change is. 'l'he second night a:f'tier depl.oyment •Just ·a bout ., ,_
1
. .
at sunset 1t start·s up through the .horizon and 't hen all the time .during the '
• '
second night phase it is ..above th~ horizon. · Then the third C)ne is · above the
hor.:Lzon all of the·'time.
--- PAGE 72 ---
,.
Scientific Debriefing -9-
Bill Armstrong: You get a 30 degree angle view througb'._the window.
the top of the window to the bottom,
variation of ·. 30 degrees.
'·'
John: How far ·would he have to pitcp down'l
Bill Armstrong: He would probably have to be below retroattitudeG
to almost have all earth · in the window. Probably about 30 degrees G
Cooper: I had a ~-:few comments that I made · on the onboard tape about the
. . . "1· .
1
"I am at . 4st daylight going ixlto
. dark" I had been
. ·looking ,for that flashing · ~
·beacon. "This light in sight is below me. It is quite a brownish
b;rown and considerable ~titude above the ground." In other words I was
convinced it was not a light down on_the ground but _it had ·movemento I
t
mentioned several other items here such as this light being ·visibl_e _among
the starso "The ligJ;it is f.1lashing, now. It is· the lighto It is quite
I I
bright and quite discernible. It appears to be about -10 to l2 miles awayo
I'm keeping it exactli in the windpw. About the order ·of a second magnitude .. • '
\.
star now." and that time was 05:ll:34. ".The light is sM.µ in sight in .the ··. •
• -· . . ;' ~ .; '
' center of the window. 11 •
l •
Bill Armstrong: Did you,--acc?rding to -the voice tape it.
xruq, have yawed away a _little bit then ·. and then c;:ame .-back..
Did you yaw away and -t?hen •come right back to ~t'l ,
--- PAGE 73 ---
Scientific Debriefing
Cooper: Just once.
Bill Armstrong: Did you do it twice or Just once?
.1,
·'
Cooper: No, , I kept it 1n s,ight for quite awhile ·ap.d then yawed away from ·it
and then came right back.
Cooper: At 05:13:40 I made some coments on the Mi1q Way and varioW;J
things and at 05:16:35 the light was still in sight. Thunderstorms were
in under it at the moment but it was still quite distinctive.. And this
at 05:18:05.
Bill Armstrong: What brightness do you think you need if you ·. are . going to
try to acquire some target in space.
Cooper: It was very distinctive both t1I!1-es. At this brightness where i~
was on the second .night side af'ter the ejection, both times it was very
'
distinctive more than ·the brightness of course, it was the flashingo , On
the third night side it was extreme~ faint but the ·flashing allowed me,to
pick it up.·' I wouldn't have been .able to see it .t he third night but
fl.ashing.
Bill .Armstrong: Do you think that either at the initial acquisition -of the
. >
.t hing ·or ·e,v en toward. the end of the second night phase the 1?rightnessl would "_
- . . . .. :
b~ sufficient if you wOUld be •t7:Ying to l~cate a re~de~vous target'l :·
--- PAGE 74 ---
,. • I
Scientific Debriefing • -ll-
Cooper: I think so. I think with that brightness~ if you know approximately
'.
where to look for the thing and with _it flashing, you certa~ ought to be
(
able to find it pretty· readily.
Day: , Do you think similar experiments should be carried on ·or is this
sµfficient'l
Cooper: I think this prob~bly shows us 'What we:- really want to seeo I think
ther e is going to be problem like there is in .aircraft a As YO:U move
to it you are going to have to have something that gives a little bit more
capability to obtain distance f'rom it at the time; su~ as perhapa,-two lights ,
that you cou.l~ raµge on; like naVigation lights on aircra:t'to
I
QuestiQn: Were internal lights .on in the night observations?
,.. .
'
Cooper: On most night aides I had all the lights down complet.ely and used
' I
I
just the glove lights to read , critical items.
Bill Armstrong: On ·t;he third night phase you say you had to do a good bit ,,
of' searching. ; Were you searching the entire third night, and when did you
fir-st see it'l · ,1
I
·c ooper: Slightly past the middle of the night. I think that on the third
~ight side the· brightness was such that it was sheer accident that I found
\.
If _)rou Just happen to pass it' in t~e scan pattern you might _s ee it flashing,
, I (
:tt would, however,·
,/
be very easy to Imiss. .. •
--- PAGE 75 ---
·,scientific Debriefing • l2-
Bill Armstrong: You feel brightness suitable f'or a rende~vous
be something on the order. of second or third magnitude.
I • l • .' • . ~ l •• . •. • -
' '
Cooper: Yeso
Bill: That 1 s one of t he main things we wanted to ·r ind out.. Does
of the secon~ night l ook about right? Was the third night too d:l.m'l
. '
.,
Cooper: Yes, the third one is .getting ·a little too d:l.mo I •
Bill: Do you think you have got to have good sighting
•
information
I
.to
•
pick . ,.
these up ev:en 'W'ith bright light7
J'
I
C~o:per: Well, it is a pretty big sky at night .up there and there are a lot
of bright starso I t hink ·y ou're going to have to have some -sight~g,..date.
to get within a ~easonable ~one area to hunt . for ito
McKee: What about the flash ·:rrequency r ate'l
• Cooper: I think the f lash rate could be cut downo I think you could maybe
I
haJ.ye the flash rateo • I woul.d rather .- see it twice as bright and see it fl.ash
·\
. , .,
half as of'teno , A
. flash , rate, even -one every two seconds is. stii;t
,.
distinctive. ·:
. . I
May1>e not quite as distinctive as ·the one per second, but it •Still wbuld
. '
attract your ~ttention.
_Bill: • How about the· deploy marks?
--- PAGE 76 ---
Scientific Debriefing -13-
Cooper: Those deploy marks worked real well. They were excellent for getting
in 1·etroattitude also. They -position your head ·to a real positive position,
' , I "
I
Bill: We have read the attitude ·records pretty carefull:yo You were between '
20 a.nd 22 degrees, so you were right in .there. Do you think the window
I
smudges, the discoloration of the window, might have had significant effect?
Do you think it produced enough attenuation to cause any trouble?
, .
Act~ I tried and tried to note how much attenuation you get at
,.night.
. It's just a few seconds until the time you get dark-adapted; I thought
you became dark .adapted very rapidly, and I didn't see or note any real attenuationo •
• I am sure there was some as there was definitezy smudge layers there ... .- But·,,.
it didn't seem to be.... The bright stars sure seemed bright.
' . ,,,. (,
.
Bill Armstrong:. • J)id you a c t ~ see the light against the ground'l • , •
\
Cooper: Yes. I made this comment ·here that I even saw it against the
thunderstorm.
I · o
John Boynton: Go:;t.;do, you talked about the flash rate. The flash rate in
, your debriefing ·might have been ·. slightzy below a flash per ·second.
, Cooper: I did it on the tape • . I counted off here on the. tape so. you could
get it of~ the t~pe. I counted 1,2,3,4,5,6,7; It seemed to me that
slightzy s+ower ·than ·one flash .per. second..
--- PAGE 77 ---
.
I
Scientific Debriefing
Question: . What did it check out'l
i
-ii'
•1~
.j Carmines: ·.62 (flashes per minute).
l \
Bill: Did you make attempts to see it· on the day side'l
Cooper: I sure did. I never saw it then•
. Armstrong: It should ·have been closer on the dey side than in the night
portiono
, It came 1in c;l.oser, arid started out away some time during ·the f:t,rst .
day. pass ) Before you picked it up it had started out again. It should
have been in to about two miles sometime during the first day sideo
Cooper: At first I was on 180 degrees .yaw, and allowed it to dri:f't offo ·,
didn't find it, but e·e'fore I got to the next night side,- I brought yaw
' _back' ,' •
. • ~ ,,,.,)II'~ • • ••;
to 180 degreeso· There was a possib_ility I .m issed •it thereo .
,,
McKee: Did the flash seem very consistant'l
Cooper: Yes, it seemed to be very consistant .
~ . Carmines: Did you see it tumble'l
Cooper:
Carmines:
--- PAGE 78 ---
Scientific Debriefing -15-
Bill: The spread of light isn't too great.
J ',
Coope~: It is pretty hard to Judge the; light
Mercer: Did .you see the ·stars during this• ~'l
, I
Cooper: Not this particular ··orbit. No I didn't.
I I
(Second Experiment • Balloon J?.ra,g)
Dey: Mr. Carmines will you give. us a quick run-down on ·.the -balloon ·expe
failure?
Carmines: I tal.ked with Instrumentation people and everyone agreed that
we really don't know what happened. We had one relay actuateo There are ·
several possibil.ities • . To me the most l.ikely place of trouble is the final •
plug. The pins are on the pigtail and in putting this together you can bend
' \ I '
these pins and get a misalignment. W~ checked the plug :and.in this case the
:pin is near ·the case ~d if it ~ent it could ground..
I . •
Bill: The squibs were in parallel and a number ·of ·tests showed' eithe:x: •one '.- ·•
.. I '
of the squib would fire the latch.
I
The most probable cause , is in ·the circ,uitry.,
'-
I '
(Discussionoon ·G~ound Light _Observation)
,
Bill Armstrong: How hard wa.s it to pick up the light when .you .first
Did you have -t rouble picking ·up this ground light at all?
, I , , • - ' ,' '·. . . .. -. , . ---: -, :, • , • • •. . ' I ,
-· l,
--- PAGE 79 ---
',,
'
; Scientific Debriefing •. -16- .
>fl' '
'· ' ,.
Cooper: No. It was just a bit :further to the l.e:f't than I thought
be.
Bill: More toward'. the · center of' the window?
Cooper: Noo More slight]¥ to the le:f't of' the window. I coul.d have been
yawed ·off a l.ittl.e. I thought the pattern of the l.ittl.e town, . it was by
was rea.l.ly more distinctive than the l.ight. , If' I hadn't "imown _the light was
there I 'WOul.dn_'t have sel.ected it in preference to· l.ots of other lights I saw'
on t he ground,--•if' it hadh't been for the l.ittl.e horseshoe-shape towno
,Bill Armstrong: What brightness did you see at thi's attitude?
• I
. .
I woul.d sq it , was about between third and fourth magnitude
BaW it.
'7· .
Bill: AB you continued to obse;rve it · did Y9U notice ~t dimming?,,
Cooper: Noo I coul.d see it f'or se:veral. s_econds-. One f'alicy of the ground
lights is ·that you are moying on the ground pretty rapidlyo_ You don't have
mariy seconds to ·observe any ·:f'ixed points op. the groundo It's moving right
on past you and gone fair]¥. rapid]¥. . ·of' course as it gets on .out it gets dimmer
·t ,, ,. ~ : ; ' \
and dimmer •
•,Question:· / Havet yOU .&J;IY idea how~_lo~· you ·~ able -to ob,serve it?
--- PAGE 80 ---
Scientific Debriefing -17-
I
Cooper: Maybe as long as a minute. I doubt if it was that long,
I
30 or 40 seconds. I lost it because it got too weak. It was a long~
:f'rom being. straight out on the
,, horizon but as it got . on up towards that
direction it faded outJ
'
,' I
Bill: In checking the plot, it ·1ooks like it varies from a little over
second magnitude when you forst saw it to about a sixth magnitude when the
light was turned off. ' '
• I
/
McKee : Do you know what angle you pitched down to'l
Cooper: . I believe it was to -40. I was then at ~he angle we were
to pitch to. . I apparently had eased off in ya~. However ·it tracked pretty
well right up the window. So the yaw was fairly ~ell: ·on. But the., · •
-
i
light was off a li~tle further to the lef'to
" ·, .
Bill:· Did you· ever look away from the light and then .look . back?
able to do this and ·pick it up again? ,
Cooper: .I took ray eyes off of it and had them on the photometer and looked
•• through the hole in it and extincted it. Turned the dial the wrong way in
/ ',.,1
• the ,d ark,,' and I- did extin.c t ·a ll right.· I thought I'd ge1; a good reading on ·, • • .: '
• ,,, I I ,I ' ll~ , ~ ' • ' I : ~... I •
, , it. I gave that device ·up. It did extinct.
Bill: ;• Did you ever notice any change
--- PAGE 81 ---
,.
1' '
Scientific Debriefing -J.8-
Cooper: Yes, it got dimmer.
Mercer: Cou1d you see _lights of cities through J.a¥ers of cl~dst
Cooper: 'I saw a lot . of cities underneath the clouds.
yaw ~ignments was over Shangpai. •
..,
i
Mercer: Were light patterns more •distinctive than individual bright lights?
Cooper: Yes. I was , over the ·e ast coast of. Australia. · . I saw t~e very:
distinct city l.ight patterns there around the Melbourne area.
. , ' .
Paul: When the light dim:Ded .out did ·you lose the-l.ight
Cooper: I l.ost both in ·much the same period of ·time. :
·Jones: Did the ground-li~ _appear sharp as a point .source or· was it
diff'u.sed?
' I
·Cooper: :Ct was more' diff'u.sed. Not a sharp point.
single light but it -was not like the stars.
Smith: You think a: flashing light would be preferable?
, .
/ , '.
--- PAGE 82 ---
Scientific Debriefing -19-
Cooper: ~finite~: The ideal would be a series of lights. A better
combination would be a series ot flashing ·lights arranged in .some pattern. ,
~ e like a running rabbit strobe pattern. I am sure it wouldn't have to
be synchronized.
Bill: 'You mentioned how fast :fast you were moving. Do you think you had
enough time to make use of some sighting ·device such as -a sextant? .
Cooper: You aren·!t going to be able to take very long. readingso Youvre
going to ~ave ✓ to be set up and ready to go, and you 're going to have to have
some devices .that are •r e ~ usable. You figure that when you get from the
west coast of the United states to the east coast of the United States, the ,
ground is moving under you fair~ rapi~ in ten minutes. The ground is
. ' .
moving t .oo fast. You need to have some devices that are r e ~ usable and
you need to be se~ up and ready t(? go. I guess you have about 20 to 30
' .
seconds for a reading._
Bill Armstrong: One · of the•·,·phas·e s· of the Apollo mission .requires a position ··.
'
'
fix ~ile still in a holding orbit.
I
Before going into ·the translunar ·phase ··
• J
,,
sightings of earth fixed targets for navigation would be ab~ut the same
yqu experienced in the ·ground light. Would this .b e practicable2
--- PAGE 83 ---
I
i '
I
Scientific Debriefing -20-
Cooper: You 're going to have to be right on in .attitudes. You 're g~ing
to have to know exact~ what time it's going to occur. I'd guess you have
I
about 20 to 30 seconds to do your ·actual sighting and you have to have a_good
'
angle off to do it.
• I •
Bill: How about the brightness Gordo? How do you .feel about this part and
leaving .the flas~ part ' out of it? · Was it bright enough light to be seen
eaai:cy?
Cooper: Tl;l.ere were a iot brighter ·lights on the groundo
Bill: I'm sure of that but do you think this is sufficient?
Cooper: You can see it. If you look for it and know it is there and if
you're J.ucky. Knowing where to look for it and no cl.ouds there, Y9U can ,
.spot it. (And awe::, :f'rom other ·background lights.) · I still think a pattern.
woul.d be better than going ·to a brighter •light. I !l,on •t think the cha.nge •
in the brightness of the light would be as effective as making .some kind .
I •
• ./
of a patterno ~ l
Did the ground lights twinkle?
Cooper: Yes; Just like the stars do looking at them :f'rom the ~01:1-lld,
as the' stars don't1t ~ e there.
McKee: I would like to ask. 1 You seemed to have seen our ·-lights as we
expE:cted • . You .saw some objects on -the ground better than we expectedo
--- PAGE 84 ---
t Sc i ent ific Debriefing -21- /'
,,I 1,
, i (McKe e continued) you say why you saw such small items?
ii,
,\ •
!~
l
'' Coo;pcr: I was coming :f'rom Houston the other day in a 102 and I not ed I
,.. coulcln 't see nearly as clear around ·40,000 feet, particularly in one area
. that I was in. There was · a lot of haze and it .was quite humid and I couldn ' t
I
disti nguish things on the ground very well but yet when I got into the west
coast of Florida and got into an area that was somewhat clearer, at t h e same
altitude I could see many things. I think again, that it depends on how much
humidity _you have and how much haze is in an area. I passed right over the
vicinity of Los Angeles and San Diego and never saw them at all. I waoo 't ,
very surprised. I could see where they were but I couldn't see them. I
passed right over Miami and Miami Beach and I could see that there was a
t 'own there . . Ther~ was a lot of build up and civilization. I could see
the streets but the buildings were not very distinct. But yet over areas
of El Centro:·and the Salton Sea and ·the dry lake areas I could see tremendously
greater detail, 8J1.IJ. individual roads. Over the Himalayas, up in Tibet, of
course there you'r~ above a good portion a certain amount of the atmosphere ,
J•
i I suppose, I was really surprised: what I could see. I found some real
detai ls and little , villages with maybe 20 or 30 houses I suppose, stood out
i ' • •
very distinctly. You .could estimate the number of houses and if a house was
out individually away f'rom ahythirig else I guess against the right color
background, the yard, I could discern individual buildings. I saw a number
of t h em with smoke 1 coming out of the chimney. There was snow on this upper
very sandy blowy, dusty; Tibetan are.a . I could see a lot of lakes some partial.ly.y
f'roz en over and some f'rozen solid. The visibility was tremendous. I could
see vehicles that ,:;t assumed were trucks. I could see them kicking up ' dust.
...
:.
--- PAGE 85 ---
. .
Scientific Debriefing -22-
(MIT Horizon)
Dr. Peterson: The purpose of these pictures is that we are teying to
find definite informa.tion."about the earth for Apollo guidance. This is
of a group of four pictures taken in four_different yaw directions, one
the sun. Is this maneuver an expensive and troublesome· thing to do'l
Cooper: It takes control power; ·it takes control fuel, , it takes time.
However, it is not real expensive as far as fuel. You have to stay power
up. We debated back and forth about 't he most accurate wa;y of making sure we· .
get these 90° points. We were a little concerned about accuracy and decided
to stay powered up and utilized .the gyros ~o locate the 90° · positions. • But
it does take that period of time of power ·to dr;Lve the automatic system;
does take that fuel to move around•
.,,
Dr. Peterson: I noted you mention 25 hours 20 minutes. A1; that ~ t
there is a hole in the transcript. 25 hours and 26 minutes. ,
'
· Co0per: I got those at 25 hours and some odd minutes when the moon was set
in the west. It was right where ·we had plann~d to get it the first time.
We rescheduled them later in the flight if we didn't get them at the original· 1
time. But I took them as planned initial.:cy,. Did those come out all right'l
Dr. Peterson: On two of those ~twas possible to locate. the moon.
I I
I
~ not all of them.
Bill .Armstrong: Yes, . these are all of them. (Looking ·at p~ctures)
I•
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--- PAGE 86 ---
Scientific Debriefing -23-
Dr. Peterson: · There is a smudge in the middle of the window. It could
have been accidently concealed. Since these negatives are on1¥ suitable
microdensit9JI)etry there doesn't need· to be e:a,y discussion Qt the details ot • •
their significance•
. (Inf'ra.red Weather Photographic Experiment)
I
• Mr. D~: I would like to move on to m Weather photography.
\ '
Soules: This experiment went very well ~d we got the. information we ·
1 '
wanted. Thank you very JIDlch. 'Did you· have aey- trouble with ·the
filter holder?
' ' -
None at all. It . worked •very well.
' •
And the lens opening of 5.6?
Cooper: ·It was exactly-on ·what ·was marked on the 'magazineo
Soules: · There are si; pictures at the end of the series and I can Vt
- them. • Do you· have aey- idea ' where they could have been taken:'l
(There was a lot of table discussion of pictures here) ·
This was a:f'ter,:the. Florida series.
--- PAGE 87 ---
Scientific Debriefing -24-
Soules: You ma.de the remark that you were coming over A:t'rica.
aey more information? There was none in the tra.ns9ript.
~ Cooper: What base was this oni
\
/
I
Bill: Wasn't one of them over the coastline?
Cooper: Yes, I did one right on the . coast of A:t'rica. I got one coming
~ight over the coastline. Another ·one I got almost over ·the other coast;
:toward Johannesburg; it was· ·an inland picture, almost the northern areao
. ,'
Soules: The last four are a ~stery. •
Bill Armstrong: It, looks like you had about a quarter inch motion .on
I'm sure. I didn't. · 1I ' was ·holding the camera just
1
Soules : We might , check the camera.
, -Soules: What was the d o ~ t color of the ·earth over Baja California?
I
Cooper: I :found that the green showed up very little. The only really
• djstinct green that 'I saw which showed up much was in the high Tibetan area.
It. was a \right emerald green, by ·some o:f those lakes. It looked like a
,copper sulphate mining area. The browns ·of the. .Arabian Desert Sand show,e d :
up quite distinct. • Th~. Sahara was :not quite so brown although i~ .did' have
I
--- PAGE 88 ---
Scientific Debri efing -25-
( Cooper continued) ·a brown look, Everything predominantly had a. bluish
cast . .All. the :wat er, all the sea water, looked very very bright blue.
Even the Salton Sea looked very blue. And areas -we ,know 'were heavy toreat •
'.
areas looked kind of blue-green. The areas that a.re definitely brown you can
tell they a.re brown~
' I
Soules: I have a. question on the thunderstorms. Could you hear ·sta.tic'l
Cooper: I could hear. it day or night and on both HF and UHF.. It was . almost
.
instantaneous . As I woul~-- see the lightning and the clouds light up , I : 1
• ..
would get the static. ~
• ·: Soules: What i s the frequency band on HF'l
Cooper: HF i s 15 megacycles. The. static was louder in :the HF the.µ ·in tbe
UHF. You could j ust hear ·it, it wasn lt high magnit ude. r
• .
Soules: Was there a difference in loudness between day and night'l
Cooper: I think night side w.as considerably louder. Of course I noted
'
thUDdersto~ were louder ,on ' night side. There were large _m asses of
thunderstorms out to the east of Australia.
" 0
'
SoV,les: Did the flash come tram below the (?a.psule or •could you look off
/
~t ~ -. angle 'l
--- PAGE 89 ---
Scientific Debriefing
Cooper: I could not see distinct lightning patterns. It ju,st all lit ~•
. I
The whole cumulus mass of clouds would light up.
Soules: Did.you notice thunderstorms between Hawaii and Ce.liforniao
Cooper: -Yes, several off the west coast of the United Stateso I don•t
remember just how far. There were several cumul.us buildups.
Soules: Did they look like the usual thunderstorms?
Qooper: They went on down·to a stra'j;us deck on into coast on .down about
Los Angeles. They stood further -off the coast than up north..
\
- • r/
• Soules: Did you see any long white bands of clouds along the east coast in
the tropical' areas'l ,, ' ,,.
Cooper: Yes. One was over the Arabiap. desert that was quite distinct ..
took a color photograph of that.
Soules: was· it a very sharp line of clouds with bµ.ild-up in it'l
Cooper: Yes. Number 10 picture is over the Arabian desert area..
Soules: Over the oceans did you notewwide bands with perhaps clear ·area
over it'l , .
--- PAGE 90 ---
Scientific Debriefing -27-
Cooper: No. I noticed several large cyclonics. I did not notice any very
I
disti nct sharp bands. However I ~id notice tropical thunder~torms. Near
• I
-the Solomon Island Areas there were a lot of low streets and ridges ot
smaller cumulus clouds. There were little rows of them.
' .
;
/.
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--- PAGE 91 ---
f'~.
\ . fcient~.f'ic Debriefing -28-
'·i
SoU::.es : Was the horizon always ·a sharp line?
Cooper: Yes, day and 'night the hqrizon was sharp. In the day you have this bright
I I
blue 'bund around it.
Soules: Some photos show the horizon seemed fuzzy.
Cooper: In the Himalayas on a couple of occasions where the horizon was rough
due to the mountains, the horizon was ·still very distinct.
Squles: Did you se-e the moon at the time of occultation?
'• ...
Cooper: Yes, several times. I was sorry I d.i;d not get picture·s.
Soules.: ' Did you see a halo around the moon?
Cooper: I saw no sign of a halo. It was quite sharp.
I
Soules: Did you ever see a slight flash? Did the moon's color chang~ at all as it
went through the atmosphere?
1 Cooper: No. I was looking for this too. I was disappointed in the moon scenes ..
·r didn't see anything di'stinctive at all.
Soules: I made a sketch of haze layer. Would you take a look· at 'i t and tell me
what you think?
Voas: Gordo, would .you draw it on the board?
(Period demonstrating on blackboard of horizon, haze, etc.)
Cooper: This is the earth with a sharp horizon on the earth. The lower haze
level was always under me separated from the horizon. This was not a real distinct
line. It was a little more distinct and it appeared to be the same color as if it
were a cloud and as the stars would pass down through it y:ou could track a fairly
• high order of magnitude of star and you could track it ,down thro~gh haze and _it
would appear real bright as it came down through it. ';
Soules: :About what magnitur could you see?
,,.' II
I
\
--- PAGE 92 ---
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1cienti fi c Debriefing -29-
I\
l .,
ooper: The stars in the Big Dipper could just be seen. I noted the Big Dipper
1'!1th the bo.ttom star sinking
i~
·~ I
If,
down into it. l~
t1
Soules: The top of the layer would be bow ;:nany degrees above the horizon? 1;
i . • ,.
11
'
Ooo:per:
)
I figured it was about six or seven degrees. ,,
rl l
(Long period of sketching.) . I
Peterson: Would you estimate any appraisal in terms of stellar magnitude? You
explai:c.ed that the fifth magnitudes could be seen, did the weaker =- stars go out
• I
in that area? '
(Still illustrating.)
Note: During this period when ,900:per wa..s talking and sketching on the board,
the recorded comments are meaningless.
Cooper: I can't recall a single ti.me at night but what I saw the haze leyer.
Dr. Voa.s: I described the earth as. being d.a.I:k. Which is darker, the earth
or the 11ttl.e band of sky?
Cooper: When there was no moon the earth was darker. In general. there was more
light from the sky. It is a difference in two different blacks. The sky · is a
,· shinier black. The earth is a du.11 black.
Dr. Voa.s: The horizon is very wel~ defined?
Cooper: It is actually a different black. There is a · distinct line of horizon
and the earth is darker. This is in complete night.
Dr. Voa.s: When the moon comes up the earth becomes lighter as the moon shines on it?
Cooper: It shows up distinctly,' especially when there are c;:1.ouds.
Soules: Here is a picture that Wally took. Does that look like a haze band on the •. •
horizon? .
O'Keefe: When was that picture taken?
.
Soules:
. .
Is that too high?
-
--- PAGE 93 ---
Scienti f ic Debriefing -30-
l ~---------
I ('
'i f oules: You saw something over South America?
,! l I
fooper: Yes, there is this other higher level I saw over South America.
ptanley Soules: Did you see different cloud layers at night?
'
~ooper: Only i:t there was moonlight and if there were towns or cities below
them. On several occasions I could see reflected light particularly through
stratus type clouds.
Soules: You could distinguish clouds. Does the earth appear as blue to your eye , ,
as it does in the photos?
Cooper: Yes. The overall color is pretty blue.
Soules: What is the color of the· twilight zone?
Cooper: It is a baby blue~ It is a pure~ pure blue, very, very_ bright. I
I
Soules: Did you see any meteor trails?
, I
Cooper: No~
Soules: Did you see ·a lot of sun? ,,
C<:> Oper : I Sure did • I T.TCIIY'
"....... l't to tell you I did'. ., '
Soules: Was there any evidence of a corona?
Cooper: No. In fact, the sun appeared to be like the moon 'does i'rom the earth.
Very bri ght. You know down here there are all those rays around it. But up there
it is just a glob and it is very very whitish bri_gb.t. It doesn't look the same
color. It is a very arc-like color, bluish white. ' '' -
Question: What about the looks of the ds.y slcy?
!
Cooper: The ds.y slcy just is not as dark as the nie,:it slcy. It is black and dark
but not as dark as the night sky. You can see the brighter .stars on the day side
when you are away from the sun and neither it nor the earth shine are coming in the
window. Give yourself a few seconds to get dark adapted and you can see the brighter·
'
stars. They };lave to be fairly ~right to see them. On·the order of '3rd magnitl.lde. I
--- PAGE 94 ---
;-, pcientj f ie Debriefing -31-
1~ l
.pr.
,,
Voe.s : The day sides get a lot lighter, at night they are about the same
i
fia.rknes s as the inside of the spacecra.f't.
Cooper: The night sky and the day sky is about the same as the difference between
I .
~ jet black and a dark gray . . (It is about the same difference b_e tween the night
\ , .. '
sky and the day sky.) It is a sorter kind of dark during the day. Not nearly as
dark as the night sky.
Dr. Voe.a : Is it a smooth overall gray on the window? Do you see any chance at a.l.l
that the grayness you noted could be minute amounts of scattered light from fog on-
the window?
Cooper: I don't believe . so, Bob, because immediately when ·you got a faint amount
of obli que llght on the window it immediately looked like it was iced- over. All
you had to do was get just a faint amount on it and it appeared to be just likeI a
canopy frozen over.
O'Keefe : Was this scattered light 1n the window or not? I hoped you could see,,
some ki nd of a pattern.
Cooper: That• s what I •m saying. When you have any kind of scattered light on the
window, when the window was in any kind of an attitude (demonstrated) say this is
• the window
. •.
and out here is . the sun, any time the window was moved around where
there was any kind' of light shining on the window - just a faint amount of it
. would completely obliterate the vision through the window. I just went completely
IFR. There was just no looking through the window. Of course, the earth gives off
an awful lot of light, and you can't see anything as long as the earth i s shining
in the window. Any time the sun was back here fmd I was faced away from the earth,
regardless of attitude, the sky appeared to be a smooth gray.
O'Keef e : You could see the griton\ the window?
• Cooper : You could see the light actually impinging on 'the Wind.ow. You could see
I·
• the scum all over the inside of"the outside ~e.
--- PAGE 95 ---
(
.
fcienti f ic Debriefing -32-
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I
~'Keefe : Somevlhat of a pattern?
I •
•i¢,ooper: That's right. A pattern over the outside of th~ window as well as the
scum on the inside;
l
(·
()'Keefe: It this had 'been scattered light you would have had this pattern?
•.
Cooper: That's right • .
(Dim Light _photograpbs.) .
Day: Presentation of Dim Light Phenomena.: 1
Roach, 0'Keefe, Huell.
Roach: You had above this haze layer another layer. •Would you sketch that'l
(Illustration.) •
Cooper: This one time I did have it. I am almost certain this was .about
I
24 hours
and 30 minutes over South America. , I was facing to the east and was on dri:f't, I
think. I was_looking to the east, northeast area. I was in ful1 dri:f't.
0'Keefe: Reference was on page 26.
Cooper: That was the luminous activity on page 37. "Righi? now I can .make ou1;
a lot of luminous activities in an easterly direction." This was at 05 11 34 and
on a 05 13 40. The Milky Way was quite distinct. This particular time (over South
'
America) I couldn't make out on this layer. I wouldn't say it was mu~ like a. layer.
' / ' •
It wasn't distinct and it didn't last long; but it was higher than I was. It wasn't
/
in the vicinity of the horizon and was not well defined.
Roach: More like a patch?
Cooper: Smoother. It was a good sized area. •
Roach: You didn't feel this bad' a discrete shape?
It was very indistinct 1n· shape. It was a faint glow with a reddish brown
Cooper: ;
. cast.
· Roa.ch: Because of your altitude or what'l .
: I
.
, - - - . -~--~ - - ~ - ~ - - - _ _ _ ; · . . . . . . . 1 - 1 . - -
--- PAGE 96 ---
Scientifi c Debriefing -33-
l
. l' Cooper:
' It wasn't so distinctive as to move back on to it. It was very faint
1, 'l •
'4,nd definitely lighter than the sky. It was picking up some light of.•some type,
'""
-'j t was light in contrast to the sky •
•
'ick Day : Could you see this better out ot the corner of your eye?
C\'poper: Yes. Sort of that type of thing. I'm almost certain· that this was
over South America, just coming up on ·to the northeastern part of South America.
It was around 50 degrees West and about zero degrees of latitude.
Roach: This reminds me of what Mr. Schirra saw off Madagascar.
Cooper: He saw .it off North Africa. It seemed to be ·quite extensive but not .well
defined. I-twas rather diffused but not covering the whole earth.
Roach: Could you tell us what happens when you pass from day into night, around
twilight? . We are interested in horizon effect after sunset •
. ' \
(Cooper draws some more pict~es.)
Cooper: You never tire of looking at the sunsets. As the sunI begins to get down
towards the horizon it is very well defined and not diffused as it is 'when looking
through the atmosphere, and it is quite difficult to look at. It is quite white
and as i t gets on down to where the sun begins to impinge on the horizon line it
does give ·a spreading effect. The sky is getting quite dark here and you get the
1 I .
impression of blackness up here. (Illustrating.) The layer is bright orange ·
color and light spreading out in this direption •••
As the sun begins to go down it is replaced by this' bright gold orange. It extends
out ·for some way. It defines the horizon line fairly well at this ·time. The sun
'
does begin to get this flattened effect.
Roach: What was it'·s maximum flattening? . \
Cooper: I never got too much. It appears to get down part way below the horizon
/' n
--- PAGE 97 ---
f j _.
. Scientific Debriefing -34-
!
I
;._ ~d _spread. It doesn't take long. As it goes on down you still have this orange
I• • •
fight on the horizon and this area is all considerably ligliter althou~ black is
.,,
goming on down. You do · ge~· glow up off it. You could actu~ sWing away and tell
l
light
:,?
w ere tlle sun ll&d set a number of seconds after. It is not ray-like. It
/,
is hard to describe. ~e sky area: is lighter but there are not any rays. ,
\
Note: At this time there was a general discussion of the night sky ,i mmediately
af'ter sunset. The transcript is too incomplete in this region to give a recorded •
account of this discussion. It appears that after describing the sunset and the
airglow layer someone Ast. Cooper an additional glow extending vertical above the
i
position on the horizon 'Where sunset occurred. Obviously reference was being
I
made to observation of the Zodiacal light.
Cooper: That' s right. After this effect disappears ( glow of sunset) and you •
think you're on complete darkness, I would guess on the order a minute after
I
sunset, you get this other. I gue.ss two different times I saw faint glow but not
.,
very far along. It lfS.S more on the order of 3 to 4 degrees farther on
-------•and a fainter order . .,
Roach : Did you 'notice this was cone shaped?
Cooper: A little bit cone shaped.
J
Roach : Did you happen to sweep across it that way?
' '
Cooper: It was a minute or so prior to sunrise and I moved back across and about
the time I got back the sun was there.
Roach: Did it seem to be confined in your Window'l
0
Cooper : Yes. The bright blue -band grew wider as you moved away.
Roach: Was this jus~ before sunrise?
Cooper: The sun is . getting ready to come up and at' this particular time I got
this glow prior to getting a blue band and in a few seconds the blue widens and '
I
. widens. ,
...
'.
--- PAGE 98 ---
§~ientif ic Debriefing . -35-
Rpach: Is 'this :phenomenon very close to the sun'?
Cpoper: I had the feeling that this was just a glow off the su.µ._ It was not
1: ' • ·'i
7,1.',
:1
~P bri©J.t as the Millcy Way.
~ :
Mercer:
l
Was it tipped to the right or le:f't of sunriseZ
C~oper: I was sitting tipped myself and don't rememb~r vb.ich way it was. I have f .
the imp.ression it was not vertical.
Dr. Voas : It appears the red and gold you• described at sunset does not occur
at dawn .
. I
Cooper : Sunset is more of a golden orange.
Dr. Voas : Did you notice any of the flattening as the sun rose?
Cooper: Not as much) but you do get a little bit. ,(
Roach : Going back to the time just preceding retro, were you constantly on stellar
observat ion before the dawn? Were you able to follow any stars'? . ...
Cooper: Yes. With the sun to my back, the first thing I got -was the moon glow..
and through the cloud below I got Shanghai. The first •indication· you get of the
sun going up behind you is the lightening of the clouds underneath and you note
the clouds getting iighter and lighter and you can still see the stars. As you
\
reach a certain point., your window gets enough light - your window appears 'c ompletely
frosted over.
Roach : What star were you using? ,
Cooper: I was using Betelgeuse and tracking on.~ up from that to Sirius and Procyo~
and then I had a bS-l7ren area. Then I believe Castor and Pollux and Corvus was
the last . I couldn't pick up Antares. By this time I -was getting good light on
clouds.. The stars don't give ·you much yaw determination. You can si there for
.
a long t ime' and if 'you hold rates . very close. to zero you can get a fairly good
indicati on, but it is a lengthy process when you are determining yaw by seeing the
'
·-- ·movement ' of stars.
·-~...,.. --- - . - .·--- ' - -~ - ~
--- PAGE 99 ---
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.S~ientific Debriefing -36-
l\ ;
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~iach: ' From that standpoint, is it better to retro in the da.yl~ft?
cqpper: . You could probably do .it at night, but it is preferabl~;- to do it in the day.
Njte:
, '
~'he next few comments are not interpretable, but 1t appe,-.rs eom one raised
~ .
a ~question about the blue horizon band visible during daylight,
Co'pper: This is ·predominantly blue· and if you have land masses or things that .
' , '
you know are not blue - - - but this is about a two degrees thick band. It isn't
quite as thick as the band underneath - - - the last layer at night is thicker ' l
I . .
1 than this blue band and it is a brilliant blue.
Roach: Then, is there some structure above the blue layer?
Cooper: I never could see pattern structure above that. It is really not black.
This is any time you have earth shine. This is not a real sharply defined - - -
There is a little blue gray going thru this area here. The overall band is real'
bright pale bluw and just faintly diffuse on this side. (Explanation is made using
a sketch at the blackboard.)
Question: Is it diffuse on the upper side?
Cooper: It is not just a real sharp line or two different distinct colors. It does
diffuse very slightly,.
Question: .How wide is that band in angle?
,, Cooper: It is about 11iwo degrees. .,.
Huch: I understand it gave a little problem in roll and yaw. You said just as the
sun was s inking. _
Cooper:. That's right •. Tb.is is where I could tell where the sun had been. I moved
back to t hat and I put the gyros to free and went into the automatic mode. , (Again
using sketch.)
Huch: , Wi th reference .to the sunset, do you estimate the time when the Zodiacal light '
sequence was started?
-:----....,.. •• p ,--•
' ..-:-T"'7- ;- --
--- PAGE 100 ---
Scienti f ic Debriefing -37-
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·,qooper: I would guess it was on the order of 20 to 30 second.s 1af'ter sunset, that is
/ ,
jµst a guess. And this is all the counting I was doing to give ·you the timing and
:I
•. ~
~ere ~a s interference from the ground stations. i1,
I 1
.~
,-llch: Did you observe capsule sta.bility - did you :f'eel it ~s holding sufficient'.cy I
·f_
~till for time exposures?
cboper: Of course, we knew it would be moving. Did better than I thought i t would.
Huch: For the most part they came out quite clear.
Bill Armstrong: You get pitch up at the rate of 4° per minute.
Cooper: Actual:cy, you had more than that.
Shepard: During the Zodiacal light sequence, you had over . 5 degrees :per minute.
Question: What are your attitude tolerances •in ASCS?
Cooper: I would say within about 5 l/2 degrees. This will be a very slow variance.
Question: How fast is this per minute? The period is 2 to 3 minutes per oscillation.
John Ve:n Beckel: It is about .05 degrees per second. ,,
Shepard: The limits could be as much as 11 degrees.
John Van Beckel: It is pretty close to plus or minus 10 degrees.
Cooper: Did you ge~ anything :from·,.the latter portion of the picture? The airg.l.ow
pictures?
Mercer: Yes.
Cooper: I worried that the angle of the camera was down too much.
Huch: was there anything unusual that happened through the night?
Cooper: There was a lot of lightning.
Huch: Was there an accumulatio·n of moisture on the window?
Coop-er: No. To me it didn't seem to cut down too much.
Huch: You reported a lot of lightning.
\
-
Cooper: Right when I was taking dim light pictures there were several thunder-
. storms and a lot of lightning.
--- PAGE 101 ---
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'I
~cientific Debriefing •
. f
\t Did you get any readout on attitudes?
~epard:
~ercer: We got good attitudes.
On the pictures, ce.n you relate the airg,low band to what you drew on the board? '!.,,
~id you take e:ny exposures into the sunlit sky?
(
Cpoper: No, I didn't. I was going to try and snap one of this planet but couldn't
get the camera out in time. After I once got it out of the equipment locker, the
planet was gone.
Huch: was the camera easy to use'l
Cooper: Yes, after I once got it out of the locker it was easy to use.
Huch: Would it be possible to take a picture of the Milky Way?
I
Cooper: Yes. The last picture that I made was this haze layer when it was so
bright. It should be somewhere right near. It was near the vertical coming through
the window.
Huch: The range of light intensity was very extreme.
Cooper: The last exposure I made was of this glow and I think I used a 20 or
a 15 second exposure time.
Note: A general discussion was carried on at this point concerning the number
of exposures and general observations. It is not possible to decipher these
comments into usable form.
(Radiation Experiments.)
Warren: We have some preliminary results I will give to you later. Did you take
the chamber out of the dit.ty bag and fasten it on the hatch?
Cooper: I took it out of the storage container and fastened it to the hatch on
the first orbit.
Warren: Could you give me a time estimate?
Cooper: I would say within an hour •~fter liftoff •
..., _ _ .. _ _ - - - - - i - - --- . ... .
., ,.
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--- PAGE 102 ---
• ;,scientif ic Debriefing
,. f -39-
: }bu,ren: Did you take it off prior to retro?
I,,
I►
'
Qooper: Yes. I took it off just prior to retro. I stowed it :lfl the glove compartment ~
~rren: Did you take a reading of it at any time?
(
I•
I
I
~
croper:
I
No, I didn t. 'I·
W~rren: Di"d you place it vertically? Where did you place it?
Cooper: I placed it vertically.
Warren. We got from that .and also from film badger you carried on under
I
clothing - - - We got an estimate of 15-20 milliroentgens. I think you would get
more in an X-ray than you had here. It was. about what expected.
Warren: Is there any particular reason that the 7th and 9th orbits were left out •
or were you just too busy? '
Cooper: I don't remember which orbit I missed. I believe one of them I was q~te
busy trying to get this condensate water situation straightened out and debated
.
turning it on later, but decid,ed I had better not. I
Warren: It wouldn't have served much use later.
r
Cooper: That was the 5th orbit.
Warren: The 6th and 7th were the ones missed.
Cooper: The 6th one was where I was having the condensate difficulty. I don't
know why I missed the other one on the 9th orbit . . We weren't schedule to run one
on the 9tht
Bill: He had one at 9 hours and 4o minutes OX} the 7th orbit; then he had another
one on t he 8th, 11:15 to ·ll:25. ' And then you go into rest period after that.
Warren: We got that.
Bill: ~e went into rest period a:f'ter that.
Warren: Late in the night, you turned the tape on continuous and it steyed on
'
the rest of the flight. Was there any particular reason you could not have le:f't
·the switch on?
I
Cooper: You mean the radiation? We hadn't planned to do this because of power
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'- , $cientj_fic Debriefing ·-40- I •j '
;,d !!
·,! d~ fonserva.tion. It does ta.ke a certain amount of power. • I·
!{
,I I I.
~cKann : That decision was ·ma.de not to turn that on continuous: pecause it bad I•
I
s .
·r ever been checked out for continuous operation because of somp difficul.ties that
piight arise because of this.
\
~heps.rd: That seems to be a reasonable decision. ?
I
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Warren : That is all I had. '
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Cooper : Did you get anything at all?
Warren : Particul.a.rly on the 7th orbit we got some date, that gave us quite a
good b:Lt of background. Thank you.
)
/
/
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--- PAGE 104 ---
;Scienti fic Debriefing -41-
(General Observations)
,Pr• O'Keefe: I u.:c.dersta.nd the hissing noise was completely -negative. Can you
i e sure it was not then'l
<
I
Ooo:per: I didn't ever hear it at all. I had good fit~ing ear caps.
Dr. O'Keefe: Were you listening for it at the time'l
Cooper: Yes, except I had my visor closed and with ~he visor closed you can't
hear too much.
I
Dr. 0 'Keefe: At one p~_int a rumor circulated· in the public mess that you had
......
seen a meteor.
Cooper: This was a false rumor.
Dr. 0 'Keefe: At one point you said you saw frost on the window. •
I
Cooper: This is _the mat_e rial that turned out to be oil.
Paul Lewan: Have you seen the terrain photos'? Have yo:u seen number 8, east
coast of Africa'? Does it look this blue'l
Cooper : Not quite"' The film has fairly true'reproduction but in several cases it
might be a little more blue in film, than it actually is.
Paul Lewan: How ·apout the shots over Himalayas'?
Cooper: They look fai~~y true to color.
Paul Lewan: Where you're goo.ng over the ocean, could _you distinguish different
shades of b1ue'l
Cooper: Yes, over GBI, E1euthera and Buba and right down the whole island chain, •·
you could very definitely tell the shallower water areas~ You could see reefs
and green water in some of the lagoons. Not real distinctive green as you might think,
\
and you could se~ sand at about its normal color. If you are looking straight down
on things the color is more true than if you're looking at an angle. If you're looking
...
at an angle, there is more of a bluish tint.
. ..• ~ .
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--- PAGE 105 ---
Scienttfic Debriefing -42-
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l?aul Lowman:
I
When you were over the daep ocean could you see FY evidence of currents'
o.t the coast of Africa or the coast of South America. Did you/ see different colors?
i4 j
gooper:
~ '
There was some slight difference in color. I couldn't determine a pattern (.
;; /I
~d couldn't determine what it was.· I thought it might be'wave patterns.
'\
Paul Lowman: Were there different colors going over fores~ areas, over Africa?
Were t here different shades of green?
Cooper: Not too many. They looked to be a blue-green instead of a pure green.
Greens didn't come through too well. They were somewhat diffused with this blue
color.
Paul Lowman: Over the Himalayas, shot number 12, was the green true?
Cooper: Yes, fairly true.
Shepard : I think w~ should get weather records and corrilate the color with the
moisture content .
/
Cooper: Did you get the list where I identified the pictures?
Paul Lowman: Comparing with these rocket photographs over in El·•,Paso · area, do
you recall looking there or to we~t over Arizona?
Cooper: I didn't. I noted I was over this area. It looked familar. I had the
feeling in looking out I was right over the Mexican Border. I don't recall just
what gave me this f~eling.
Soules: There is quite a bit of detail in IR photos.
Cooper: Just beforeI that I noted the town of El Centro and the air base. I
noted one little dry lake area east of there. I kept trying· to see Muroc Dry Lake
and Rosemond up north but neve:c :did see those, but saq several dry lakes. I saw
one very clear. It was not a large one. It was about due east of Salton Sea
area.
~. -. Paul Lowman: Could you:,see Biggs Air Force Base.
Cooper: I didn't notice Biggs at all, in fact, I couldn't see the main part of
...
,.
--- PAGE 106 ---
1
fcient ific Debriefing -43-
h~
'\i
~f he city: of El Pase,. I could see some little isolated civilized areas. I
'..,
pever
, did see the main part of city.
tfi:
;Paul Lowman: Did you see any distinct shadows from the terrai!n? Mountains?
l
t
Cooper: •Yes. You could see shadows of the m_o untains quite clearly.
.
Even more
\ /,
I
blearly than the mountains in the twilight were the shadows from clouds on ground.
Paul Lowman: How did the camera o_perate while taking pictures? Do you recall
shaking the camera at any time?
Cooper: No: I don't recall shaking the camera at all:
Paul Lowman: They all look pretty good; I just wanted to make sure. Is there
any vibration in the capsule when you are taking pictures?
Cooper: No. Very little. It is pretty smooth.
Paul Lowman: Do yqu think if you had a cha.nee to sit down with those photographs,
you could give us an idea of the inclination to the vertical or horizontal? You
said over the West you couldn't see Los Angeles or San Diego, do you remember
how far north you could see'l along the coast'l
Cooper: I could see three or four hundred miles on up north. There was a lot
of cloud cover-a lot of stratus. You could see patterns where the ground caused
difference in cloud formation.
Paul Lowman: How about on the east coast?
I
Could you identify anything there'l
Cooper : I could see the Cape clearly on one pass e.nd ;the St. Johns river and
could see where it ,ca.me in the inlet at Jacksonville. Right to a.bout Savannah,
Georgia and clouds became broken and I could see banks of clouds lined on up
to what I believe was the bulge of the Hatteras area and prehaps 150 _miles on
• further. But clouds wer~ obscuring. I felt I could see quite clearly on up north
to Hatteras and perhaps on up to the Washington area. My sight of this was when
I made my turnaround. It looked just like a map. It was a great wide expanse of
...
--- PAGE 107 ---
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:t
, ,cientific Debriefing -44- Ir
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:!- ~ . 't
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j he Ear,t coast. But there was a quite a bit of clouds up north, broken clouds. l
\
"'·t: ':\-,
faul Low.man: Were there any up.usu.al terrain features? ~
ti'
-gooper: - - - - I
-~ ·t
k. O'Keefe: .Did you see anything that looked like a crater?
!
I
Cooper: No. I sure didn't. I was looking for it too.
Paul Lowman: You· went over one in Ghana, but I don't know if it ·was good or
not.
Cooper: Over Africa there was unasua.l rocky terrain up in the Atlas mountains.
I didn' t see any craters.
Dr. Voas : Do you--could you see clouds and shore lines at night with no moon?
Cooper: Fairly well. If there was no moon you could see them faintly.
Dr. Voas : Any other terrain features that you could see? At night with no ~oon?
Cooper: •No . Not much. You could see the moonlight on the water.
I
Dr. O'Keefe: You mentioned these small particles. Do I understand correctly
that they seemed to , be pushed outward from the capsule?
Cooper: If you consider this west and this east 8.lad the spacecraft is going east,
regardless of spacecraft attitude, if any time I fired one of the thrusters at
night, I could see glow from almost every one of the thrusters. The pitch-down
thruste r I could see and the yaw I could see sh(?rtly after they got out of the
nozzle. You get tremendous streams of luminous particles of fireflies, and
regardless of what attitude you were in, ther appeared to come out from the
spacecraft. A grea1; many could be seen for some period imd they seemed to go
back along flight path.
•Dr. Vo~s : Did they, actually appear to flow around? Would you say now that they were
parallel ~ ~s they go back, they will appear ·optically to come together. But did
they act ually curve around as if there was a flow field.
Cooper: I felt they were actually moving around. Their relative movement was
...
--- PAGE 108 ---
~
$cienti f ic Debriefing -45-
~
~
ti i 1
i
\'Ot real rast·. I could see them move right on out. In a matter of 4 or 5 seconds
i
they would be as far away as the other end of the room. Some you
t,
~t>uld see for maybe as long a.s 30 or 40 seconds.
,;'
~estion: Do you mean back from you or back along the :t'light path7
1
C~oper: I mean back the actual flight path.
I
Dr. Voas : Were these paths actually curved? You're of course familiar with the
fact that .as things go backward they appear to converge . Did they actually seem
to curve in?
Cooper: If I would be sitting facing this way, the ones out of the left yaw
thruster would move right out and move directly back along the flight path;
the ones out of the .right one would go out in front of me and would turn back.
John Boynton: Did you note any difficulty in identifying lunar features?
Cooper: I couldn't :9-istinguish anything on the moon. It seemed considerably
' '
brighter. And seeme.d to have more light. I couldn't really distinguish anything.
Roach: Would it be practicl.e to have binoculars aboard?
Cooper: I think it would. The moon was much clearer than on the ground.
Huch: Could you see the earth shine on the moon7
Cooper: The moon w~s f'uller when it was settil:lg than at other times during the
night. I never realized that before just now. But it seemed to be almost full
when it was setting.,• But on the night side there was only a thir~ of the moon.
How about that now. , The moon was almost f'ully round when it was setting. I think
the :pict ures will show it.
Roach: That could be earth shine.
Cooper: That's right. It is a pale color, of course, in daylight.
Dr. Voas : Did it appear to you normal in brightness on the day side7
Cooper: Yes, it was just a lightish blue color.
--------------.---- -
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--- PAGE 109 ---
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fcient:lfic Debriefing
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• f• I ( ~
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, ·.;.
•Aiuestion: Could you determine wind direction and velocity by SillOke?
l
·~
~
,.,,,.
I'
f
Cooper: I could tell direction - over the Tibet·area the wind 1was from the south. ,iI, I
,I! 1;,
'"
'!J.,. I•
·~uestion: Did you see industrial smoke? I
'i
l,_
~coper : I remember one fairly large area there was considerable haze and factory
1
~ype smoke winding up, but don't remember where it was. It seemed to be;1 like an
\
inversi on.
Hanel: You did not see the motion of the clouds?
Cooper: No I could not determine the motion ~f the clouds. Oh, you mean velocity
by the way the smoke was moving.
Hanel: I mean the clouds were moving .
.;:l
heparcl: Your first question was could he tellwind velocity and direction from
the smoke?
Cooper : I don't know whether I could judge velocity or not. I could tell the wind
was bl~ving fairly strongly, because the smoke appeared to c9me out of the smoke
stacks flatly, it didn't drift up. But looking at the clouds, I could not tell
which direction the wind was blowing.
Hanel: Did you have difficulty in seeing Cirrus clouds?
Hanel: Another question. We may have some trouble distinguishing snow from clouds
in polar regions. You had no difficulty in distinguishing snow from clouds?
Cooper: No. I thought the snow was very very distinct. It is just like flying
an airplane. Sometimes when the snow is very smooth and even, it is difficult
to tellclouds from snow. You can determine the cloud height if you have a good
perspective of the cloud height. You can tell vhether the clouds are low or medium
·clouds or very high clouds.
Hanel: You never took two pictures of the same a~ea? That is, two overlapping
pictures?
'·.
Cooper: Yes, I think I ~id over the Himalayas. I have two pictures of almost
the same area of .the Tibetan High Lake area. -
. ~r .· . .
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--- PAGE 110 ---
"
tcientific Debriefing -47-
Yes, th~y do overlap. - They are pretty badly tilted/but
;. I
they do
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Janel: Did you have difficulty in seeing Cirrus clouds? " you estimate how
Co~d
,
~\
wuch of the surface was covered with Cirrus?
~
qooper: Surprising little of surface was covered with Cirrus clouds. I would
I
guess nbout half. There were some areas where clouds were fairly extensive.
Cirrus were biggest portion, about 75% of all -clouds were Cirrus.
Question: · Did you see any dust storms?
Cooper: At no time· did I note a dust storm. ' I looked fpr them over Africa. One
place I thought I might ·find them was over Arabia, but I saw no dust at all.
John Boynton: You .mentioned that particles of dust or water were attracted to ,t
the wiI1dow. Was this rapid or gradual?
Cooper: Very gradual. Numberous little dust particles, a little water and little
crumbs. The larger objects didn't seem to be attracted. i
They just moved slowly •
about. There was less motion after we powered down cabin fan. •Various pieces of
dust or crumbs off of sandwiches I had eaten.
John Boynton: · Did you note they might have been attracted .to other areas?
Cooper: I didn't note any particular pattern. I did note the sun was very very hot
through the .window. . The particular pattern of the sun would be hot on my suit. I
would feel heat through m.y glove when I touched the window.
...
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J
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srientif ic Debriefing -48-
1 1
··Pf. Voao: • You seemed to have the general impression that you w~re stationary
.~
8:fld everything else is moving.
~
Cpoper: That's right. You sort of become the center of everytijing, and you think
t
hpw you can move the earth around, 'When you want it, rather than move yourself.
I
Dr. Voao: Now, as you sat there with this moving picture in front of you, did you
\
have the general feeling you were sitting upright or flying on your back?
Cooper: I did very distinctly feel I was sitting upright. A couple of times
on account of the way you fee_l in the straps like hanging upside down. Every
ti.me I dropped something, I grabbed at it below. I never had trouble handling
pencil. I never had any trouble putting it where I wanted or getting it. One
ti.me I made a wild grab for the · camera as I thought it was going to fall, but of
course it didn't.
Dr. Voas: On periods af'ter you awakened, did you__ have· ·reeling you had gone to
sleep sitting upright?
Cooper: Yes. Definitely.
Dr. Voao: You mentioned sometimes you had the feeling of being upside down. Was
this correlated with the spacecraf't being inverted? Visually, I mean.
I
Cooper: No. I think this was purely a feeling of the straps. You're floating
in the straps rather than being firm; like inverted flight in an aircraf't.
Voas: Did you have ~, general feeling of being stationary? This general feeling
of being stationary was not changed by any control action?
Cooper: I tried to give them some pretty good rates, but bad no feel for rates at all.
Cooper: Vision-wise, you would see things changing ou then pretty fast, but it
wasn't bothersome at all.
Dr. Voas: When you say "pretty good rates," this is 2 to 3 degrees per second?
Cooper: Three, four or five degrees.
' '
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... . . . ..
--- PAGE 112 ---
Scienti fic Debriefing -49-
i
(
hr . Voi~s:
11 r
At retro fire, did you note feelings of lateral motion?
, pooper: On the third one, it gave me pretty good little boot in yaw.
IF t
' il)r. Vons: This is distinguished from what you could see lookiig out? As I .,
I
:understand it, you felt the retro rockets but they didn't change your imprilssion
that you were sitting stationary?
Cooper : All I did was feel them and I still had the feeling I was moving right along.
Dr. Vons: Did you feel you were moving backwards?
Cooper : I ~ moving backWards in retro attitude, then you get quite a motion as
I stated over the earth.
Question: Did you have any sensations of change in attitude _between perigee and
apogee, perhaps as a result of the amount of curvature you could see in the earth's
surface?
Cooper: No, I couldn't see any noticeable change in that. What was more distinct
was whether you had haze or were in a clear area.
Lou Fir.her: We identified one of your pictures taken vertical off Calcutta.
Cooper: Did you note the one before that over the Rangoon area, with the little
things out over the river; they look like warehouses or something?
I
Fisher: Did you see , Calcutta?
Cooper: No.
Fisher : Did you see any airports?
Cooper : Ye~, I saw numerous airports. The runway patterns show up very distinctly .
....
------~--...---------:..,.-- - - ~ -.''I, ' . '
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--- PAGE 113 ---
I ··i~ scient i fic Debriefing -50-
i_i
,Boynton : Did you find that later in the flight audio inputs became more startling
'
•/
ior more distinct'Z Did they seem to be more profound'Z
..
:. ,;
,~
:Cooper : Later in flight, I began to' notice the relay panel wiping .back and forth
.
/whereas I hadn't noticed it before. The music sounded pretty good. If I'd had
\a radio on board, I could have used it.
John Boynton: Did you find you might look forward to hearing collllllunications, say
more s o than in the· first of the fligbt'Z
Cooper : No. Not that I noted.
John B.: Could you hear better?
Cooper : No. \
Dr. voas: Did you at any time hear an unusual noise?
I
Cooper: No.
Roach: Was there any change of radio static in electrical storms'Z In connection
'
with t he · problem of radio static, there is a phenomenon of static going to and
fro between the hemis:pheres, wen it returns it comes back as a ,wistle • D~d you
ever hear a wistle'Z
Cooper : No, I didn't.
Note: Some questio~s were then raised concerning the appearance of the horizon
• I
at sunrise and sunset. Cooper stated that the horizon near the sun was a golden .
color at sunset, spreading away from the sun. He stated: "The real dom_inant thing ,
is that it is gold as it •is setting and it is real blue as it 1 s~arts to come up. 11
He stated again tha~ he saw the Zodiacal light both night and morning. It was· a .
very low order magn,itude light, about the s~e at sunrise and at sunset. He '
estimated its elongation to be ~bout 15 degrees.
, I
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--- PAGE 114 ---
SCIENTIFIC DEBRIEFING OF LT. CMDR.
WALTER SCHIRRA
HELD AT NASA HEADQUARTERS, TUESDAY
MARCH 12, 1963
--- PAGE 115 ---
-
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
15 November 1963
In Reply Refer to:
SM(JRG:neml_
1EMORANDUM FOR: All Participants
FROM : J. R. Gill
SUBJECT: Scientific Debriefing of Lt. Cmdr.
Walter Schirra, held at NASA ,
Headquarters, 1arch 12, 1963
This document is a literal transcription of the
subject de-briefing made from the tape recording.
It is issued to participants only for their
comments · and/or re~ommended deletbn. Deadline
for receipt of this is December 20, 1963. After
that time an edited version may be prepared for
wider distribution.
~ Q:~
gocel~n R. Gi ll
Enclosure
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
--- PAGE 116 ---
p 1 &2
Dro Eugene M. Shoemaker, Chairman~ · Manned· Space Science
Working Group served as Chairman, substituting for Dr. John Clark,
Chief Scientisto The following people were present:
Mro Carl Abraham, NASA Headquarters
Mr~ Richard Daniels, NASA Headquarters
Oro Winifred Cameron, Goddard . Space Flight Center
Mr. Maurice Dubin, NASA Headquarters
Mr. Larry Dunkelman, Goddard Space Flight Center
Dr. Jocelyn Ro Gill, NASA Headquarters
Oro Dale Jenkins, NASA Headquarters·
Dr. Urner Liddel, NASA H~adquarters
Mr. Oran Nicks, NASA Headquarters
Oro John Nordberg, Goddard Space Flight Center
Oro John O'Keefe, Goddard Space Flight Center
Cmdr. Walter Schirra, Manned Spacecraft Center
Mr. George Tennyson, Goddard Space Flight Center
Oro Eugene M, Shoemaker, NASA Headquarters
Dr. Shoemaker - I have a series of written questions to start
things off. These have been submitted by some of the _people here
today and we may then ask for some supplementary questions from
the rest of the people this morning. We might start off with
the question on airglowo Will you give us · an account of
Mercury's passage through the airglow layers? How did you identify
the planet Mercury? Did it seem to have color? Were there any
stars nearby?
Cmdr. Schirra - I think Larry Dunkelman and I discussed this at
--- PAGE 117 ---
3
great length and I don't know whether we could be any more
expansive on that subject than we have already. The only
thing that I can think of that we didn't talk about is an
e f fective color of the planet 1ercury. It was as white to
me as any other · star. It was not blue, red or some other color.
It was definitely "star-appearing" to me. It would have a
definite atmosphere where it would change colors and where it
di dn't have · any · atmosphere, it didn't change colors. I would
say that from that it had no different appearance than if I could
see it from the earth as a star. 1ercury itself was plotted on my
star chart; which is · a very valuable tool for these flights. There
is just no doubt where Mercury has to be and we checked on it and,
of course; it was Mercury. I think Larry · called me one day and we
all were · surprised that I saw Mercury longer than I shouid have seen
it and I guess this was explained by its being · seen · through the
refraction · of the · atmosphere. Is this ~orrect?
Dr. O' Keefe · - Yes, that's the answer. Mrs. Cameron is the one who
made the contribution. This is her theory.
Schirra - This · was a tremendous yardstick - as far as I was concerned .
It was so obvious to · me that I just had to take the time · to desc r ib e
its passage through the various layers of light and the way I
descr i bed · it · in the handouts "Results of - Third U. S. fanned
Orbital · Space ' Flight; October - 3, 1962" that you have is about
as accurate · as I can · describe it now .
Dr . Gill - Could you · make a little drawing on · the blackboard for us ?
--- PAGE 118 ---
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Schirra - Again, Larry, do you have that? (Referring to drawing
prepared by W. Cameron and L. Dunkelman)
Mr . · Dun-ke Iman - We have.
Schirra - We sat down for about an hour and traced this very
carefully.
Mr . Dunkelman - It happens that the movement of Mercury behind
our atmosphere is really not phenomenally related to airglow as
such . Mercury is simply a pointer - an index finger. It gave us
a chance to see what parts of the upper atmosphere you were looking
at and this has more to do with ozone and atmospheric constituents
than it has to do with airglow. We think the answer here lies in
the fact that the ozone is absorbing the orange, yellow, and green
light and leaves this interesting blue which is an ozone blue
rather than a Rayleigh blue and we think the reason why Astronaut
Schirra saw the several shades of blue is he may have been looking
edge - on at the ozone layer. So it is really not so much related to
airglow as it is to the way of looking at what produces the color.
I think we are interested in finding out what causes the phenomenon,
rather than to attempting to learn anything new about the atmos
phere .
•
Schirra - I think one of the reasons that · I was so enthused about
tracking Mercury through these colors is that I am a fan of blue
colors . I grew up with a Maxfield Parish painting; if anybody
knows his colors of blues - they are fantastic. Gold blues,
electric blues . As a result, these caught my attention. I am
--- PAGE 119 ---
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not that much of an artist or poet, but I was trapped with this
set of blues and I did expand on it at greath length, I thought.
These electric blues -
O' Ke efe - (Interrupting) Subtraction is what it sounds like.
Schirra - So it connotes ozone in that sense - electric blue -
is exactly what it looked like, A very, very satisfying color.
Dr . Roman - Coming back to the color of Mercury, do I gather from
your comment that you feel it was distinctly yellow, yellowish
f or example, or was it that you didn't pay a great deal of
attention to?
Schirra - No, Nancy, I would say it is very much like any other
star that · I would see, rather than having a color. I didn't
detect a color.
Dr. Roman - Astronomers think of stars as having color,
Schirra - I have seen different-colored stars from earth-bound
environment and anticipated or, in fact,I was looking for different
colored stars or planets and did not detect any colors.
Roman - This means that your background was just a little too
bright to see colors.
Schirra - That, and the window itself just isn't an optimum plate -
series of plates - to look thro~gh. I insisted that what I really
felt had happeried is that I was seeing no more than about 5th or 6th
magni t ude stars · that the clouding of the · windows, as a result of
the escaped rocket, reduced my visibility of the stars about one
magnitude. In other words there wasn't gross clouding of the win
dow . That is what I was trying to make clear by using magnitude of
stars as the yardstick in this case. I'll stick with that. This
--- PAGE 120 ---
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is about the best way I can describe it. I could see more stars,
as Scott Carpenter described it, when back on th~ surface of the
e art h and many, many more stars in an airplane cockpit than in
or b it al flight.
Roman - You could see more in an airplane?
Sch i rra - Yes. So in the debriefing of the flight I stated that
this is not a problem for pursuit of Mercury flights. It is a
p r ob lem for pursuit of space observation and with the Gemini
ve hic le, we have so1v~d th i s by having the windows properly
covered and also we hope so - well, Gemini doesn't have an escape
r ocket for one, which helps us, Now on Apollo, we are plus or
minus on whether we can afford the weight of having window
cove r s, but if we do, it does haThis text is truncated. The complete file is available at the official source.
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