MA-9 Press Kit

8/9/2019 MA-9 Press Kit

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N E W S R E L E A S ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

40 0 MARYLAND AVENUE , SW , WASHINGTON 2 5 , D . C.TELEPHONES : WORTH 2 - 4J55 - WORTH 3 6925

FOR RELEASE: AM's FRIDAYMAY 1 0 , 1963

RELEASE NO. 6 3 - 9 0 6 3 " 7 7 4 3 ~ /MERCURY-ATLAS 9 PRESS KIT

CONTENTS PAGE

1 . INTRODUCTION 1

a . LAUNCH DATE 1

b . FLIGHT PLAN 1

c . TEST OBJECTIVES 2

d . MA-9 PILOT 2

e . ASTRONAUT PARTICIPATION 3

f . BENEFITS OF EXTENDED FLIGHT TIME 4

2 . ORBITAL TRACK 4

3 . MA-9 EXPERIMENTS 5

4 . MA-9 SPACECRAFT 29

5 . ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SYSTEM 35

6 . SPACECRAFT LOCATION AIDS 40

7 . LOW-RESIDUE DIET 411


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CONTENTS

8 . PILOT COMMUNICATIONS

9 . MA-9 LAUNCH VEHICLE

1 0 . MERCURY-ATLAS COUNTDOWN

1 1 . POWERED FLIGHT

1 2 . EVENTS DURING POWERED FLIGHT

1 3 MERCURY IN ORB I T

1 4 . OPTICAL TRACKING OF MA-9 LAUNCH

1 5 . THE TRACKING NETWORK

1 6 . TRACKING AIRCRAFT

1 7 . RECOVERY RESPONSIBILITIES

1 8 . RECOVERY AREAS

1 9 . MEDICAL OPERATIONS

2 0 . MEDICAL RECOVERY OPERATIONS

2 1 . TRANSPORTATION OF MA-9 SPACECRAFT

2 2 . ASTRONAUT SPECIALTY AREAS

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1 . INTRODUCTION

Prepara t ions fo r the s ix th United s t a t e s manned; , ;

space f l i g h t , Mercury-Atlas 9, planned to extend ~ h i s

n a t i o n ' s manned space f l i g h t experience as many as 22

o r b i t s an d as long as 34 hours , are i n f i na l s t ages .Designated Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) with Astronaut L.

Gordon Cooper a t the con t ro l s , the f l i g h t w i l l be a t -

tempted not sooner than IVIay 14.

I t wi l l be the four th Atlas-boosted manned o r b i t a l

space f l i gh t and the f i r s t aimed a t meeting one of the

o r i g i n a l objec t ives o f the Mercury pro g ram, manned one-

day space f l i gh t .

Mercury Spacecraf t "Fai th 7" v.[ill be launched be-

tween 8:00 a.m. EST (1300 Z) and 10:30 a.m. EST from

launch complex No. 14 a t Cape Canaveral a f t e r a s p l i t

countdovill extending over a two-day per io d .

Cooper and h is spacecraf t wi l l be i n se r t ed in to o r-

b i t on a heading of 07205 degrees t rue approximately 500

s t a t u t e miles from the Cape. His a l t i t ude w i l l range as

low as 100 miles (perigee) to as ' high as 170 miles (apogee) .

I f the mission cont inues through the 22nd o r b i t , r e t r o f i r e

wi l l be i n i t i a t e d about 170 miles southeas t o f Kyushu,

Japan, causing the spacecraf t to land about 80 miles south

e a s t of r ~ d w a yI s l and . The p i l o t w i l l re ma in aboard an

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a i r c r a f t c a r r i e r i n the Pac i f i c fo r a 48 - hour r e s t and

d e b r i e f i n g before r e tu rn in g to Cape Canaveral v ia Honolulu .

Main ob jec t ives o f ~ f f i - 9a re : s tu dy the e f f e c t s of ap-

prox i ma t e l y one day i n o r b i t a l f l i g h t on the as t ronaut ;

v e r i f i c a t i o n t h a t man can fW1ction i n space as a primary

" t " .ys em aboard the s p a c e c r a f t fo r an extended per lod of

t ime; and, .eva lua te the combined performance of the as t ronau t

vi i th a Mercury s p a c e c r a f t modif ied f or a f u l l - day miss ion .

As secondary ob jec t ives , NASA hopes to obta in the a s t r o

n a u t ' s i n - f l i g h t evalua t ion o f the ope ra t iona l s u i t a b i l i t y o f

the s p a c e c r a f t vi i th i t s support ing elements , an d to assess th e

e ffec t iveness of the Il e rcury Vlor1 d wide Tracking Network an d

miss ion supp o r t forces during an extended manned o r b i t a l f l i g h t .

Underlyin g the e n t i r ef1A-9

mission i s the cont inued r ef inement of equipment, systems an d procedures l e ad in g to the

much m o r e ambit ious Gemini and Apollo spacec ra f t f l i gh ts which

w i l l u l t ima te ly, and with in t h i s decade, l and two U.S. a s t r o -

nauts on the mo on .

Pro jec t Mercury Ast ronau t t . Gordon Cooper, J r o , an A ir

Force Maj o r , 36 (born ~ 1 a r c h6, 1927, in Shawnee, Oklahoma), was

named the MA-9 mission p i l o t on November 14, 19620 Navy

Commander Alan B. Shepard, J r . , 39, i s h is back-up p i l o t .

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The 14 o the r as t ronauts wi l l serve as f l i g h t con t ro l l e r s

from vantage poin ts around the world, and as t r a inee observers .

Astronaut Walter H. Sch i r r a , J r . , w i l l serve as Cap Com (Capsule

Communicator) a t Cape Canaveral . Astronaut John H. Glenn, J r . ,

w i l l serve as Cap Com aboard the Pac i f i c Command Ship, while

Astronaut Mo Sco t t Carpenter w i l l be s t a t ioned as Cap Com on

Kauai I s l and , Hawaii . Astronaut Vi rg i l I . Grissom w i l l be Cap

Com a t the Guaymas, r1exico, s t a t i o n .

The nine as t ronau t s , who were se l ec t ed to augment the o r i g

i n a l seven as t ronau t s i n fu ture Gemini an d Apollo f l i g h t s , w i l l

be assigned to Cape Canaveral under the d i rec t ion of Astronaut

Donald K. Slay ton fo r mission o r i e n t a t i o n . They a re : Neil A.

Armstrong, Frank Borman, Charles Conrad, J r . , James Ao Lovel l ,

J r . , James A. McDivitt , E l l i o t H. See, J r o , Thomas p. Sta ffo rd ,

Edward H. vfuite, I I , and John W. Young.

I n evaluat ing the b e n e f i t s of extended f l i g h t t ime, NASA

o f f i c i a l s po in t out t h a t lithe t e x t books on theory have been

exchanged fo r t e x t books on fact .1I

The upcoming MA-9 f l i g h t spacec ra f t , having shown tremen

dous f l e x i b i l i t y and capab i l i ty fo r modif ica t ion , more c lose lyresembles a t rue b ion ic s system. The Atlas launch veh ic l e ,

having earned add i t iona l confidence i n i t s man-rated q u a l i t i e s ,

has undergone change with i t s new wiring system. The as t ronau t s

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have changed through t h e i r f l i g h t t r a i n i n g and ac tua l space

f l i g h t exper iences , proving themselves space p i l o t s r a t h e r

than spacec ra f t passengers o The Mercury c o n t r o l l e r s and

planners have a l so changed an d taken on new confidence, borno f exper ience , t h a t they can meet the unexpected problems which

a r i s e i n f l i g h t t e s t s .

Extended Mercury missions func t ion a t f u l l value fo r bas i c

sc ience and technology. S c i e n t i s t s are prov id ing as t ronauts

vdth spec i f i c i n s t rumen ta t i on i n orde r to combine and e x p l o i t

the unique c a p a b i l i t i e s of man with h is OvID s c i e n t i f i c sensors

and ins t ruments .

P r o j e c t Mercury i s under the t e c h n i c a l and ope ra t iona l

d i r e c t i o n of NASAls Manned Spacecraf t Cent e r , Houston, Texas.

I\lSC, Marshal l Space F l i g h t Center and Launch Operat ions Center,

a re the th ree NA SA cen te r s engaged pr imar i ly i n man ned space

f l i g h t p r o j e c t s , under the o v e r- a l l d i r e c t i o n and management

of the NA SA Office of l'-1anned Space F l i g h t , Washington, Do C.

2 . ORBITAL TRACK

The o r b i t a l t r ack of a 22-o rb i t mission w i l l ca r ry Astronaut

Cooper over more than 10 0 coun t r i e s , i s l a n d s and posses s ions .

On h is f i r s t o r b i t , the MA-9 p i l o t w i l l l eave the United S t a t e s ,

cross the A t l a n t i c , the Afr ican cont inent , Ind ian Ocean,

Aus t ra l i a , the P a c i f i c , Mexic o and the southern United S t a t e s i n

an o r b i t ranging 3 2-~ degr ees nor th and south of the equa tor .

Beginning with the 1 6 th orb i t " the s p a c e c r a f t w i l l fol low the

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The p i l o t i s allowed a t o t a l o f e i gh t hours fo r s leep;

t h i s per iod i s scheduled to be g i n - - a t the option o f the

p i l o t - - i n the n in th o r b i t dur in g d r i f t i n g f l i g h t . The

ground s t a t i o n a t

Muchea w i l lsend

awake-up

s i g n a l to thespacec ra f t during the 15th o r b i t as determined by the F l i g h t

Direc to r. The p i l o t may e l e c t to t ake a s t imulant (D exadrine )

to i n su re a l e r t n e s s f o r the remainder o f the f l i ghto

URINARY TEST - - A s tudy of the p i l o t ' s water balance an dkidney func t ion w i l l be made by comparing body weigh t before

and a f t e r the f l i g h t , by record in g wa t e r i n t ake during f l i gh t ,

and by ana lyz in g ur ine samples c o l l e c t e d a t spec i f i c i n t e r v a l s

th rou ghout the f l i gh t .

BODY TEMPERATURE - - A new o r a l t e mperature measur.ing device fo r the MA - 9 mission cons i s t s o f a t he rmis t e r i mbedded

i n a l a t e x probeo Th e probe i s stowed on the r i gh t e a r mu f f

i n s i de the helmet j the p i l o t must open the v i so r to i n s e r t the

probe under h i s ton gue . Four measurements of t e mpera tu re a re

planned during the f l i g h t . The ins t rument has a temperature

range o f from 75 to 150 degrees F . and w i l l prov ide a backup

i nd ica t ion o f s u i t temperature when not be ing used fo r i t s p r i -

mary purpose . The o r a l device r e p l ace s a r e c t a l p r obe used i n

e a r l i e r f l i g h t s e

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BLOOD PRESSURE - - Blood pressure read ings wi l l be takenwith a t a i l o r e d occ ludin g c u f f on the upper l e f t ar m with a

microphone under the lower edge of th e c u f f and pos i t ioned

over the b r a c h i a l a r t e r y. The p i l o t w i l l depress the bloodpres su re START but ton on the l e f t ins t rument pane l to i n f l a t e

the c u f f fo r a read in g .

ECG - - The p i l o t ' s ECG read in gs w i l l come from four senso r s loca t ed on the t o r s o . The pneumograph uses two ches t

sensors to d e t e r ~ ~ n er e s p i r a t i o n ra teo The pneumograph sen

so r s a r e loca ted a t the s ix th r ib l e v e l . Bo th ECG and r e s -

p i r a t i o n are t r ansmi t t ed and recorded a u t o m a t i c a l ~ y .

EXERCISE - - The ~ f f i - 9p i l o t has two per iods scheduled dur -ing the f l i g h t to perform a ca l ib ra t ed exe rc i se s tudy as a

measured s t r e s s on the ca rd iovascu la r system. This exe rc i se

w i l l a lso serve to tone up the body dur ing the long muscular

i n a c t i v i t y o f the f l i g h t . The f i r s t o f the exerc ise p e r i o d s -

inc lud ing th e blood pres su re measurements-- is scheduled to

occ u r dur ing the pass over Aus t r a l i a ; i t w i l l provide base

l i n e da ta f o r medical eva lua t ion ea r ly i n the f l i g h t .

EXERCISE DEVICE - - The p i l o t ' s exe rc i se device c o n s i s t so f a convenien t ly l oca t ed two-hand gr ip anchored to the space

c r a f t s t ruc tu re by s t r e t chab le o r bungee cord and a loose.,

nons t re tch ing l i n e to l i m i t the l ength of t r a v e l . Pul l in g the

hand gr ip f u l l out r equ i r e s a prec i se quan t i t y of work measured

i n foo t pounds--60 to 65 foo t pounds p er p u l l with one p u l l

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p er second during the exe rc i se per iods on th e second and

seventh o r b i t s . Therefore , accomplishing a spec i f i ed num-

b e r o f f u l l extens ions imposes a c a l i b r a t e d work load on

the p i lo to Var i a t i ons i n the measured phys io log ica l pa rameters dur ing and a f t e r an exe rc i se period w i l l be used to

eva lua te ca rd iovascu la r func t ions .

FOOD - - The ~ f f i - 9food supply w i l l c o n s i s t of two main

types : a r eady- to -ea t , b i t e - s i z e d food i n s u f f i c i e n t quan t i t y

to s a t i s f y a l l c a l o r i c requirements ; an d the exper imenta l ,

Gemini-type, dehydrated food and dr ink prepacked i n p l a s t i c

con ta ine r s fo r r e c o n s t i t u t i o n during f l i g h t . Prepa ra t i on o f

the dehydrated food r equ i r e s the add i t i on o f wate r- - the con

t a i n e r s have nozz les through which water i s added and through

which the food o r dr ink i s forced ou t a f t e r hydra t ion . The

rehydra ted dr ink w i l l be ready fo r consumption s h o r t l y a f t e rthe water i s added. The rehydrated food w i l l r equ i r e about

f i ve minutes of mixing. Cooper w i l l ca r ry a food supply

t o t a l i n g 2376 c a l o r i e s , inc lud ing such meals as spaghe t t i

and meat sauce and a bee f and gravy d inne r.

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ADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTS

FLASHING BEACON EXPERIMENT - - The purpose of t h i s expe r i

ment i s to help eva lua te the capab i l i ty of the p i l o t i n acqu i r

ing a f l a sh ing beacon l i g h t of known i n t e n s i t y a t d i s t ances

of up to 15 miles from the spacec ra f t i n the space environment.

This exper iment i s assoc ia t ed with Gemini and Apollo missions

where v i sua l s igh t ing w i l l serve as a means f o r rendezvous.

I t i s necessary to ob ta in da t a on what v i s u a l a c q u i s i t i o n capa

b i l i t i e s a re requ i r ed fo r s igh t ings a t var ious ranges .

This exper iment u t i l i z e s two f l a sh ing xenon l i g h t s . Bat

t e ry p o w e r e d ~the l i g h t s a re mounted on opposi te s ides of a

t e n - p o u n d ~5.75- inch-d iameter sphere . The l i g h t s r a d i a t e about

on e f l a s h p er s e c o n d ~approximately o m n i d i r e c t i o n a l l y ~and a re

designed to equa l a s t a r magnitude of plus two - - o r about the

same magnitude as P o l a r i s (North Sta r ) -- a t a d i s t ance of s ixto e igh t nau t i ca l miles .

The sphere i s mounted i n a c y l i n d r i c a l c a n i s t e r on the

re t ropack i n such a way t h a t ~ when the spacec ra f t i s a t a p i t c h

down a t t i t u d e of 20 degrees to the h o r i z o n ~the re t ropack wi l l

be a l igned to the proper e jec t ion angle . Under t h i s c o n d i t i o n ~

the sphere w i l l be launched down (10 f e e t pe r second) by a

spr ing device a t angle of 92 degrees with the f l i g h t path .

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This w i l l pu t the sphere i n t o a s l i gh t l y d i f f e r e n t o r b i t than

t h a t of the s p a c e c r a f t , causing the two to d r i f t apar t .

The sphere w i l l be r e l ea sed about 15 minutes before sun-

s e t on the t h i r d o r b i t approaching th e coas t of Afr i ca . The

p i l o t w i l l r epea t s i ght ings a t ten-minute i n t e r v a l s during the

next t h r e e n i g h t phases and i f poss ib l e -- during the f i r s t

i n t e rven ing day l igh t phase . He w i l l comment on th e appearance

of the l i g h t aga ins t th e s t a r or Ear th background, descr ibe i t s

ease of a c q u i s i t i o n , and es t imate i t s r e l a t i v e p o s i t i o n from

the spacec ra f t .

DIM LIGHT PHENOMENON PHOTOGRAPHY - - This exper iment w i l lga t h e r photographic data of two dim l i g h t phenomena which a re

b e s t observed from outs ide E a r t h ' s atmosphere - - Zodiacal l i gh tand the n igh t a i r g low l a y e r . Photographs of Zodiacal l i gh t

w i l l h e l p s c i e n t i s t s to determine the l i gh t ' s exac t o r i g i n ,

ge om e t r i c d i s t r i b u t i o n , and i t s us e f u ln es s i n s tu dyi n g s o l a r

r a d i a t i o n and f l a r e a c t i v i t y. Data on the a i r g lo w w i l l pro-

v id e f u r t h e r in format ion on the s o l a r energy conv e r s i o n pro-

cesses occur r ing i n the upp e r atmosph ere .

The nature of Zodiacal l i gh t i s b e l i eved to be s u n l i ghtr e f l e c t e d from f r e e e l e c t r o n s a nd l a r ge dus t p a r t i c l e s in the

e c l i p t i c p lane , d i s t r i b u t e d outward from the sun i n i n t e r -

p lane ta ry space, or in ge ocen t r i c o r b i t s about Ear th . The

i n t e n s i t y of t h e Zodiacal l i gh t i s r e l a t i v e l y weak, and me asu re -

ments from E a r t h ' s sur face a r e i n h i b i t e d by s c a t t e r i n g an d

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absorp t ion of l i g h t i n ou r atmosphere. Measurements of corona

i n t e n s i t y with in two degrees of the s u n ' s disk during s o l a r

e c l i p s e s show a b r i g h t halo ; o the r measurem en ts near the p lane

of the e c l i p t i c up to 30 degrees ahead of sun r i s e or behind

sunse t i n d i c a t e a poss ib le l i g h t i n t e n s i t y r e l a t i o n s h i p to the

s o l a r halo . During the MA-9 f l i g h t , the p i l o t w i l l a t tempt to

obta in t ime exposures on color f i lm cover ing the e c l i p t i c r e -

gion a f t e r sunse t on the 16th o r b i t between two degrees and

30 degrees from the sun to a s c e r t a i n i f Zodiacal l i g h t i s a

continuous phenomena or i f i t a r i s e s from the two d i s t i n c t

processes .

The airglovl cons i s t s of a weak continuum i n the v i s i b l e

spectrum and has th ree d i s t i n c t colors - - yellow from the so-

dium D l i n e s and green and red l i n e s , the l a t t e r two being

a t t r i b u t e d to "forbidden" t r a n s i t i o n s i n the energy s t a t e s of

atomic oxygen. Re cen t work i n t h i s area of sc ience i s r epo r t edto i n d i c a t e t h a t the red occurs near 400 kW a l t i t u d e while the

green i s preva len t a t 90 km. Time exposures us ing the co lo r

f i lm and a modified camera throughout the n igh t phase may r e -

t u rn data on the a l t i t u d e s and i n t e n s i t i e s of the var ious s t r a t a

as wel l as t h e i r change i n appearance a t d i f f e r e n t l a t i t u d e s .

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In orde r to perform these s tud ie s accura t e ly, the p i l o t

w i l l make maximum use of the ASCS (automatic con t ro l ) so t h a t

he can devote most of h is a t t e n t i o n to the t iming of h i s photo-

graphs . J u s t a f t e r sunse t , the p i l o t w i l l begin the f i r s t of

fou r sequences of Zodiacal l i g h t photographs. The photographs

w i l l begin 15 seconds a f t e r the sun disappears below the h o r i -

zon. The ai rg low w i l l be photographed i n sequences throughout

the remainder of the n igh t phase with f ive minute i n t e r v a l s

between sequences . Each sequence w i l l c o n s i s t of t h r ee photo-

graphs - - a two-minute exposure , a 30-second exposure and a

ten-second exposure with a minimum of de lay between exposures .

At morning t w i l i g h t , the sequence w i l l be changed t o one f i n a l

s e r i e s of a 30-second exposure immediately fol lowed by a seven-

second exposure taken every two minutes .

Photographic equipment provided f o r t h i s exper iment w i l l

cons i s t of a 35 mm camera modif ied with a s p e c i a l F .6 l ens sys-

tern provided by the Univers i ty of Minnesota, o r i g i n a t o r of the

proposa l f o r t h i s s tudy. The camera weighs about t h ree pounds

inc lud ing i t s 50 frames of pre loaded and c a l i b r a t e d f i lm .

HORIZON DEFINITION EXPERIMENT (MIT) - - The hor izon d e f i n i -

t i o n experiment w i l l s tudy E a r t h ' s s u n l i t hor izon and atmos-phere to determine i f i t can be used as a r e l i a b l e sex tan t

r e f e rence dur ing the midcourse phase of t r ans luna r miss ions .

Photographic t e s t r e s u l t s w i l l be of d i r e c t use to the Massa

chuse t t s I n s t i t u t e of Technology Ins t rumenta t ion Laboratory

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in the development of th e Apollo guidance and navi ga t i o n system.

This exper iment i s a cont inu ing e f f o r t to accu ra t e ly de-

f ine a s u i t a b l y i n v a r i a n t hor izon l i n e i n the atmosphere near

E a r t h ' s sur face t h a t remains independent of changing atmospher ic

cond i t i ons . Photographic observa t ions of E a r t h ' s hor izon and

atmosphere were made on MA-7 through blue and red f i l t e r s to

d i s cove r i f there i s a p o i n t of sharp c u t o f f i n e i t h e r s p e c t r a l

reg ion of the hor izon or atmosphere which can be used fo r ac -

cu ra t e naviga t ion s i g h t i n g s , but the r e s u l t s were not complete ly

conc lus ive . Photographs to be taken on the MA-9 f l i g h t w i l lbe used to i n v e s t i g a t e two s p e c i f i c problems to (1) i n d i c a t e

a s p e c i f i c a l t i t u d e f o r a wel l -def ined l i n e , and (2) reso lve

u n c e r t a i n t i e s a r i s i n g from the atmospher ic s c a t t e r i n g of i n c i -

dent sun l igh t . Useful data w i l l inc lude red and blue f i l t e r e d ,

day l igh t photographs of the hor izon and atmosphere taken a t

even i n t e r v a l s as the spacec ra f t c ros se s the s u n l i t por t ion

of Ear th . Photographs w i l l a lso be taken during a sho r t pe r iod

of a l l four quadrants of E a r t h ' s sur face and, i f p o s s i b l e , a t

a known t ime when the r i s i n g or s e t t i n g moon would a l so appear

in the p i c t u r e . The f i r s t tv,ro s e r i e s of photographs would pro -

vide e x c e l l e n t comparisons of the hor izon and atmosphere through

vary ing s u n l i g h t - s c a t t e r i n g angles .

This exper iment requi res a 70 mm camera and a magazine

conta in ing the red and blue f i l t e r s t r i p s mounted j u s t ahead

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of th e f i lm p l a n e . NIT wi l l supply t h i s ma ga z i n e with f i l t e r s

and blac k and whi t e f i lm s u i t a b l y c a l i b r a t e d with step-vled g e

exp osures before an d a f t e r f l i gh t f o r r e f e rence dur in g the

microdensi tom e t e r ana lys i s of r e s u l t s .

The spec i a l f i lm ma gaz in e w i l l b e a t t a c h e d to the cam e ra

du r i n g th e 16th o r b i t p r i o r to th e b eg i nn i n g of th e quadrant

photo g raphs . Th e p i l o t wi l l tak e e ig h t p i c t u r e s of th e h o r i z o n ~

tvlO i n each quadrant as he performs a p i t ch - d o w n ~yawin g man eu

v e r . Th e qua dr a n t s wi l l be chos e n so t h a t two of t h e p ic t u r e s

wi l l b e t a ke n toward th e azimuth of th e sun.

Durin g th e 21s t o r b i t ~wh e n th e spac e c r a f t i s on automat ic

con t ro l , t h e p i l o t w i l l t a ke approximat e l y s ix or s e v e n s e t s

of t h r e e photo g raphs e ach lookin g a f t . Th e photo g raphs w i l l

b e e v e n ly s ep a r a t ed i n tim e (ab ou t s ix mi n u t e s) so t h a t th e y

cov e r th e e n t i r e dayl i g h t p e r i od .

A s e quenc e of photo g raphs i nc lu di n c t h e moon w i th th e

hor izon w i l l a l so b e t a ke n, i f th e occasion conv e n i e n t l y pr e

s e n t s i t s e l f a t any t im e d u r i n g th e f l i gh t .

RADIATION flffiASUREfvIENT EXPERIfl1ENT - - The obj e c t i v e of th i s

ex p e r iment i s to me asu r e r a d i a t i o n a t Me r cu ry o r b i t a l a l t i t u d e s .

This w i l l prov i de a survey of f i s s i o n e l e c t r o n s t r apped i n th e

lower re g ions of E a r t h ' s magnetic f i e l d approaching c l o s e s t t o

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E a r t h ' s su r f ace over eas t e rn South America and the South At-

l a n t i c . This w i l l give add i t iona l data on the decay of the

a r t i f i c a l r a d i a t i o n b e l t c rea t ed by high a l t i t u d e nuclear de-

tona t ions .

One of two Geiger counte rs mounted on the re t ropack w i l l

view r a d i a t i o n f lux from a hemispher ical area . This Geiger

counter surveys a reg ion unobs t ruc ted by the spacec ra f t and

i s unaffec ted by r a d i a t i o n s c a t t e r e d by the spacec ra f t s t ruc -

tu re . The second Geiger counte r i s sh ie lded to r e g i s t e r in -

coming r a d i a t i o n d i r e c t l y ahead of the hea t sh ie ld reg ion .

Useful data from these Geiger counte rs w i l l be recorded

any time when the r a d i a t i o n experiment switch i s ON, when the

tape recorder i s running J and when the r a d i a t i o n l e v e l s are

with in the range of the ins t ruments .

Trapped f i s s i o n e l ec t rons s p i r a l i n g along E a r t h ' s magnetic

f lux l i n e s (with energ ies below 7 MEV) w i l l be the primary

source of the r ad ia t ion to be measured. vfuen the spacec ra f t

a t t i t u d e s are known J a crude est imate may be made concerning

p r e f e r e n t i a l d i rec t ion of the incoming r a d i a t i o n . Data obtained

should provide a q u a l i t a t i v e t e s t of the assumption t h a t r ad ia -

t i on near the spacec ra f t i s i so t rop ic or the same r ega rd l e s s

of the d i rec t ion of the measurement.

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A pocket ion chaffiber(O-200 mi l l i roen tgen dosimeter) stowed

i n the D i t t y Bag p r i o r to launch w i l l be secured to the hatch

about ten minutes a f t e r launch. A r a d i a t i o n de tec t ing f i lm

patch w i l l a l so be a t tached to the hatch . The ion chamber and

th e f i lm patch w i l l give a rough measurement of the t o t a l in

t e r i o r r a d i a t i o n . The rad ia t ion reaching the p i l o t w i l l be

measured by fou r f i lm patches worn beneath the a s t r o n a u t ' s

pressure s u i t - - one i n s ide the helmet near the l e f t ea r muff,

one on the r i g h t t h igh , and two i n the ches t reg ion .

In add i t i on , one photographic emuls ion pack w i l l be ca r r i edi n the spacec ra f t cabin and w i l l be l oca t ed above the l e f t in

s t rument panel . This high-energy p a r t i c l e de tec to r has been

provided by the U.S. Navy School of Aviat ion Medicine. The

pack conta ins a s tack of e igh t g l a s s p l a t e s coated with photo

graphic emulsion s e n s i t i v e to pro tons and ga lac t i c cosmic rays .

S u ff i c i e n t l y energe t ic pro tons t rapped i n E a r t h ' s r a d i a t i o n

b e l t s w i l l a l so be recorded. Af te r the f l i g h ~a microscopic

i n spec t ion of the developed gra in dens i ty i n the emuls ion along

th e i o n i z a t i o n path of the i nc iden t p a r t i c l e s w i l l measure

t h e i r energy l o s s through the pack; t h i s can be used as d i r e c t

or , i n some cases , i n d i r e c t evidence of t o t a l p a r t i c l e energy.

TETHERED BALLOON - - The t e the red ba l loon experiment -

at tempted f i r s t on the MA-7 f l i g h t - - has two ob jec t ives :

1 8

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-17-

an aerodynamic s tudy and a v i s u a l t e s t . The measurement of

atmospheric drag on a known aerodynamic shape along the Mercury

o r b i t should provide a more accura te measurem e n t of a tmospher ic

dens i ty i n t h a t reg ion . Informat ion on aerodynamic s t a b i l i t y

and damping w i l l a l so be obta ined . Visua l ly, the ba l loon w i l l

provide a convenien t ly- loca ted space ob jec t fo r t rack ing and

ranging a f t e r i t s r e l ease from the towed p o s i t i on.

The bal loon and smal l n i t rogen i n f l a t i o n b o t t l e a re pack

aged t oge the r i n a th ree- inch-d iameter c y l i n d r i c a l conta iner

loca t ed i n the antenna c a n i s t e r under the d e s t a b i l i z i n g f l a p .The conta iner door wi l l open, and the def l a t ed bal loon and bo t

t l e w i l l be e jec t ed by a compressed spr ing and p i s t o n with the

lOO-foot-10ng, f ive-pound t e s t , nylon t e the r ing l i n e between

the bal loon and a s t r a i n gauge beam i n the spacec ra f t . When

the package c l e a r s the con ta ine r, a spr ing- loaded valve on the

ni t rogen b o t t l e w i l l open, and the ba l loon w i l l i n f l a t e to a

30- inch-d iameter sphere i n l e s s than one second.

The bal loon i s f ab r i ca t ed of two-ply Mylar, 0 .6 mil t h i ck .

I t i s coated with a f lou rescen t orange Day-G10 f i n i s h .

One end of the ni t rogen b o t t l e i s a t t ached to the bal loon

while the o the r end i s fas tened to a r o l l of annealed alumi

num f o i l e i g h t f e e t long . This f o i l serves as a shock absorber

by u nro l l ing during deployment.1 9

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-18-

The ou te r end or the t e the r ing l i n e i s a t t ached to the

shock absorber, and i t s o t h e r end i s connected to th e f r ee

end of a can t i l eve red s t r a i n gauge beam l oca t ed a t the bottom

of the bal loon con ta ine r i n the spacec ra f t . AeTodynamic drag

on the bal loon t r ansmi t t ed th rough the t e the r ing l i n e causes

a p u l l which i s r e g i s t e r e d by the s t r a i n gauge and recorded

onboard. (The maximum drag fo rce w i l l occur a t pe r igee and

i s expected to be on the orde r of 0.015 pounds. ) At the com-

p l e t i o n of the exper iment , the ba l loon w i l l be cu t f r ee and

t racked . This w i l l give some i dea of f u e l usage versus accuracy

dur ing p r e c i s i o n t r ack ing i n space and a l so w i l l provide the

p i l o t with a known ob jec t fo r es t imat ions of range and appear-

ance.

Balloon deployment i s proposed fo r approximately f ive min -

u t e s a f t e r sun r i se on the s i x t h o r b i t . P r i o r to deployment,

the 16 m m camera with wide-angle l ens w i l l be mounted i n i t s

bracke t and tu rned on to record the ba l loon extens ion sequence.

After deployment, the p i l o t w i l l p i t c h down f ive to ten

degrees - - s lowly - - i n order to observe and comment on motions

of the bal loon . The bal loon should be r e l a t i v e l y s t a b i l i z e d

with in about 90 seconds; the camera w i l l be tu rned o ff a t t h i s

po in t .

During the towed phase o f t h i s exper iment , motions of

the bal loon induced by a t t i t u d e changes of the spacec ra f t w i l l

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be kept to a minimum. The p i l o t w i l l comment on a l l observa-

t i ons and spacec ra f t maneuvering f o r onboard record ing ; t h i s

w i l l inc lude t imes , spacec ra f t a t t i t u d e s and r a t e s as well as

the r e l a t i v e p o s i t i o n of the ba l loon , whether o r not the l i n e

i s t a u t , per iod and amplitude of bal loon o s c i l l a t i o n s , appar-

en t co lo r o r shape changes, angle of l i g h t i n g , and i t s appear

ance a g a i n s t the sky or Ear th backgrounds. The 16 mm camera

with wide angl e l e ns w i l l a lso be used r o r r o u r or f ive sequences

of the bal loon and i t s motions during the towed phase .

J u s t p r i o r to the ba l loon j e t t i s o n , h a l f way through the

seventh o r b i t , the 16 mm camera with t e lephoto l ens w i l l be

s t a r t e d . The p r e c i s i o n t rack ing t a sk r equ i r e s t h a t the p i l o t

hold the r e t r o a t t i t u d e hor izon sc r ibe mark i n th e window on

the ba l loon f o r approximately - two minutes as i t recedes and

drops below the spacec ra f t . Therea f t e r, the p i l o t w i l l note

the appearance and ease of s igh t ing from genera l observa t ions ;

i n about f i ve minutes , the bal loon should be near the v i sua l

l i m i t on the hor izon and nea r ly t h r ee miles away.

INFRARED WEATHER PHOTOGRAPHY - - The s e r i e s of weather

photographs w i l l use i n f r a r e d f i lm and f i l t e r s f o r the s tudy

of weather phenomena from o r b i t a l a l t i t u d e s . The u l t ima te pur-

pose i s bas i c in format ion on i n f r a red r e f l ec t ance from the

Earth-atmosphere and design data f o r - i n s t rumen ta t i on goin g

i n t o fu tu re meteoro log ica l s a t e l l i t e s . Film r e s u t s should

c:2/- more -


22/71

- 2 0 -

provide valuab le informat ion on s p e c t r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of

the cloud and Ear th rad iances , of sun l igh t s c a t t e r i n g by l a rge

ae roso l s , and of c o n t r a s t v a r i a t i o n with wave l eng th .

A Hasselblad camera with 70mm

f i lm and 80mm

l ens w i l lbe used fo r t h i s photography. A holder conta in ing the th ree

f i l t e r s w i l l be i n s e r t e d i n t o the magazine loaded with i n f r a r e d

sens i t ive f i lm . The U.S. Weather Bureau proposed t h i s t a sk

and i s respons ib le f o r process ing and sens i t ome t r i c c a l i b r a t i o n

of the f i lm.

Execut ion of t h i s experiment i s planned during the 17 th

and 18 th o r b i t s ; a t h is own d i s c r e t i o n , the p i l o t may choose

add i t iona l t imes. The cont ro l mode fo r t h i s s tudy w i l l gene ra l ly

be d r i f t i n g f l i g h t .

TELEVISION CAMERA EVALUATION - - A spec i a l t e l e v i s i o n camera

w i l l be c a r r i e d on t h i s f l i g h t fo r the f i r s t t ime to t e s t i t s

ope ra t i ona l va lue f o r monitor ing the p i l o t ' s well be ing , f o r

obta in ing backup read ings of the ins t rument panel i n d i c a t i o n s ,

and fo r observing t e s t s , exper iments an d ex te rna l phenomena

through the spacec ra f t window. This may determine the need

and value of such a technique fo r obta in ing data on fu tu re manned

space f l i g h t s .

The ten-pound camera can be hand-held or mounted on a brac-

k e t to the r i g h t of the p i l o t ' s hand c o n t r o l l e r. A spec ia l

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- 2 1 -

t e lemet ry t r a n s m i t t e r has been added to the spacec ra f t to t r a n s -

m it the TV output d i r e c t l y to the ground during t e lemet ry con-

t a c t a t se lec ted t r ack ing s t a t i o n s i t e s .

Mercury Control Center, the P a c i f i c Command Ship (south

of Japan) , and Grand Canary I s l ands a re s e t up to rece ive the

t e l e v is i on out pu t . The TV camera data can be obtained only

when th e spacec ra f t i s in t e l eme t r y co n t a c t with a g round s t a -

t i o n prope r ly equipp e d to accept the TV s i gn a l s . In order to

ob ta in ad e quate p ic tu re d e f i n i t i o n with in the space and weight

r e s t r i c t i o n s imposed on the f l i g h t equipment, the scan r a t e has

been reduced to 0 .5 frames p er second. This n e c e s s i t a t e s spec ia l

equipment on the ground to r e c o n s t r u c t the p ic tu re f o r immediate

viewing. At MCC the f l i g h t surgeon w i l l have access to a r e a l -

time monitor modif ied to use the two second scan speed. Five

o the r TV monitors w i l l a l so see the p i c t u r e , but they w i l l v i ew

i t on the standard scan r a t e a f t e r e lec t ron ic convers ion of

the t e lemetered image. In add i t ion , 35 mm f i lm w i l l be used

to record the p ic tu re on the ground. Both the Pac i f i c Command

Ship and Grand Canary w i l l a l so record the t e lemetered s igna l

on magn e t i c tape fo r l a t e r playback. The Pac i f i c Command Ship

w i l l a l so have a r ea l - t ime d i sp l ay a t the two-second scan r a t e .

The MA-9 p i l o t w i l l tu rn the TV camera on a t approximately

the expected t e lemet ry l o c k ~ o nt ime f o r each pass over Mercury

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- 2 2 -

Control C e n t e r ~the Pac i f i c Command S h i p ~and Grand Canary.

He may remove the camera from i t s mounting a t any time t a r g e t s

of i n t e r e s t appear dur ing TV con tac t t imes or whenever spec i f i c

views are reques ted by ground con t ro l . In i t s mounted p o s i t i o n ,

the camera i s normally d i rec t ed a t the p i l o t . The choice of

the appropr i a t e l ens wi l l depend on sub jec t mat te r and w i l l

be determined during f l i g h t by the p i l o t with advice from the

monitor ing ground s t a t i o n .

CABIN ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERATURE STUDY - - This t e s t w i l l

y i e l d in format ion on th e temperature balance wi th in the spacec r a f t cabin wi thout the cab in coolan t system in opera t ion .

This has not been at tempted on p r i o r f l i g h t s . I t i s pred ic t ed

t h a t th e maximum s t a b l e temperature reached without coo l an t w i l l

be with in the t o l e rab le l i m i t s of the cabin equipment an d th e

p i l o t ; the p i l o t w i l l be us ing s u i t cool ing c i r c u i t only.

This t e s t should provide engineer ing design data fo r fu tu re

hea t exchanger systems.

No equipment o the r than the usua l spacec ra f t systems i s

requi red fo r t h i s t e s t . The t e s t i s scheduled fo r the beg in-

ning of the f i f t h o r b i t a f t e r the cab in has achieved gene ra l ly

s t a b i l i z e d t empera tures . The cabin coo l a n t valve w i l l be tu rned

o ff and cabin temperature monitored by both the p i l o t and th e

ground s t a t i o n s . S u i t temperature read ings w i l l a l so be monitored

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-23-

and s e t t i n g s adjus ted appropr i a t e ly, s ince the s u i t c i r c u i t

w i l l have to bear an added por t ion of the hea t l oad .

P r i o r to the s t a r t of the t e s t , the p i l o t w i l l record cab in

a i rtemperature , cabin

and s u i thea t exchanger dome t empera tures ,

s u i t temperature and the coolan t valve s e t t i n g s fo r both the

cab in and the s u i t . He w i l l then switch the cab in fan o f f and

c lose the cab in temperature con t ro l . At seve ra l minute i n t e r

va l s and whenever s u i t coo lan t valve changes are necessary, he

w i l l record t ime and the above mentioned temperatures and coo lan t

va lve s e t t i n g s ,. E l e c t r i c a l l oads and i n v e r t e r temperaturesw i l l be checked f r equen t ly u n t i l temperatures are s t a b i l i z e d

to insure t h a t no f a i l u r e s are imminent from overhea t ing equip

ment.

I f temperatures remain s t a b l e with in t e s t l i m i t s , the cabin

fan and water coolan t w i l l remain o f f u n t i l approximately two

hours before re t rosequence . This w i l l inc lude the r e s t p e r i o d ,

i f temperatures remain a t a safe l e v e l and have been s t a b l e f o r

severa l hours .

HF ANTENNA TEST Another f i r s t - t i m e experiment, t h i s w i l l

provide measurements of antenna p o l a r i z a t i o n and atmospher ic

e f f e c t s as soc ia t ed with HF communications between an orb i t ing

veh ic l e and ground s t a t i o n s . Resul t s w i l l be d i r e c t l y app l i ca

b le to the v e r t i c a l l y po la r i zed HF antenna to be used on the

Gemini spacec ra f t .

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-24-

The ope ra t iona l procedure fo r t h i s t e s t r equ i re s two HF

t ransmiss ions from the s p a c e c r a f t ~one with a 28-foot-Iong

antenna i n a hor i zon ta l pos i t ion (hor i zon ta l ly p o l a r i z e d ) ~and

the o the r with the spacec ra f t r o l l e d 90 degrees so t h a t the dipole

po in t s toward the cen te r of Ear th ( v e r t i c a l l y po la r i zed ) . The

t e s t of the two or ien ta t ions wi l l be performed over an a rea j u s t

nor th of Panama so t h a t the spacec ra f t i s f a i r l y c lose to rece iv

ing s t a t i o n s where reasonable r ecep t ion and good coverage of

the reg ion j u s t beyond l i n e - o f - s i g h t are expected.

This t e s t w i l l be conducted a second time 20 minutes l a t e r

over the South At lan t i c in a remote a rea where long ranges wel l

beyond l i n e - o f - s i g h t are requi red fo r s t a t i o n contac t . About

f ive minutes w i l l be requi red to make a c a l l i n one o r i e n t a t i o n ,

then r o l l 90 degrees and t ransmi t i n the o t h e r p o s i t i o n . During

the t e s t pe r iods , a l l ground s t a t i o n s w i l l record output from

the primary HF r e c e i v e r s with hor izon ta l ly po la r i zed antennas

and a l so from the backup HF r ece ive r s with v e r t i c a l l y po la r i zed

antennas . Ground s t a t i o n s w i l l make no r ep ly or acknowledge-

ment during these t e s ~ ,bu t a comparison of recorded s igna l

s t r eng ths w i l l be analyzed a f t e r the f l i g h t to obta in the informa

t i onon atmospheric e f f e c t s and

p o l a r i z a t i o n s .

GROUND LIGHT EXPERIMENT - - The ground l i g h t experiment

should provide data on approximately the minimum i n t e n s i t y f o r

a poin t -source ground l i g h t t h a t i s v i s i b l e a t spacec ra f t a l

t i t u d e s . This in format ion wi l l i n d i c a t e the f e a s i b i l i t y of

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us ing ground or high a l t i t u d e l i g h t s as naviga t ion f ixes f o r

mid-course and near-Ear th cor rec t ions i n Pro jec t Apollo. I t

i s a l so designed to produce rough data on the l i g h t a t t enua t ion

through the atmosphere.

Data from the experiment should be used i n conjunct ion with

data from the window a t t enua t ion exper iment to ob ta in accura te

r e s u l t s . The p i l o t needs only the ex t inc t ion photometer and

s tandard l i g h t source i n the spacec ra f t . A high i n t enS i ty xenon

l i g h t w i l l be l oca ted a t Bloemfontein i n the Republic of South

Afr ica . The t h r ee mill ion-candlepower l i g h t w i l l be i l l umina tedcont inuously f o r t h r ee minutes when the spacec ra f t i s with in

range on the s ix th or 21s t o r b i t s . The spacec ra f t w i l l be

or i en ted to observe the l i g h t on only on e occasion; t h i s w i l l

depend on b e s t weather condi t ions over Bloemfontein fo r one

of the two poss ib l e t imes .

Data from t h i s t e s t w i l l c o n s i s t of the p i l o t ' s time m a r k s ~

comments and photometer read ings . Before and during the m i s s i o n ~

the p i l o t w i l l be given the requi red p i t c h and yaw a t t i t u d e s to

pu t the l i g h t i n view through the spacec ra f t window.

Af te r a c q u i s i t i o n of the ground l i g h t ~the p i l o t w i l l oc

clude the s tandard source l i g h t ~the ground l i g h t ~and then the

s tandard source in the same manner as during the window a t t enua

t i o n exper iment . Sev e r a l read ings w i l l be taken of each l i g h t

source . 27

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WINDOW ATTENUATION EVALUATION - - The purpose of t h i s exper iment i s to obta in da ta f o r an evalua t ion of th e t ransmis

s ion of l i g h t through the spacec ra f t window.

An e x t i n c t i o n photometer (a neu t ra l dens i ty, o p t i c a l wedge)

and a c a l i b r a t e d s tandard l i g h t source w i l l be used i n t h i s ex

per iment . The read ings a re to be obta ined a t opportune moments

fo r the p i l o t and whenever i d e n t i f i a b l e s t a r s a re i n view dur

ing e i t h e r the day l igh t or n igh t phase . Reading the l i g h t l e v e l

of th e s tandard source before and a f t e r th e s t a r read ings pro

vides a measure of l i g h t u n r e s t r i c t ed by the window and a l so

es tab l i shes the degree of the p i l o t ' s dark adapta t ion . Both

values must be known to a r r i v e a t va l id measurements. The r a t i o

of r e l a t i v e s t a r magnitudes to ac tua l magnitudes gives th e window

t r ansmiss iv i ty. I t i s a l so necessary t o spec i fy the r e l a t i v e

p o s i t i o n of the s t a r i n the window, because t he re may be uneven

s t r eak ing on the ou te r sur face by a res idue from the escape

tower rocke ts and because the p i l o t ' s l i n e of s i g h t undergoes

a v a r i a t i o n i n angle of inc idence fo r d i f f e r e n t p o s i t i o n s on

the window.

During t imes when higher p r i o r i t y work i s not i n progres s ,

th e p i l o t w i l l a t tempt t o l o c a t e s t a r s t h a t he can p o s i t i v e l y

i d e n t i f y and t h a t w i l l remain i n the f i e l d of view fo r seve ra l

minutes . The n igh t phase of the seventh o r b i t may provide an

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-27-i d e a l oppor tun i ty fo r t h i s experiment s ince the spacec ra f t w i l l

be i n ASCS r een t ry a t t i t u d e towing the bal loon . Pr io r to the

f i r s t r e a d i n g ~the p i l o t w i l l mount the smal l s tandard sou r ce

l i g h t a t a predetermined place on the ins t rument pane l . All

the read ings w i l l be accu ra t e ly recorded on th e onboard t ape .

Af t e r l o c a t i n g a s t a r ~ the p i l o t w i l l use the e x t i n c t i o n

photometer to occlude the s tandard l i g h t source severa l t imes

u n t i l r epea t ab le read ings are achieved. Th e sam e procedure

w i l l be used on a known s t a r u n t i l r e p e a t a b i l i t y i s aga in

achieved. The approximate l o c a t i o n of the s t a ri n

the windowand es t imates of extraneous or i n t e r n a l l y r e f l e c t e d l i gh t ing

w i l l a l so be noted . The s tandard source w i l l be occluded imme-

d i a t e l y a f t e r th e s t a r m e a s u r e me n t ~ and genera l comments w i l l

be recorded .

WHITE PAINT PATCH STUDIES - - The sk in temperature t e s t w i l l

inves t iga te changes i n white p a i n t pigments during r een t ry h e a t -

ing .

The t e s t of th ree types of w h i ~coa t ings on the ou te r su r-

face of the sh ing le s w i l l provide data on changes i n pigment

r e f l e c t i v i t y cuased by r een t ry hea t ing . The t h r ee t e s t pane ls

a re s i x - i n c h squares baked onto a t e s t sh ingle l oca t ed a t the

small end of the conica l sec t ion . The t h r ee pigments to be

t e s t e d have a t i t an ium oxide b a s e ~a zirconium oxide b a s e ~2 9

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30/71

-28-and a zinc oxide base. Theore t ica l ca lcu la t ions ind ica te t h a t

as much as a te n to 15 degree F. lower cabin temperature might

be poss ib l e f o r a spacecraf t pro tec ted with a low absorp t iv i ty

coa t in g i n s t ead of th e presen t dark colored oxide.

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4. MA-9 SPACECRAFT

The MA-9 spacec ra f t , l i s t e d as No. 20 i n engineer ing

documents, has been named "Fai th 7" by Astronaut Cooper.

The p i l o t says he picked t h i s name fo r t h ree reasons :

(1) I t embodies h is f a i t h i n terms of h is b e l i e f i n God

and count ry ; (2) I t desc r ibes t he l oya l ty he and h is

fe l low workers f e e l toward the organiza t ion and t h e i r

b e l i e f i n the manned space e f f o r t , and (3) I t embodies

the confidence t h a t binds t oge the r the team making our

manned space f l i g h t s p o s s i b l e . The "7", of course ,

s tands fo r the o r i g i n a l seven a s t r o n a u t s .

The spacec ra f t s tands nine and one-ha l f f e e t t a l l and

nleasures s i x f e e t across the base . Spacecraf t weight a t

launch w i l l be about 4,000 pounds. Weight i n o r b i t w i l l

be about 3,000 pounds, and f l o t a t i o n weight a f t e r a normal

f l i g h t should be approximately 2,400 pounds.

The spacec ra f t i s equipped with a l a rge observa t ion

window and an explosive-opened egress ha tch .

The prime con t r ac to r fo r the Mercury spacec ra f t i s

th e McDonnell A i r c r a f t Corporat ion of s t . Louis , Missour i .

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FUEL SUPPLY AND USAGE - - The r a t e of usage of hydrogenperoxide fo r the React ion and Control System (RCS) i s a

c r i t i c a l i tem i n accomplishing a miss ion of up t o 22 o r b i t s .

Fuel usage r a t e s a re determined b a s i c a l l y by the mode usedi n c o n t r o l l i n g the a t t i t u d e of the spacec ra f t Manual

con t ro l uses f u e l i n g r e a t e r q u a n t i t i e s than the automat ic

(ASCS) or f ly -by-wire (FBW) systems because the manual

con t ro l systems use th e l a rg e r t h r u s t e r s . In terms of

f u e l economy, p a s t f l i g h t exper ience i n d i c a t e s t h a t th e

ASCS mode i s the most economical of th e t h r e e con t ro l modes,

and the manual propor t iona l mode i s the most expensive.

However, fo r a miss ion of up to 22 o r b i t s , the major

p a r t of the o r b i t a l t ime w i l l i nc lude " d r i f t i n g f l i g h t l l -

none of the a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l modes w i l l be used , thereby

saving the hydrogen peroxide u n t i l preCise a t t i t u d e becomesnecessary. For t h i s misSion, an a d d i t i on a l 10 pounds of

fue l have be en added, b r i n g i n g t he t o t a l f u e l wei gh t to

66 pounds. A t o t a l of 24 pounds of manual con t ro l fue l

and 42 pounds of automat ic mode f u e l i s a v a i l a b l e . Fuel

i s conta ined i n t h r ee bladders i n s ide th ree fue l t anks -

which can be in te rconnec ted - and i s forced out by ni t rogen

p r e s s u r i z a t i o n . 32

-ffiore-


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-31-

TAPE RECORDER PROGRAMMING - - The spacec ra f t taper eco rde r w i l l run cont inuously from umbi l i ca l sepa ra t ion

u n t i l spacec ra f t s epa ra t ion plus f ive minutes; from t h i s

p o i n t u n t i l re t rograde minus 30 seconds, th e tape r eco rde r

i s programmed to record one minute of data fo r every t e n

minutes of e lapsed t ime. The p i l o t can switch to con t in

uous r eco rde r opera t ion a t any t ime . The a s t r o n a u t ' s

voice w i l l alwa y s appear on the tape record ing in e i t h e r

the cont inuous , programed or VOX opera t ion mode. After

re t rograde p lus 30 seconds, the reco rde r w i l l opera te

cont inuously u n t i l impact p lus t e n minutes .

MAIN BATTERY SYSTEM - - One 1,500 watt-hour b a t t e r yand f ive 3,000 watt-hour b a t t e r i e s a re provided and can

be in te rconnected in var ious ways to provide power fo r

the complete mission and a pos t - l and ing per iod . As p a r t

of a "s ingle po in t f a i l u r e " ana lys i s , the MA-9 spacec ra f t

t e lemet ry system has been redesigned t o u t i l i z e two power

supp l i e s . An i s o l a t e d backup power system cons i s t ing of

the 1500-va t t -hour b a t t e r y i s used f o r c r i t i c a l i tems

an d can be i n i t i a t e d by a p i lo t -ope ra ted swi tch . To

f u r t h e r i n su re r e l i a b l e opera t ion of the pyro technic system,

eac h device has a complete ly i s o l a t e d power feed system.

For t h i s miss ion , two 1500- wat t -hour b a t t e r i e s used in

prev ious miss ions have been upra ted t o 3000-wat t -hour

capac i ty. 33-more-

685583 0 - 63 - 3


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- 32 -

ALTIMETER--The Mercury b a r o m e t r i c a l t i m e t e r i s a s i n g l e -

r e v o l u t i o n i n d i c a t o r w i t h a r ange f rom s e a l e v e l t o 100 ,000

f e e t . The d i a l f a c e h a s r e f e r e n c e marks a t t h e drogue and

main p a r a c h u t e dep loymen t a l t i t u d e s , n o r m a l l y 21 ,000 f e e t and

10 ,000 f e e t , r e s p e c t i v e l y .

ENVIRONMENTAL DISPLAYS--At t h e t o p r i g h t c o r n e r o f t h e

main p a n e l a r e l o c a t e d e n v i r o n m e n t a l d i s p l a y s , p r o v i d i n g t h e

p i l o t w i t h i n d i c a t i o n s o f c a b i n p r e s s u r e , t e m p e r a t u r e , humid -

i t y , and oxygen q u a n t i t y r e m a i n i n g .

FOOD AND WATER STORAGE--The p r i m a r y d r i n k i n g w a t e r s u p p l y

w i l l c o n t a i n f o u r pounds o f w a t e r , and t h e s u r v i v a l k i t w i l l

c a r r y a n o t h e r s i x pounds f o r a t o t a l o f t e n p o u n d s . I n a d d i -

t i o n , c o n d e n s a t e w a t e r w i l l b e c o l l e c t e d and s t o r e d by t h e

p i l o t i n d r i n k i n g w a t e r c o n t a i n e r s - - o n e - p o u n d p o l y e t h l y n e b a g s - -

c o n t a i n i n g h a l i d t a b l e t s .

CLOCK AND RETRO-FIRE TlMER--The main c l o c k i n t h e MA-9

s p a c e c r a f t h a s t h r e e m a j o r s e p a r a t e o p e r a t i o n a l componen t s :

(1) a s t a n d a r d a i r c r a f t e l a p s e d t i m e c l o c k , (2) an " e l a p s e d

t i m e a f t e r l aunch" d i g i t a l i n d i c q t o r w i t h a manual r e s e t , and

(3) a r e s e t t a b l e t i m e r and t i m e - d e l a y r e l a y which w i l l i n i t i a t e


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- 33 -

t h e r e t r o - g r a d e f i r e s e q u e n c e . When t h e p r e s e t t i m e h a s p a s s e d ,

t h e r e l a y c l o s e s and a c t u a t e s t h e r e t r o g r a d e f i r e s i g n a l , a t t h e

same t i m e send ing a t e l e m e t e r e d s i g n a l t o t h e ground . The re a l

so i s a back-up c l o c k .

UMBILICAL DOOR--A s p r i n g - l o a d e d mechanism w i l l b e u t i l i z e d

f o r t h e c l o s i n g o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t u m b i l i c a l d o o r. A g r e e n t e l e

l i g h t w i l l i n d i c a t e t h e c l o s i n g o f t h e d o o r , w h i l e a r e d l i g h t

w i l l i n d i c a t e t o t h e p i l o t when t h e d o o r i s open ; b o t h l i g h t s

a r e moni to red v i a t e l e m e t r y .

SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT--The s u r v i v a l package c o n s i s t s o f a

one-man l i f e r a f t , a d e s a l t i n g k i t , s h a r k r e p e l l a n t , d ye m a r k e r s ,

f i r s t a i d k i t , d i s t r e s s s i g n a l s , a s i g n a l m i r r o r , p o r t a b l e r a

d i o b e a c o n , a w a t e r c o n t a i n e r w i t h an e x p l u s i o n - t y p e d r i n k i n g

t u b e , s u r v i v a l r a t i o n s , m a t c h e s , a w h i s t l e , t e n f e e t o f n y l o n

c o r d and a h a n d - h e l d t r a n s c e i v e r which w i l l p r o v i d e communica

t i o n s c a p a b i l i t y .

A l i g h t w e i g h t , r a d a r - r e f l e c t i v e l i f e r a f t i s f a b r i c a t e d o f

Mylar ( f o r a i r r e t e n t i o n ) and n y l o n ( f o r s t r e n g t h ) . The t h r e e

pound f o u r - o u n c e r a f t f e a t u r e s t h r e e w a t e r b a l l a s t b u c k e t s f o r

f l o t a t i o n s t a b i l i t y and a d e f l a t a b l e b o a r d i n g end which may b e

r e i n f l a t e d by an o r a l i n f l a t i o n t u b e f o l l o w i n g b o a r d i n g . The

r a f t i s i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r a n g e .


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PILOT'S DESK--The MA-9 s p a c e c r a f t c a b i n i s equipped w i t h

work t a b l e assembly l o c a t e d i n f r o n t o f t h e main p a n e l p e d e s

t a l f o r work and s t o r a g e s p a c e .

PILOT'S MAP--A s m a l l c a r d b o a r d d iag ram o f t h e MA-9 f l i g h t

p a t h w i t h r e c o v e r y f o r c e l o c a t i o n s i s c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n t h e p i -

l o t ' s desk u n t i l r e a d y f o r u s e . L a s t minu te , p r e l a u n c h i n -

f o r m a t i o n on c l o u d f o r m a t i o n s and w e a t h e r phenomena w i l l b e

marked b y Mercury w e a t h e r e x p e r t s .

HATCH--The MA-9 s p a c e c r a f t i s equ ipped w i t h an e x p l o s i v e

a c t u a t e d h a t c h j u s t as a p i l o t ' s canopy i s s e c u r e d i n h i g h p e r

formance a i r c r a f t . The a s t r o n a u t can j e t t i s o n t h e h a t c h by

p u s h i n g a p l u n g e r b u t t o n i n s i d e t h e s p a c e c r a f t o r by p u l l i n g

a c a b l e . The e x p l o s i v e c h a rg e f o r t h e h a t c h was added as an

a d d i t i o n a l p i l o t s a f e t y d e v i c e t o i n s u r e easy and r a p i d e s c a p e

i f n e c e s s a r y. The h a t c h may a l s o b e removed from t h e o u t s i d e

by r e c o v e r y t e a m s .


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5 . ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SYSTEM

The e n v i r o n m e n t a l c o n t r o l sys t em (ECS) w i l l p r o v i d e t h e

MA-9 s p a c e c r a f t c a b i n and a s t r o n a u t ' s p r e s s u r e s u i t w i t h a

100 p e r c e n t oxygen env i ronmen t and p r e s s u r i z a t i o n f o r com-

f o r t and s a f e t y . The ECS i s c o m p l e t e l y a u t o m a t i c ; however,

i n t h e e v e n t o f c o n t r o l f a i l u r e , emergency c o n t r o l s a r e p r o -

v i d e d f o r u s e .

Requ i remen t s f o r ECS a r e t o (1 ) p r o v i d e b r e a t h i n g oxygen

f o r e x t e n d e d o r b i t a l f l i g h t , (2) p r o v i d e a d e q u a t e body v e n t i -

l a t i o n ; (3) remove m e t a b o l i c p r o d u c t s , (4) c o n t r o l c a b i n t e m -

p e r a t u r e w i t h i n c o m f o r t a b l e and s a f e l i m i t s d u r i n g a l l p h a s e s

o f t h e f l i g h t , (5) p r o v i d e c a b i n a n d / o r s u i t p r e s s u r i z a t i o n i n

v a r i o u s modes o f o p e r a t i o n , (6) o p e r a t e i n a z e r o g c o n d i t i o n

and i n h i g h g a c c e l e r a t i o n , and (7) f u n c t i o n a u t o m a t i c a l l y and

m a n u a l l y.

One a d d i t i o n a l 7 , 5 0 0 p s i oxygen t a n k i s c a r r i e d aboa rd

t h e s p a c e c r a f t ; i t i s i n p a r a l l e l w i t h t h e p r i m a r y oxygen

b o t t l e . The a d d i t i o n amounts t o a b o u t 50% more oxygen t h a n

c a r r i e d i n t h e MA-8 m i s s i o n .

3 1'"'1(


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S m a l l e r s u i t and c a b i n f r e o n o r i f i c e s w i l l p r o v i d e b e t t e r

b a l a n c e o f ground f r e o n c o o l i n g t o b o t h t h e s u i t and c a b i n h e a t

e x c h a n g e r s .

Carbon d i o x i d e a b s o r p t i o n c a p a c i t y h a s been i n c r e a s e d w i t h

an a d d i t i o n a l one pound o f l i t h i u m h y d r o x i d e .

REMOVED--Items removed as u n n e c e s s a r y f o r t h i s f l i g h t i n

c l u d e t h e p e r i s c o p e (7 5 pounds i n c l u d i n g a s s o c i a t e d b a l l a s t ) ,

a backup t e l e m e t r y r e c o r d e r , a h i g h f r e q u e n c y t e l e m e t r y t r a n s

m i t t e r , and t h e R a t e S t a b i l i z a t i o n C o n t r o l System.

CYLINDRICAL NECK CONTENTS--Above t h e a s t r o n a u t ' s c a b i n ,

t h e c y l i n d r i c a l neck s e c t i o n c o n t a i n s t h e main and r e s e r v e p a r a

c h u t e s y s t e m .

These p a r a c h u t e s a r e i n s t a l l e d i n t h e s p a c e c r a f t . The

drogue c h u t e h as a s i x - f o o t - d i a m e t e r , c o n i c a l , r i b b o n - t y p e c a n

opy w i t h a p p r o x i m a t e l y s i x - f o o t - l o n g r i b b o n s u s p e n s i o n l i n e s ,

and a 3 0 - f o o t - l o n g r i s e r made o f Dacron t o min imize e l a s t i c i t y

e f f e c t s d u r i n g dep loymen t o f t h e d r o g u e a t an a l t i t u d e o f 21 1 000

f e e t . The d r o g u e r i s e r i s p e r m a n e n t l y a t t a c h e d t o t h e s p a c e

c r a f t a n t e n n a b y a t h r e e p o i n t s u s p e n s i o n sys tem t e r m i n a t i n g a t

t h e a n t e n n a i n t h r e e s t e e l c a b l e s which a r e i n s u l a t e d i n a r e a s

exposed t o h e a t .

38


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T he drogue p a r a c h u t e i s packed i n a p r o t e c t i v e b ag and

s towed i n t h e drogue m o r t a r t u b e on t o p o f a l i g h t - w e i g h t s a

b o t o r p l u g . The s a b o t f u n c t i o n s as a f r e e p i s t o n t o e j e c t

t h e p a r a c h u t e pack when p r e s s u r e d f rom below by g a s e s g e n e r

a t e d b y a p y r o t e c h n i c c h a r g e .

The f u n c t i o n o f t h e drogue c h u t e i s t o p r o v i d e a backup

s t a b i l i z a t i o n d e v i c e f o r t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n t h e e v e n t o f f a i l

u r e o f t h e c o n t r o l and s t a b i l i z a t i o n s y s t e m .

The r e s e r v e c h u t e i s i d e n t i c a l t o t h e main c h u t e . I t i s

dep loyed by a f l a t c i r c u l a r - t y p e p i l o t c h u t e .

O t h e r components o f t h e l a n d i n g sys t em i n c l u d e m o r t a r and

c a r t r i d g e , b a r o s t a t s , a n t e n n a f a i r i n g e j e c t o r , and a s e a marke r

p ~ k ~ .

Fol lowing e s c a p e t o w e r s e p a r a t i o n i n f l i g h t , t h e 21 ,000

and 10 ,000 f o o t b a r o s t a t s a r e armedo No f u r t h e r a c t i o n o c c u r s

u n t i l s p a c e c r a f t d e s c e n t c a u s e s t h e 21 ,000 f o o t b a r o s t a t t o

c l o s e , a c t i v a t i n g t h e drogue e j e c t i o n s y s t e m .

Two seconds a f t e r t h e 10 ,000 f o o t b a r o s t a t c l o s e s , power

i s s u p p l i e d t o t h e a n t e n n a f a i r i n g e j e c t o r - - 1 o c a t e d above t h e

c y l i n d r i c a l neck s e c t i o n - - t o dep loy t h e main l a n d i n g p a r a c h u t e

39


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and an u n d e r w a t e r c h a r g e , which i s dropped t o p r o v i d e an a u d i

b l e sound l a n d i n g p o i n t i n d i c a t i o n . The u l t r a - h i g h f r e q u e n c y

SARAH r a d i o t h e n b e g i n s t r a n s m i t t i n g . A can o f s e a - m a r k e r dye

i s dep loyed w i t h t h e r e s e r v e c h u t e and r ema ins a t t a c h e d t o t h e

s p a c e c r a f t b y a l a n y a r d .

On l a n d i n g , an i m p a c t s w i t c h j e t t i s o n s t h e l a n d i n g p a r a

c h u t e and i n i t i a t e s t h e r ema in ing l o c a t i o n and r e c o v e r y a i d s .

T h i s i n c l u d e s r e l e a s e o f s e a - m a r k e r dye w i t h t h e r e s e r v e c h u t e

i f i t h a s n o t p r e v i o u s l y b e e n d e p l o y e d , t r i g g e r i n g a h i g h - i n

t e n s i t y f l a s h i n g l i g h t , e x t e n s i o n o f a l 6 - f o o t whip a n t e n n a

and i n i t i a t i o n o f t h e o p e r a t i o n o f a h i g h - f r e q u e n c y r a d i o b e a -

c o n .

I f t h e s p a c e c r a f t s h o u l d s p r i n g a l e a k o r i f t h e l i f e

s u p p o r t sys tem s h o u l d become f o u l e d a f t e r l a n d i n g , t h e a s t r o

n a u t can "e s c a p e t h r o u g h t h i s u p p e r neck s e c t i o n o r t h r o u g h t h e

s i d e h a t c h .

IMPACT SKIRT--Fol lowing deployment o f t h e main l a n d i n g

p a r a c h u t e , t h e h e a t s h i e l d i s r e l e a s e d , e x t e n d i n g t h e l a n d i n g

impac t bag t o form a pneumat i c c u s h i o n p r i m a r i l y f o r impac t

on l a n d . I t i s a l s o r e q u i r e d f o r s p a c e c r a f t s t a b i l i t y a f t e r

w a t e r l a n d i n g .

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The a i r c u s h i o n i s formed b y a f o u r - f o o t s k i r t o f r u b b e r

i z e d f i b e r g l a s s t h a t c o n n e c t s t h e h e a t s h i e l d and t h e r e s t o f

t h e s p a c e c r a f t . A f t e r t h e main c h u t e i s d e p l o y e d , t h e h e a t

s h i e l d w i l l b e r e l e a s e d f rom t h e s p a c e c r a f t and t h e b a g w i l l

f i l l w i t h a i r . Upon i m p a c t , a i r t r a p p e d be tween t h e h e a t

s h i e l d and t h e s p a c e c r a f t w i l l b e v e n t e d t h r o u g h h o l e s i n t h e

s k i r t as w e l l as p o r t i o n s o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t which a r e n o t com-

p l e t e l y a i r t i g h t , t h e r e b y p r o v i d i n g t h e d e s i r e d c u s h i o n i n g

e f f e c t .

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6. SPACECRAFT LOCATION AIDS

ELECTRONICS AIDS - - (1) A super SARAH beacon w i l l beac t iva ted during main chute deployment a t 10,000 f e e t a l t i t u d e ;

(2) A SARAH beacon w i l l be ac t iva ted a t th e same t ime as the

Super SARAH; (3) A SEASAVE beacon w i l l not be ac t iva ted a t the

time of spacec ra f t l and ing bu t w i l l be e f f e c t i v e u n t i l t i ~ 0

antenna i s e rec ted a t l e a s t 1 0 . 5 minutes a f t e r splashdown;

(4) A UHF voice recovery w i l l begin ope ra t ion a t main chutedeployment; (5) An HF t r a n s m i t t e r, an as t ronau t voice l imk,

w i l l be ac t iva ted a t the a s t r o n a u t ' s d i s c r e t i o n ; (6) An u l t r a

SARAH, conta ined in the a s t r o n a u t ' s su rv iva l k i t , can be used

a f t e r egress - - a t the p i l o t ' s d i s c r e t i o n ; and (7) A UHFvoice t r a n s m i t t e r, a l so conta ined in the a s t r o n a u t ' s s u r -

v i v a l k i t , can be used a t the p i l o t ' s d i s c r e t i o n as a voice

l i n k .

VISUAL AIDS - - (1) Flash ing Light . Upon landing , ani n e r t i a l switch ac t iva ted the f l a sh ing l i g h t l oca t ed a top th e

c y l i n d r i c a l sec t ion of the spacec ra f t a f t e rbody. The f l a s h

r a t e of t h i s l i gh t w i l l be one pulse every fou r seconds.

Expected l i f t i m e of the l i g h t i s a t l e a s t 24 hours . I t i s

pr imar i ly a n i g h t - l i g h t a id an d should be v i s i b l e a f t e r dark ,

depending upon preva i l ing weather cond i t i ons , from a d i s t ance

of approximately f ive n a u t i c a l mi les . (2) A dye marker . w i l l4 2

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packaged i n a buoyant con ta ine r l oca t ed between the reserve

parachute and the parachute e j e c t o r bag. Upon l anding , t h i s

con ta ine r w i l l be e jec t ed from the spacec ra f t i n to the wateras the reserve parachute i s j e t t i s o n e d . The con ta ine r w i l l

be a t t ached to the spacec ra f t with a t en - foo t lanyard an d w i l l

leave a green-yel low f luo rescen t s t r eak i n the wake of the

spacec ra f t . (The l i f e t i m e of the dye marker i s approximately

s ix hours , depending upon the s t a t e of t he sea . )

ACOUSTICAL AID A one-pound SOFAR bomb w i l l be e j e c t e d

from the spacecraf t a t the time of main parachute deployment

a t 10,000 f e e t a l t i t u d e ; i t i s s e t to detonate a t a water

pressure depth of 3,000 f e e t .

7. LOW-RESIDUE DIET

The low-pesidue d i e t fo r the MA-9 p i l o t i s t a s t y and p a l a

t a b l e . I t contains a g r e a t dea l of p r o t e i n , and i f the a s t r o ~

naut l o s e s weight i t w i l l be because of h i s st renuous and

energy-consuming a c t i v i t y.

Consumption of the low-residue d i e t i s requi red to begin

96 hours p r i o r to the miss ion . The b a s i s of the d i e t i s meat ,

r i c e , eggs, sugar, small amounts of f r u i t j u i c e s , and te a

and coffee . The menu w i l l vary, changing during the f i n a l

24 hours before l i f t - o f f _ (See sec t ion #3 fo r i n - f l i g h t

food . ) 41'), )

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8. PILOT COM MUNICATIONS

The IVIA-9 p i l o t may remain in touch wi t h ground con t ro l

through the use of high-frequency (HF) and u l t r a - h i gh - f requency

(UHF) r ad ios , C- and S-band r a d a r beacons, an d - - i f the s i t u a -t i o n d i c t a t e s a command r e c e i v e r and/or a t e l eg raphy- type

code key.

The mission p i l o t ' s c ~ p a b i l i t yto t r ansmi t on HF begins

when th e spacec ra f t sepa ra t e s from th e launch v e h i c l e ,

t e rmina te s a f t e r r een t ry when th e main parachute i s deployed,

and i s again resumed a f t e r spacec ra f t landing when th e 16-

foo t HF antenna i s e rec ted . (A t imer wi l l e r e c t the antenna

wi t h i n a maximum of te n and one -ha l f minutes a f t e r spacec ra f t

l and ing . )

The a s t r o n a u t ' s c a p a b i l i t y to t r ansmi t and r ece ive on UHF

e x i s t s from launch u n t i l approximately 24 hours a f t e r impac t .

Voice r e l ay a i r c r a f t w i l l be a i rborne in the v i c i n i t y

of recovery areas 180 miles e a s t of Bermuda and 125 miles

sou theas t of Midway i s l and where no communications sh ips or

t r ack ing s t a t i o n s a re loca ted . These a i r c r a f t w i l l be on

s t a t i o n to r e l ay au toma t i ca l ly voice communications between

th e spacec ra f t and Mercury Cont ro l Center.

Telemetry t r a n s m i t t e r s and the C- an d S-Band beacons wi l l

be tu rned o f f during the major p a r t of some o r b i t s , when t h e

c r a f t i s not with in communications range of a t r ack ing s t a t i o n .

These t r ansmi t t e r s and beacons can then be turned on a t the

proper t ime by ground command when with in proper range .4--1

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In conjunc t ion with the numerous out-of-communications

a reas , more dependence has been placed upon the miss ion p i l o t

to monitor spacec ra f t systems during t h i s f l i g h t . This w i l l

a l so be the procedure fo r fu tu re miss ions .

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9 . MA-9 LAUNCH VEHICLE

The l a u n c h v e h i c l e f o r t h e MA-9 m i s s i o n w i l l b e t h e A t l a s

130-D, b u i l t by G e n e r a l D y n a m i c s / A s t r o n a u t i c s o f San Diego, C a l -

i f o r n i a , u n d e r u n i t e d S t a t e s A i r F o r c e d i r e c t i o n . The 6555 th

Aerospace Te s t Wing, USAF, a s s i s t e d b y GDA and t h e Aerospace

C o r p o r a t i o n , i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r c h e c k o u t , t e c h n i c a l r e a d i n e s s ,

and l aunch o f t h e v e h i c l e .

PREFLIGHT TESTING--The A t l a s 130-D a r r i v e d a t Cape Cana

v e r a l on March 1 8 , 1963, aboa rd an A i r F o r c e C-133B t r a n s p o r t

a i r c r a f t and was d e l i v e r e d t o t h e h a n g a r a r e a and t r a n s f e r r e d

t o i t s R&D h a n d l i n g t r a i l e r f o r i n s p e c t i o n p r i o r t o o f f i c i a l

a c c e p t a n c e f rom t h e c o n t r a c t o r .

C e r t a i n components o f t h e f l i g h t c o n t r o l s y s t e m , p r o p e l -

l a n t u t i l i z a t i o n s y s t e m , and t h e b a t t e r i e s were removed from

t h e v e h i c l e and r e c h e c k e d f o r v e r i f i c a t i o n o f t h e i r f l i g h t -

r e a d i n e s s c o n d i t i o n . These t e s t s were p e r f o r m e d i n t h e p r o -

p e l l a n t u t i l i z a t i o n l a b o r a t o r y l o c a t e d i n Hanger "H" and i n

t h e Gyro and B a t t e r y L a b o r a t o r i e s l o c a t e d i n Hangar " J . " A t -

l a s 130-D was t h e n t r a n s p o r t e d t o M e r c u r y - A t l a s Complex No.

14 and r a i s e d t o l a u n c h p o s i t i o n on March 2 2 .

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The MA-9 l a u n c h v e h i c l e r e c e i v e d a f l i g h t a c c e p t a n c e com

p o s i t e t e s t t o d e t e o n i n e sys t ems and components r e a d i n e s s f o r

f l i g h t . T h i s t e s t i n v o l v e d t h o r o u g h c h e c k o u t f o r l a c k o f i n

t e r f e r e n c e among t h e v e h i c l e ' s a i r b o r n e s y s t e m s w h i l e on i n t e r

n a l power. The a u t o p i l o t - g u i d a n c e l oop was a l s o checked f o r

v e r i f i c a t i o n o f p r o p e r o p e r a t i o n . The o p e r a t i o n o f A t l a s p y

r o t e c h n i c s - - t h e d e s t r u c t package and e x p l o s i v e b o l t s - - w a s t h e n

s i m u l a t e d .

T h i s f l i g h t a c c e p t a n c e c o m p o s i t e t e s t f o r t h e Mercury

A t l a s was per fo rmed w i t h t h e A t l a s and Mercu ry s p a c e c r a f t as

c l o s e t o f l i g h t c o n f i g u r a t i o n as f e a s i b l e w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n

t h a t p y r o t e c h n i c s and p r o p e l l a n t s were n o t a b o a r d . The com

p a t i b i l i t y o f a l l A t l a s and Mercury sys t ems was checked t o

i n s u r e t h a t t h e r a d i o - f r e q u e n c y (R-F) o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t - l a u n c h

v e h i c l e was c o m p a t i b l e w i t h t h e Cape R-F , -for i n s u r a n c e t h a t

R-F o u t p u t s from b o t h t h e Mercury and t h e A t l a s w i l l n o t c a u s e

i g n i t i o n o f t h e p y r o t e c h n i c s . Checks o f l a u n c h v e h i c l e a i r

b o r n e sys t ems f o r i n t e r f e r e n c e were p e r f o r m e d a g a i n w i t h t h e

l a u n c h v e h i c l e on i n t e r n a l power and w i t h u m b i l i c a l s d i s c o n

n e c t e d b u t w i t h s p a c e c r a f t u m b i l i c a l s c o n n e c t e d .

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1 0 . MERCURY-ATLAS COUNTDOWN

OPERATION--The A t l a s 130-D i s equ ipped w i t h b a f f l e i n j e c -

t i o n e n g i n e s ; i t r e q u i r e s a h y p e r g o l i c ( s e l f - i g n i t i n g ) s t a r t .

A l l f i v e e n g i n e s a r e i g n i t e d a t t h e t i m e o f l a u n c h - - t h e s u s -

t a i n e r (60 ,000 pounds t h r u s t ) , t h e two b o o s t e r e n g i n e s (150 ,000

pou nd s t h r u s t e a c h ) , which a r e o u t b o a r d o f t h e s u s t a i n e r a t t h e

b a s e o f t h e v e h i c l e , and two s m a l l v e r n i e r e n g i n e s u s e d f o r m i-

n o r c o u r s e c o r r e c t i o n s d u r i n g powered f l i g h t .

Dur ing t h e f i r s t m i n u t e o f f l i g h t , t h e s e A t l a s e n g i n e s

consume more f u e l t h a n a commerc ia l j e t a i r l i n e r d u r i n g a t r a n s -

c o n t i n e n t a l t r i p .

M e r c u r y - A t l a s Countdown H i g h l i g h t s a r e a s f o l l o w s :

T-one day F u e l aboa rd A t l a s and s p a c ec r a f t check and s e r v i c i n g

T-390 C o u n t i n g (Launch day) A t l a s countdown b e g i n s

T-165 Hold ing P r e f l i g h t e v a l u a t i o n f o r oneh o u r

T-120 C o u n t i n g A s t r o n a u t e n t e r s s p a c e c r a f t

T-I05 Coun t ing Hatch i n s t a l l e d on s p a c e c r a f t

T-65 H o l d i n g P r e f l i g h t e v a l u a t i o n f o r 30m i n u t e s

T-50 Coun t ing S e r v i c e t o w e r removed

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T-35 C o u n t i n g . . . . S t a r t f i l l i n g l i q u i d oxygent a n k

T-5 C o u n t i n g Go, No-Go D e c i s i o n

T- 2 : l 0 Coun t ing

L i q u i d oxygen t o p p i n g . Thes low f low t o t h e t a n k t o comp e n s a t e f o r b o i l o f f i s s toppedand t h e t a n k i s c l o s e d .

T-O:35 C o u n t i n g E j e c t s p a c e c r a f t u m b i l i c a l

T- O : 18 C o u n t i n g . . Go, No-Go d e c i s i o n ; a u t o m a t i c

T-O:OO Coun t ing . . L i f t - o f f

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11. POWERED FLIGHT

According to the f l i g h t p lan , the spacec ra f t l aunches on

a f l i g h t path along the Pro jec t Mercury Wor16wide Tracking Range

on a heading of about 73 degrees - - j u s t nor th of e a s t from CapeCanaveral . Climbing s lowly a t f i r s t , the At las wi l l acce le ra t e

f a s t e r as i t gains momentum and as i t s p r o p e l l a n t load i s burned.

A r o l l program (32.46 degrees counterc lockwise) , which

es tab l i shes the c o r r e c t f l i g h t azimuth, i s i n i t i a t e d two seconds

a f t e r l i f t - o f f and t e rmina ted a t launch p lus 15 seconds. Thep i t c h program i s i n i t i a t e d a t t h i s po in t and cont inued a t a l

most a cons tan t r a t e u n t i l s u s t a i n e r / v e r n i e r c u t o f f , guid ing the

At las i n an arc to i t s o r b i t a l path .

At s tag ing - - about two minutes a f t e r l i f t - o f f when thevehic le reaches about 40 miles i n a l t i t u d e and a range of about

45 miles from the Cape -- the two boos ter engines are shut downand j e t t i s o n e d . The sus ta ine r and v e r n i e r engines cont inue to

a c c e l e r a t e the veh ic l e .

During the f i r s t two and one-ha l f minutes of f l i g h t , the

ASIS (Abort Sensing I mplementa t ion System named above) vli l l be

capable of sensing impending t r oub le i n the At las and of t r i g

ger ing the escape rocke t . The MA-9 p i l o t w i l l a lso be able to

t r i g g e r the escape system to p u l l h is spacec ra f t from the launch

veh ic l e .50

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About 20 seconds a f t e r s tag ing assuming the f l i g h t pro-

ceeds as planned - - the 16- foo t escape- rocke t motor w i l l f i r e

to j e t t i s o n the tower from the spacec ra f t . The parachute l anding

system i s then armed f o r use a f t e r r een t ry. The Mercury-Atlas

combination wi l l cont inue to acce le ra t e toward the i n s e r t i o n

po in t .

After s tag ing and u n t i l o r b i t a l i n s e r t i o n , the ASIS wi l l

cont inue to "watch" f o r t roub le . I f s i g n i f i c a n t dev ia t ion oc

cu r s , the system w i l l au toma t i ca l ly i n i t i a t e ac t ion f o r r e l e a s

ing the spacec ra f t - to -At l a s clamp r ing and fo r f i r i n g the p o s igrade rocke ts on the base of the spacec ra f t .

About f ive minutes a f t e r l i f t - o f f , guidance ground command

w i l l shut down the sus ta ine r and v e r n i e r enginesj t h i s w i l l

occur a t the o r b i t a l i n s e r t i o n po in t .

ORBITAL INSERTION - - The Atlas wi l l a r r i v e a t i t s i n se rt i o n p o i n t t r ave l ing approximately 17,500 miles per hour (25,700

f e e t p e r second) . Sus ta ine r and v e r n i e r engin e s w i l l be shut

down s imultaneously a t the i n s t a n t the Atlas h i t s t h i s i n s e r

t i on po in t . About one second l a t e r , the s p a c e c r a f t - t o - A t l a s

clamp r ing w i l l be r e l eased automat ica l ly and the pos igrade roc

ke t s wi l l be f i r e d to separa te the o r b i t a l spacec ra f t from the

spent Atlas . The t h r ee pos igrades w i l l give the spacec ra f t a

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smal l i n c r e ment of add i t iona l ve loc i ty (about 24 f e e t p er

s e cond) to assure aga ins t the bumpin g of the two veh ic l e s l a t e r

i n f l i g h t .

The o r b i t a l path achieved f o r the spacec ra f t by the At la swi l l be the r e s u l t of sp l i t - s econd programing of launch veh ic l e

s t ag ing , ve loc i ty, p i t ch -ove r, yaw con t ro l and engine c u t o f f .

The Atlas wi l l acce le ra t e cont inuous ly dur ing i t s powered f l i g h t

and must a r r i v e a t the i n s e r t i o n p o i n t t r ave l ing a t a p r e c i s e

speed, completing i t s pi tchover to an Ear th- referenced h o r i z o n t a l

f l i gh t path a t the same moment i t reaches t h a t o r b i t a l po in t .

12. EVENTS DURING POWERED FLIGHT

SURFACE INERTIALEVENT TIME ALTITUDE RANGE VELOCITY

(seconds) ( fe e t ) (mi les ) ( f e e t p er second)

L i f t - o f f 0 0 0 1,340

Boos te r Engine Cutoff 131 202,553 44 10 ,300

Booster J e t t i s o n 134 213,289 48 10 ,400

Tower J e t t i s o n 154 289,399 76 11,100

Sus ta ine r and Vernie r 30 5 528,400 437 25,700Engine Cutoff

Spacecraf t Separa t ion 306 528,400 441 25,750

13. MERCURY IN ORBIT

AFTER SEPARATION - - Following sepa ra t ion from the At las ,the Mercury spacec ra f t w i l l undergo a few seconds of automat ic

damping (removal of any a t t i t u d e changing motions) and w i l l

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t u rn around 180 degrees so t h a t the b lun t face of the c r a f t

t u rns forward and upward - - 34 degrees above the hor izon ta l .From t h a t po in t on during o r b i t a l f l i g h t , the p i l o t w i l l con

t r o l the spacec ra f t in a t t i t u d e by automatic or manual cont ro l

o r wi l l shut down cont ro ls and allow the c r a f t to d r i f t without

a t t i t u d e correc t ions .

The Mercury spacec ra f t w i l l be inse r t ed i n to o r b i t i n the

v i c i n i t y of Bermuda. The c r a f t w i l l by then have a t t a ined an

a l t i t u d e of approximately 100 miles and a speed of about 17,500

miles per hour. At engine cu to ff , the c r a f t w i l l have been

subjec ted to more than seven an d one-ha l f g - - about the same gas wi l l be produced by r een t ry.

The Mercury c r a f t w i l l reach an apogee of about 170 s t a t u t e

miles o ff the We s t Coast of Austra l ia and a per igee of about 100

miles a t the i n s e r t i o n po in t over Bermuda.

REENTRY - - As the MA-9 spacec ra f t h u r t l e s around Ear thon i t s f i n a l o r b i t - - twenty-second o r b i t -- i t w i l l approacha po in t some 170 miles southeas t of Kyushu, Japan, near the

Pac i f i c Command Ship. At t h i s po in t , the r e t ro rocke t s w i l l

f i r e to i n i t i a t e r een t ry. (The command sh ip , loca ted some 275

miles south of Japan, has the capab i l i ty of f i r i n g the r e t ro rocke t s

i f necessary. ) The automatic a t t i t u d e con t ro l system w i l l hold

the spacec ra f t in proper a t t i t u d e during the braking maneuver.

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In the event of r een t ry from o r b i t on one of the At lan t i c

l anding passes , the r e t r o s wi l l f i r e as the spacec ra f t approaches

th e West Coast of the United Sta te s .

Shor t ly a f t e r r e t r o f i r e , the ex haus ted re t ropack w i l lj e t t i s o n and th e spacec ra f t wi l l au toma t i ca l ly assume r een t ry

a t t i t u d e . The Mercury w i l l begin to encounter more dense a t

mosphere of Earth a t an a l t i t u d e of about 55 miles . At t h i s

po in t , temperatures w i l l s t a r t mounting on the s p a c e c r a f t ' s

ab la t ion heat sh ie ld . On a nominal miss ion , peak r een t ry tem

pera tu re of about 3,000 degrees F. wi l l occur a t an a l t i t u d e

of about 25 s t a t u t e miles while the spacec ra f t s t i l l moves a t

nea r ly 15,000 mph. A ll t o l d , the veh ic l e w i l l sus ta in tempera

t u res in t h i s neighborhood f o r about two minutes . Almost co

i nc iden t with the hea t pulse wi l l be a dramat ic reduct ion i n

spacec ra f t speed. Between 55 and 12 miles a l t i t u d e - - cover ing

a s l a n t dis tance of about 76 0 miles - - spacec ra f t speed shouldbe reduced from 17,500 mph down to 270 mph in a l i t t l e over f ive

minutes .

At about 21,000 f e e t , the s ix - foo t -d i ame te r drogue chute

w i l l deploy automat ica l ly to s t a b i l i z e the spacec ra f t . The

p i

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