UAP D018 Gemini 4 Experiment Debriefing 1967
AI Summary
The document is a detailed debriefing of the Gemini 4 mission, focusing on the additional flight activities and the performance of the spacecraft and crew during the mission. It outlines the objectives, procedures, and experiments conducted during the flight, including extravehicular activities and rendezvous maneuvers.
Key Findings
- The Gemini 4 mission included significant additional flight activities such as extravehicular activities (EVA) and rendezvous with the booster second stage. - The EVA involved astronaut Ed White using a handheld maneuvering unit to photograph the spacecraft and booster. - The mission aimed to evaluate the performance of the Gemini spacecraft systems for over four days and assess the effects of prolonged exposure to space on the crew. - Various scientific experiments were conducted, including radiation measurements and photography of the Earth's surface and weather systems.
OCR Text
Action MAIL CODE NAME Approval Call Me Concurrence file Information Investigate and Advise NASA FORM 26 I •• AND SPACE ROUTING SLIP ADMINISTRATlo-1 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS ____ .l ,Nmote and Forward Note and R_e_hl_rn___ _ _ _ _j L ,P;;,,-;R;:e::q::-u•=s�I::::.::_ _ ___ Per Teleph one Conversation _ _ _ _J_ _: R..e,.c,ommendation See·Me Signature Circulate and De I s roy (fL 1 J 'I, h'.C.9-- � TEL. NO ( · or ,ode) & EXT. APR 69 PREVIOUS EDITIONS MAY BE USED Mission Operation Report No. M-913-65-04 MEMORANDUM June 1, 1965 To A/Administrator From M/Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight Subject: Gemini Flight Number Four (GT-4) Additional Flight Activities Subsequent to the preparation of the GT-4 Mission Operation Report several new procedures and items of equipment have progressed to a stage of flight readiness. Consequently, three significant additional flight activities are now possible and have been included in the mission. These activities are: extra vehicular activities (EVA); extra vehicular propulsion; and demonstration of rendezvous with the booster second stage. Additional details of these flight plan activities are provided in the attached supplement to the basic report. Enclosure: MOR No. 913-65-04 Change 1 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY M-913-65-04 ADDI TIONAL GT-4 FLIGHT PLAN ACTIV ITI ES Three additional special engineering and operational objectives are now planned for the first four orbits of the GT-4 Mission: 1. Demonstration of extravehicular activities (EVA) using a 25 foot umbilical. Potential future application includes crew transfer, in flight repair, and inspection of orbiting objects. 2. Demonstration of extravehicular maneuvering using a simple, one man propulsion unit. This device could be used with or without a spacecraft tether on future missions. 3. Demonstration of rendezvous with the booster second stage. This activity wil I provide valuable early information and maneuvering procedures necessary to rendezvous with a target vehicle. Flashing lights identical to those designed for the Gemini/Agena Vehicle have been insta I led on the booster second stage for th is test. The Flight Plan sequence involves post-launch separation from the launch vehicle, then maneuvering to stop the spacecraft separation velocity. The first two orbits wil I be flown with the spacecraft at distances less than one quarter of a mile from the launch vehicle. Nighttime separation will be sufficient to prevent the flashing lights from disturbing the pilot's visual dark adaptation. The first orbit will be occupied with operational checks of the spacecraft guidance, maneuvering, and environmental control systems. The pilots will utilize the second orbit to prepare for the extravehicular activity. This procedure involves unstowing and assembling a 25-foot umbilical, the emergency oxygen pack, a maneuvering unit, and the cameras. Over Hawaii, at daybreak, near the end of the second orbit, the cabin will be depressurized and Jim McDivitt will maneuver to within close proximity of the booster. At this point, the right hatch will be opened and Ed White will climb out and hold on the right forward portion of the spacecraft unti I McDivitt gives him a release command. Upon command, White wi II push off slowly and reorient himself with the hand-held maneuvering unit to face the booster. A 35-mm still camera (Zeiss-Contarex) mounted on the maneuvering unit will be used to photo graph the booster and spacecraft with various earth/sky backgrounds. After testing his ability to maneuver in a zero gravity environment, White will maneuver back toward the spacecraft and ingress. The total time separated from the spacecraft will be approximately 10 minutes. He will be inside with the cabin repressurized by the time the spacecraft posses over Ascension Island on the start of the third orbit. Shortly ofter passing Ascension, McDivitt wil I maneuver ahead of the booster with 5 feet per second separation velocity. Because this maneuver places the spacecraft in a higher altitude and longer period orbit than the booster, it will rise above and fall behind the booster. One orbit later, the spacecraft 6/1/65 Page 1 M-913-65-04 will trail 16 miles behind the booster. At this point, a spacecraft retardation maneuver of 13 feet per second will initiate the visual rendezvous sequence. The spacecraft will approach the booster from behind and below. Because of unknown variation in the atmospheric density and drag of the slowly tumbling booster, the exact approach trajectory cannot be predicted. The flight crew will measure elevation angles of the booster and wil I initiate rendezvous maneuvers when the booster is approximately 45 degrees elevation angle a bove the spacecraft. By observing the movement of the booster with respect to the star background and with respect to the spacecraft inerti a l platform display, …
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