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Author
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Topic: Photographs of Gemini 6A from Gemini 7
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ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 02-10-2012 01:32 PM
   
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, gesturing with a pipe in your hands or in your mouth was a common habit or an affectation amongst "intellectuals". It didn't have to be lit to give others the impression that you were a deep thinker. Having just re-read "Carrying the Fire," I noted that Collins said that Aldrin was borderline obsessed with status symbols. It wouldn't surprise me that Dr. Rendezvous carried a pipe with him. I hope it had been appropriately cleaned out before it went in the cabin - you wouldn't want stray ash floating around! |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 02-10-2012 07:19 PM
The Gemini 7-6A Press Kit mentions that the lightweight Gemini 7 spacesuits were only designed for intravehicular use and the Gemini 6A spacesuits were not suitable for EVA activity.Interestingly, NASA SP-4203 On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini mentions in Chapter 12 that an EVA on the rendezvous mission was considered in the pre-flight planning: Schirra and Stafford wanted to add extravehicular activity to the flight plans - perhaps Stafford could change places with Lovell in a demonstration of space rescue - but they met a pronounced rebuff. Borman's goal was a 14-day mission. He wanted nothing to do with any proposal that might threaten it. "Wally could have had all the EVA he wanted," Borman later said, "but I wasn't going to open the hatch." There were real hazards in trying to exchange pilots in mid-space, since the life support hoses would have to be detached and reconnected in a vacuum, leaving the pilots with only the backup system to depend on as they traveled between the two spacecraft. It might have looked great in the headlines, Borman added, "but one little slip could have lost the farm." Schirra and Stafford did not give up and turned to Low for help. The Deputy Director learned that Stafford, one of the taller astronauts, sometimes had trouble getting out of and back into the spacecraft in zero-g tests. Even the barest chance that this might happen during the mission made the whole idea seem too risky to Low, but he passed the crew's wishes on to NASA Headquarters. The consensus in the executive offices was that there should be no EVA on Gemini VII - VI-A. Ironically, Spacecraft 6 was the first vehicle to be specifically designed for EVA. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 02-12-2012 07:36 PM
quote:
Originally posted by space1:
The cord-like streamers seen behind Gemini 7 were not umbilical lines, but insulation strips similar to Mylar. They were also seen behind Gemini 6 ... I am thinking they were probably more related to equipment module experiment deployment rather than launch vehicle separation.
The MSC-3 Tri-Axis Magnetometer extended out on a boom behind the Gemini 7 equipment module. The experiment also flew on Gemini 4, 10 and 12.But the magnetometer experiment did not fly on Gemini 6A, so there must be another reason for the 6A streamers. Maybe there was some type of interface* glitch that caused the streamers to remain with the Gemini spacecraft instead of the launch vehicle at separation. All the good photos of Gemini 6A were taken from the front, so you really can't see the 6A streamers. Perhaps on video? *This NASA photo S65-17337 of Gemini 3 gives you an idea of what the interface between spacecraft and launch vehicle looked like on the pad. |
Rusty B
Member Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 02-13-2012 05:08 PM
Here's Life magazine in Google Books from 1966. There are some rare screen shots of the televised recovery of Gemini 7 and 6.In the same issue, there is an article about the Gemini 7/6 rendezvous mission with a few pictures. In the next issue (Jan 14, 1966) is an interview with the astronauts. They discuss the mission. |
Michael Davis
Member Posts: 530
From: Houston, Texas
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 02-14-2012 08:29 AM
Here's an AP photo of both spacecraft together after recovery.  The accompanying article by Jim Strothman notes that the crews originally had a bet has to who would land closer to the Wasp. The bet was called off because "Slayton said Schirra insisted that an accelerameter, an instrument used in landing, was off slightly and was to blame for Schirra bringing Gemini 6 down slightly farther away from his target than Borman." |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 02-14-2012 09:05 AM
That AP photo also identifies the spacecraft on the left as Gemini 7. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 02-14-2012 10:25 AM
Regarding the distance to the landing target, it is interesting to note that Schirra blamed the error on his Mercury landing on inaccurate maps. "This is everybody's fault but mine!" - Homer Simpson |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 02-14-2012 10:38 AM
Those LIFE magazine articles by Schirra and Stafford describing the Gemini 7/6A rendezvous and by Borman and Lovell with their detailed day-by-day account of the long-duration Gemini 7 flight were very very interesting. |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 02-14-2012 12:49 PM
Fixed the old newspaper fading for you. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 02-14-2012 02:22 PM
At 1:59 into this British newsreel footage there is a brief shot of both spacecraft below deck on the USS Wasp - with Lovell holding his nose as he and Borman inspect Gemini 7. At 3:52 into the video you can see some in-flight footage of what looks to me like the back end of the Gemini 6A spacecraft. I don't see a boom back there and the gold thermal cover looks different. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 02-27-2012 01:30 PM
Colour footage of the back end of the Gemini 6A spacecraft can be seen in the first 30 seconds of this FTV-0002528 video clip from footagevault. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-02-2016 09:58 AM
Here is one I had not seen before. It is a black and white photo GT-6-65443-005 of Gemini 7 taken from Gemini 6A. It is one of four similar photos, all out of focus. It looks like the Gemini 7 cabin lights are on.
I don't know exactly when the photo was taken, but this was the conversation at 06:54:10 in the transcripts. P6 is Tom Stafford: CC: Could you give us a report on your night station-keeping?P6: No trouble at all. We're about 20 feet apart, using the docking lights and the cabin lights of the spacecraft. CC: Roger. Understand no trouble at all. 20 feet apart. Using the docking lights on VI. P6: We're using the docking lights from VI to illuminate - - CC: Roger, understand. Docking lights on VI to illuminate VII. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-03-2016 10:56 AM
Just noticed those four black and white Gemini 7 photos are "reversed" images. |
YankeeClipper
Member Posts: 622
From: Dublin, Ireland
Registered: Mar 2011
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posted 07-04-2016 04:47 AM
quote:
Originally posted by 328KF:
Do we think it could be possible that Lovell allowed Aldrin to smoke his pipe onboard the spacecraft?
I specifically asked Buzz about the Gemini XII smoking pipe some years ago at a show. He confirmed that it was NOT lit and that it was a staged playful photo.I guess he was contemplating a Mars mission as in this 2016 photo. |
Headshot
Member Posts: 891
From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 07-04-2016 08:45 AM
For you younger cS'ers, the media of that era just gushed over the Gemini 7/6 rendezvous. Life magazine had a nice picture layout. I don't remember the date (probably late '65/early '66) but Sean Connery was on the cover to promote Thunderball. Time magazine also featured a great illustrated story about the same time. Time's cover was a surprisingly complete/complex graphic illustration of the rendezvous process. Surprisingly, the best was probably in the April 1966 issue of National Geographic, "Space Rendezvous, Milestone On The Way To The Moon" by Kenneth Weaver. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-04-2016 09:18 AM
The "March to the Moon" gallery is the only place where I have seen those night station-keeping photos of Gemini 7. The National Archives site mentioned earlier does not seem to have them. Too bad the images are out of focus. |
Headshot
Member Posts: 891
From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 07-04-2016 09:19 AM
I forgot to mention there are, of course, wonderful videos of the Gemini 7/6 rendezvous in the Spacecraft Films Gemini Collection. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-04-2016 09:30 PM
It is mentioned in Project Gemini: A Chronology that "stationkeeping maneuvers continued for three and a half orbits at distances from 1 to 300 feet." I had thought the closest they got was around 10 feet. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-05-2016 09:24 AM
I guess these four photos not mentioned so far qualify as photos of Gemini 6 taken from Gemini 7. They were taken on orbit 118 as Borman and Lovell passed over Cape Canaveral around the time of the Gemini 6 pad abort on December 12. The clouds make it hard to pinpoint Pad 19 from orbit. - S65-63769
- S65-63770
- S65-63771 (directly overhead)
- S65-63772
Gemini 7 photo S65-63771 was taken at 14:52 GMT, according to the caption. The Gemini 6 pad abort was at 9:54 a.m. EST. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-06-2016 07:26 AM
Gemini 7 photo S65-64034 taken on orbit 162 shows the Gemini 6A launch on December 15 as a puff of smoke at Pad 19. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-14-2016 10:35 PM
Ed and J.L., had you seen those night station-keeping photos of Gemini 7 before? |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-26-2016 01:45 PM
quote:
Originally posted by LM-12:
this was the conversation at 06:54:10 in the transcripts
The transcripts indicate that the the two Gemini spacecraft were about 20 feet apart at around 06:54 GET.However, the Gemini 6A summary flight plan timeline indicates that the two spacecraft were station keeping at 100 feet at around 07:00 GET on REV 5, and then Spacecraft 6 translated to 20 feet at around 08:30 GET on REV 6. Both times mentioned were during orbital night, so maybe the black and white photos were taken on REV 6. |
LM-12
Member Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 02-04-2017 12:12 AM
Photos S65-63189 and S65-63190 on Magazine A are described in the photo index as "perfect stereo" images of the Gemini 7 spacecraft taken from Gemini 6A. Photos S65-63126 and S65-63127 on Magazine B are also described as stereo images of Gemini 7. Has anyone ever seen any 3D images of the Gemini 7 spacecraft using these photo numbers? |
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