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Science / Space Race

[November 16, 1966] A Grand Finale (Gemini 12)

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by Kaye Dee

As I write, it’s less than a day since the splashdown of Gemini 12 brought NASA’s second manned spaceflight programme to an overwhelmingly successful conclusion, demonstrating that the Space Agency has finally mastered the art of spacewalking. It’s incredible to think that it’s only been 20 months since the first manned Gemini mission was launched, but the packed schedule of ten flights has tested out all the techniques that the space agency needs to advance to its Apollo lunar programme.

Two for the Show

Gemini 12's Command Pilot was former Naval aviator Captain Jim Lovell (left in photo above). Making his second spaceflight, Lovell previously flew on the Gemini 7 long duration mission and now holds the record for the longest time spent in space by any astronaut or cosmonaut. Pilot for this mission was rookie astronaut USAF Major Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, who performed an unprecedented three successful extravehicular activities (EVAs) during this flight. The only member of the astronaut corps to hold a Doctorate, Aldrin is a specialist in rendezvous and docking techniques, and on this mission he put that knowledge to very good use.

A “Halloween” Patch

Gemini 12 was originally scheduled to launch on October 31, so Lovell and Aldrin had considered a Halloween theme for their mission patch. They wanted to evoke Halloween with the use of orange and black colours and also planned to show their Gemini capsule launched on a witch’s broomstick instead of a rocket! However, with the launch rescheduled to November, only the Halloween colour-scheme remained of the original concept.

The final design features the Roman numeral XII at the top of the round patch, in the position it would be on a clock-face. Just like an hour hand, the Gemini spacecraft points to the XII, a reminder that this is the final flight of the Gemini programme. The crescent Moon on the left side of the patch symbolises the ultimate goal of the upcoming Apollo programme.

Training for Weightlessness

Gemini 12's main goal was to complete three EVAs that would demonstrate that NASA had finally cracked the problem of successfully carrying out spacewalking operations, a technique crucial to the Apollo programme.

The astronauts who attempted to perform spacewalks on Gemini 9, 10 and 11, had all reported that operating in orbit was much more difficult and tiring than the simulations conducted using the KC-135 weightlessness training aircraft. They also complained that there were few handholds on the exterior of the Gemini and Agena to help them move around in Zero-G. Consequently, a new approach to training was employed for Gemini 12, which I understand was suggested by Astronaut Aldrin himself, who is a keen scuba diver.


"Buzz" Aldrin practices installing a handrail between the Gemini capsule and Agena target vehicle, in an underwater training simulation

In addition to the KC-135 flights, Aldrin trained in a large pool containing a Gemini mockup. In the pool, special weights were added to the astronaut’s spacesuit to create “neutral buoyancy,” offsetting gravity so he would neither rise nor sink, and Aldrin spent several EVA simulation training sessions of more than two hours underwater.

As well as this new training technique, more handrails and handholds were added to the Gemini capsule, along with a waist tether that would enable Aldrin to turn wrenches and retrieve experiment packages without too much effort.

Dr. Rendezvous Saves the Day, Again!

After two delays caused by technical issues, the final Gemini mission lifted off on the afternoon of November 11 US time. On its third orbit, Gemini 12 prepared to dock with the Agena target vehicle, but problems with the Gemini's onboard radar threatened to make that impossible.

Luckily, Aldrin had already developed procedures for onboard backup rendezvous techniques in the event of radar failure. Drawing on his expertise, Aldrin used a sextant and his slide rule, measuring the angle between the horizon and the Agena. Once he had confirmed the information with his rendezvous chart, Aldrin calculated corrections with the spacecraft’s computer, enabling the rendezvous and docking to be successfully accomplished.

Rendezvous with the Sun

Despite the successful rendezvous, some anomalies with the Agena’s turbopump during launch led to Mission Control cancelling a planned boost to a higher orbit, like that conducted on Gemini 11. Instead, NASA took the opportunity to have the crew photograph a solar eclipse through the spacecraft windows at the beginning of mission day two.

Using the Agena’s secondary propulsion system, Gemini 12 changed orbits to place itself above South America at the right time and location to capture the first colour images of a total solar eclipse free from the interference of the Earth’s atmosphere. During the scant eight seconds that the astronauts could view the eclipse, they snapped four images that are expected to help scientists discover the secrets of the solar corona. The pictures were taken with film sensitive to ultra-violet light, which does not penetrate through the Earth's atmosphere.

Standing Up in Space

About two hours after photographing the eclipse, Aldrin commenced his first EVA, with his head and upper body exposed to space as he stood in the open hatch above his spacecraft seat. During this “stand-up EVA”, which lasted almost two and a half hours, Aldrin took the time to accustom himself to the space environment, which it was thought would better prepare him for his later spacewalk.

One of his first jobs was to install a handrail between his hatch and the docking collar of the Agena that would aid his movements during his day three spacewalk. Aldrin mounted a camera on the side of the spacecraft, with which he took a close-up picture of himself (above), the first shot of its type ever taken! He collected a micrometeorite experiment, and took photographs of the Earth as well as ultra-violet astronomical photography.

Aldrin’s photographic tasks were part of the 14 scientific, medical, and technological experiments planned for Gemini 12. Although five experiments could not be fully completed, those that were included: frog egg growth under zero-g conditions; synoptic terrain and weather photography; airglow horizon photography; and UV astronomy and dim sky photography.

Walking and Working in Space

Gemini 12 flight day three began with some minor fuel cell and manoeuvring thruster issues that would last for the rest of the mission. They did not, however, prevent the highlight of the flight from taking place: a planned two hour tethered spacewalk by Major Aldrin. Until Gemini 12, successfully performing work outside a spacecraft was the one Gemini objective that had eluded NASA, but Aldrin exceeded even the most optimistic hopes for this flight as he performed a record two hours, nine minute and 25 second EVA.

Attached to a 30-foot umbilical cord, Aldrin used the handrail he had installed the day before to assist in attaching a 100-foot long tether between the nose of the Gemini and the Agena. With the handholds, he did not experience the problems Gordon encountered on Gemini 11. Aldrin’s approach to his spacewalk was to go slowly and carefully, resting for two-minute periods between tasks. In fact, about a dozen two-minute rest periods were built into the EVA schedule to prevent Aldrin from becoming exhausted like previous Gemini spacewalkers. 

Moving to the spacecraft’s aft adapter, Aldrin supported himself with overshoe restraints and waist tethers to carry out a number of work tasks. He was able to fasten rings and hooks, connect and disconnect electrical and fluid connections, tighten bolts and cut cables. Aldrin then moved across to the Agena, where he worked at pulling apart electrical connectors and putting them together again. He also tried out a torque wrench designed for the Apollo programme.

At the completion of his spacewalk, Aldrin returned to his Gemini seat with no fatigue and all his tasks accomplished. This demonstrated that the use of neutral buoyancy training, available handholds and foot restraints on the spacecraft, and a slow and measured pace of work while in space, are the ingredients needed for future successful EVAs during the Apollo missions. 

Going for a Spin

The other major task for flight day three was a repeat of the gravity-gradient stabilisation/artificial gravity experiment performed on Gemini 11. Undocking from the Agena, Gemini 12 moved to the end of the tether connecting the two vehicles and then fired its thrusters to slowly rotate the combined spacecraft. Although they had some difficulty keeping the tether taut, the astronauts were able to use centrifugal force to generate a small amount of gravity during the four hour, 20 minute exercise, and achieve gravity-gradient stabilization. After releasing the tether connected to the Agena, Gemini 12 pulled away from the target vehicle and did not re-dock with it again.

One More Time

The last day of Gemini 12’s mission began with an attempt to sight two yellow clouds of sodium particles ejected by a pair of French Centaure rockets launched from the Algerian Sahara. This experiment was designed to measure high altitude winds. Although Lovell and Aldrin could not see the clouds, they did attempt to photograph them using directional instructions from the ground. We’ll have to wait until those films are developed to see if they were successful.

Shortly afterwards, as the spacecraft came over Australia, Gemini 12’s hatch opened for the final time, and Aldrin conducted a second stand-up EVA. Lasting 55 minutes, this brought Aldrin’s total spacewalking time up to a record five hours and 30 minutes! Most of this EVA occurred as Gemini 12 passed over the night side of the Earth, so that Aldrin could aim his camera at “hot young stars”, which have stimulated the curiosity of astronomers all over the world. He also took numerous ultraviolet photographs of stars and constellations.

Mission Accomplished

After a spaceflight lasting 94 hours, 34 minutes and 31 seconds, Geminin 12 made the second computer-controlled re-entry of the programme, splashing down safely in the western Atlantic just three miles from their target, near the recovery aircraft carrier USS Wasp.

Captain Lovell and Major Aldrin have now been recovered and are on their way back to the United States for post-flight debriefing. But we already know that the Gemini 12 mission has been a fitting grand finale to the Gemini project, clearly demonstrating that NASA has achieved all the goals it set for the programme: it has now mastered rendezvous and docking, direct ascent to orbit rendezvous, long-duration spaceflight equivalent to the time of an Apollo lunar mission, and – the trickiest of all, as they discovered – the art of spacewalking.

We should not forget that Gemini has been a team effort, directly involving more than 25,000 people from NASA, the US Department of Defence, other government agencies, universities and research centres, industry and tracking station partners overseas. Everyone involved should feel great pride in the way spaceflight has been advanced in an amazingly short time.

Very soon, the manned Apollo programme will commence, and we can all hope that it will lead to a successful landing on the Moon before the end of this decade. But we should not forget that its success will stand on the shoulders of the Gemini programme.

Postscript

But where are the Russians in the race to the Moon? No Soviet manned flight has been announced since Voskhod 2 in March last year. Has the USSR withdrawn from the race? That seems unlikely, but why do they appear not to have attempted rendezvous and docking missions? Perhaps they have decided to use a different method of reaching the Moon, such as direct ascent, using a massive multi-stage rocket, without the need for orbital rendezvous? After all, as far as we can tell, they still have larger and more powerful rockets than Western nations. Only time will tell, but I think there are still many surprises in store from the USSR before either the East or West wins the Space Race!

(Want more exciting space stories?  Join us for Star Trek tomorrow night at 8:30 PM (Pacific AND Eastern — two showings)!!)

Here's the invitation!



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Science / Space Race

[September 18, 1966] Soaring Higher (Gemini 11)

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by Kaye Dee

Back in July, Gemini 10 accomplished an incredibly ambitious mission, and I wondered then what the next Gemini flight could do to top it. Now we know. In its three-day mission, Gemini 11 carried out a packed program: it made a direct ascent to its Agena target vehicle, soared even higher than its predecessor, conducted two EVAs and 12 different experiments, created artificial gravity and even performed the first computer-controlled return to Earth. I’m exhausted just listing all these highlights!


Gemini-11 prime and backup crews (L to R): William A. Anders, backup crew pilot; Richard F. Gordon Jr., prime crew pilot; Charles Conrad Jr. (foot on desk), prime crew command pilot; and Neil A. Armstrong, backup crew command pilot

Anchors Aweigh!

You could almost say that Gemini 11 has been a US Navy mission, since both its crew are naval officers. The Command Pilot, Commander Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr., was selected in the second astronaut group in 1962. He was previously the Pilot for the then-record breaking Gemini 5 mission, spending almost 8 days in space. Making his first spaceflight, Gemini 11 Pilot L.t Commander Richard “Dick” Gordon Jr. was part of NASA’s third astronaut intake in October 1963. Both men were previously naval aviators and test pilots.

There’s also a nod to the crew’s US Navy background in their mission patch, which was designed in Navy colours of blue and gold. The major milestones of the mission are indicated by stars. The first orbit rendezvous with the Agena is indicated by the tiny star on the line representing the mission’s low Earth orbit, while the actual docking is marked by the large star on the left. The star at the top marks the plan to reach a record high apogee, and the star on the right signifies Astronaut Gordon's spacewalk. The three events symbolised by the three large stars are also depicted visually, with representations of the docked Gemini 11 and Agena, a gold line representing the high apogee orbit and a spacewalking astronaut. The Roman numeral XI soars above the Earth from the launch site in Florida.

Preparing for Apollo

An important goal of Gemini 11 was to prove the feasibility of the plan for direct ascent rendezvous on Apollo lunar missions, in which a returning Lunar Module will lift off from the Moon’s surface to rendezvous with the Command Module as it passes overhead. To practice this technique, Gemini 11 would attempt to rendezvous directly with its Agena target vehicle on its first orbit, rather than taking around four orbits, as has been the case on earlier Gemini flights. To achieve this manoeuvre, the Atlas-Agena target vehicle had to launch within the desired time, while the Gemini itself had only a two-second launch window!

Present and future in one picture. As Gemini 11 lifts off from the Cape Kennedy Air Force Station's Launch Complex 19, the first Apollo Saturn V rocket is on Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Centre. This Saturn V is a non-flight Facility Verification Vehicle that is being used for pad fit checks

Although technical issues twice delayed the launch, Gemini 11 finally lifted off exactly on time 12 September (US time): its target vehicle had been launched an hour and 37 minutes earlier. Manoeuvres for Gemini to catch up with the Agena began quickly, and before its first orbit had been completed, Gemini 11 was flying in formation with its target and ready to dock. The actual docking was achieved nine minutes after rendezvous, just one hour and 34 minutes after liftoff. With an achievement like this, it’s amazing to think that the first rendezvous between two orbiting spacecraft occurred only nine months ago! Unlike Gemini 10, the Gemini 11 docking consumed less fuel than expected and both Commander Conrad and Lt. Commander Gordon conducted two docking exercises with the Agena, before a final manoeuvre established the docked spacecraft in a 178 x 188 mile orbit.


After a first orbit rendezvous, Gemini 11 is docked with its Agena. The target vehicle's antenna is seen extending upwards

“Ride ‘em Cowboy”

The first Extra-Vehicular Activity of the mission occurred 24 hours after launch, when Astronaut Gordon left the spacecraft to begin a spacewalk that was scheduled to last about 105 minutes, while he remained tethered to Gemini 11 by a life support umbilical line. After setting up a movie camera and retrieving a micrometeorite experiment, the next task involved fastening a 100-foot tether, stored in the Agena's docking collar, to a docking bar on the Gemini's nose. These would be used for experiments in passive stabilisation and the first creation of artificial gravity in space (see below!)


"Ride 'em cowboy," said Gemini 11 Command Pilot Conrad as Astronaut Dick Gordon rested on the Agena target vehicle. This view was taken over the Atlantic Ocean at approximately 160 miles above Earth

Like previous Gemini EVAs, working in space for an extended period proved more tiring than in the simulations and Gordon became exhausted, overstressing his spacesuit’s life support system. After attaching the tether, he stopped to rest, sitting astride the Agena, like a cowboy riding a bucking bronco. Heavy perspiration inside the suit obscured the astronaut’s vision, virtually blinding his right eye and the faceplate of his helmet became fogged due to heavy breathing. As a result, the EVA was terminated, with Gordon spending just 21 minutes outside the spacecraft. 

Reaching New Heights

On 14 September, more than 40 hours into the mission, the Agena target vehicle’s primary propulsion system was fired for 25 seconds to thrust the docked spacecraft to a maximum altitude of 853 miles, establishing a new manned spaceflight altitude record! The Gemini 11 crew were enthralled by the spectacular view from this unprecedented vantage point. They particularly commented on the blueness of the water and marked curvature of the Earth below them.


Conrad and Gordon reached the maximum altitude of their high orbit over the southern hemisphere. As they looked west over the western half of Australia, Conrad said "We're looking straight down over Australia now. We have the whole southern part of the world out one window. Utterly fantastic."

After two orbits at this record-breaking altitude, completed in 3 hours, 23 minutes, Conrad and Gordon once again used the Agena’s engines to drive the joined spacecraft back down to their original low Earth orbit.

Standing Up in Space

On flight day three, Astronaut Gordon performed the mission’s second EVA, a “stand-up" spacewalk like that conducted on Gemini 10. Positioned in the open hatch, standing on his seat, Gordon spent two hours and eight minutes photographing the Earth, clouds and stars, as part of the range of experiments to be performed during the flight. During this period, Conrad manoeuvred the spacecraft to point Gordon and his camera in whatever direction was required. Unlike his first EVA experience, Gordon found the “stand-up” spacewalk so peaceful that he actually fell asleep!


Astronaut Dick Gordon stands in the open spacecraft hatch during the Gemini 11 mission

Inflight Experiments

The photography that Gordon undertook during his “stand-up” EVA were part of a packed program of 12 scientific experiments planned for Gemini 11. These included photography of the Earth for research in geology, geophysics, geography, oceanography, and related fields, and photography of clouds to study the fine structure of the Earth's weather system. Other experiments focused on astronomy and upper-atmosphere studies, while three experiments had specific military applications. There was a biological experiment looking at whether weightlessness enhances the effects of radiation on human white blood cells and Neurospora crassa fungi. An interesting photographic experiment investigated the regions of the L4 and L5 libration points of the Earth–Moon system. These are zones trailing and ahead of the Moon's orbit that are gravitationally stable. It is theorized that there might be clouds of particulate matter, or even tiny mini-Moons, which it is theorised may be orbiting the Earth in these regions.

Making Artificial Gravity!

After the stand-up EVA, 50 hours into the mission, Gemini 11 commenced a fascinating experiment in creating artificial gravity. Undocking from the Agena target vehicle, the Gemini 11 spacecraft slowly manoeuvred to stretch out the tether that Gordon had connected between them during his first spacewalk, and then allow the two tethered spacecraft to slowly rotate around one another.

The movement of the tethered spacecraft was first erratic, but stabilised after about 20 minutes, so that the rotation rate could then be increased. The astronauts found it challenging to keep the rope tether between the spacecraft tight, but they were able to demonstrate the "passive attitude stabilisation" of two spacecraft connected by a tether.


While tethered to their Agena target vehicle, the Gemini 11 crew manoeuvred their craft to keep the tether taut between the two. By firing their side thrusters to slowly rotate the combined spacecraft, they were able to use centrifugal force to generate about 0.00015 g of artificial gravity

The circular motion at the end of the tether created a slight artificial “gravitational acceleration” within Gemini 11. This is the first time artificial gravity has been demonstrated in space, even though that gravitational force was only 1.5 one-thousandths that of Earth. After about three hours, the rope tether was released, and the spacecraft moved apart.

Final Rendezvous

Although a fuel cell failed after the artificial gravity experiment, the remaining fuel cells were able to satisfactorily cope, and just under five hours before planned re-entry, Gemini 11 made a final “flyby” rendezvous with the Agena. This last rendezvous had not been part of the original flight plan but was made possible because of the fuel efficiency of the earlier rendezvous and docking manoeuvres. The fact that this rendezvous was made without use of the rendezvous radar, which had malfunctioned, is a testament to the skill and training of the Gemini 11 crew.


Gemini 11's Agena target vehicle seen during the "flyby" rendezvous. The tether from the artificial gravity and passive stabilisation experiment can be seen still attached to the vehicle

Coming Home Under Computer Control

Gemini 11’s return to Earth was the first fully automatic splashdown in the history of the US space program. On 15 September, at the end of its 44th orbit, Gemini 11’s retro-rockets were fired and the automatic re-entry was accomplished by computer commands directly to the thrusters. On earlier Gemini missions, the Command Pilot took controls of the re-entry at about 75 miles up, using the spacecraft's offset centre of gravity to generate lift for changes in direction. For Gemini 11, these manoeuvres were accomplished by computer commands. This process proved successful, and the capsule splashed down only 1.5 miles from the planned position in the Atlantic Ocean. A helicopter from the USS Guam picked up Conrad and Dick Gordon, taking the astronauts to the recovery ship.


Command Pilot Conrad climbs from Gemini 11 minutes after its successful computer-controlled splashdown

Heading to a Grand Finale

With Gemini 11, NASA demonstrated that it has has well and truly mastered rendezvous and docking. But the difficulties encountered by Lt Commander Gordon on his first EVA, and the problems that occurred on the spacewalks in previous missions, show that Extra-Vehicular Activity remains a challenge to be conquered. EVA is vital to the success of the Apollo programme, so Gemini 12, the final mission in this programme, will have spacewalking as its primary objective: it will be a grand finale indeed if Gemini 12 can demonstrate that the problems of EVA, like those of rendezvous and docking, have been successfully solved.




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Science / Space Race

[August 26, 1966] Shooting the Moon – and Going Even Further (Lunar Orbiter, AS-202 and Pioneer 7)

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by Kaye Dee

It’s been a busy month in deep space exploration, with new space probes exploring the Moon and conditions in interplanetary space, while another step forward in testing the hardware for the Apollo programme has just taken place.

Surveying the Moon

NASA may have called its lunar soft lander Surveyor 1, but its latest lunar mission, Lunar Orbiter 1, is actually surveying the Moon from orbit. It is the first of a series of Lunar Orbiter spacecraft that NASA wants to send to the Moon, with a launch planned every three months to obtain high-resolution photographs of potential Apollo landing sites. These probes will also extensively map the Moon’s surface with a resolution of 200 feet or better and study the Moon’s gravitational field as well as its radiation and micrometeoroid environments. The Boeing Missile Production Centre in Seattle is building the solar-powered spacecraft, with NASA’s Langley Research Centre managing the project.

Launched on 10 August (US time), Lunar Orbiter 1’s goals include imaging nine primary and seven secondary potential Apollo landing sites on the Earth-facing side of the Moon at medium and high resolutions, as well as photographing 11 areas on the hidden lunar far side at lower resolution. Although the spacecraft experienced a temporary failure of its navigation system (based on tracking the star Canopus) and overheated too, both these problems were resolved by the time it reached the Moon.

After a 92-hour cruise, Lunar Orbiter 1 entered an elliptical 117-by-1,160-mile orbit around the Moon, to become the first US probe to orbit our natural satellite (the USSR’s Luna 10 became the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon back in April). On 15 August, Lunar Orbiter 1 activated its 145-pound camera system and began testing it by scanning and transmitting back to Earth several pre-exposed frames of film.

A Photography Studio in Lunar Orbit

Photography is critical to the purpose and success of the Lunar Orbiter missions, and the advanced Lunar Orbiter camera system has been built by Eastman-Kodak. Rumours I heard during my recent visit to Woomera indicate that it is based on a system originally designed for a classified military satellite. Lunar Orbiter’s “camera” is actually a double instrument, using two lenses to take a wide-angle medium-resolution shot and a high-resolution image on the same film. The narrow angle, high-resolution camera has a resolution of just three feet, while the resolution of the wide-angle camera is 25 feet.

The first medium-resolution image taken by Lunar Orbiter 1, showing part of the Mare Smythii region

Once it takes a picture, Lunar Orbiter functions as a photography studio in space, developing its film onboard using a semi-dry process. The developed film is scanned in narrow strips using a photomultiplier, with the scans transmitted back to Earth. The signals are then reconverted into photos in a way that is quite fascinating. I was fortunate enough to see this process for myself while I was visiting NASA’s Island Lagoon deep space tracking station near Woomera last week. The signals representing each scanned strip are reconverted to images on film and then each strip is laid on a board, one beside the other, to build up the photograph. Once all the film strips comprising the complete frame have been received and laid out, the final image is photographed. This produces the “striped” effect seen in the pictures that NASA has already released.

Getting to Work

Lunar Orbiter acquired its first images of the Moon on 18 August, taking 16 high-resolution and four medium-resolution frames. While the medium-resolution photos were of good quality, a problem with the spacecraft’s motion compensation system caused blurring of the early high-resolution images, although this has now been resolved. A separate issue with the film developing system has also required the film to be advanced more frequently than planned, resulting in the need to take additional unplanned photographs. This has proved a bonus for mission managers, enabling them to shoot additional photographs at unusual oblique angles by temporarily reorienting the spacecraft. Perhaps these special images will produce useful perspectives that can be more fully explored on later Lunar Orbiter missions.

A medium-resolution view of the Moon's heavily-cratered far side, with the unusual crater Tsiolkovsky (with the dark interior) appearing in the top right

Initially, Lunar Orbiter concentrated on imaging the Moon's hidden side, of which we know so little, before moving on to its main task of surveying the proposed Apollo landing sites. On 20 August, the spacecraft altered its orbit to approach as close as 36 miles above the Moon’s surface, and on 25 August, it lowered its orbit still further, to 25.2 miles, to get the most detailed views of potential Apollo landing sites. This will help scientists to determine which ones will be safest for the first manned missions to the Moon.

An Historic Image

On 23 August, as Lunar Orbiter 1 emerged from behind the Moon, it captured what has to be one of the most important images so far produced in space exploration: a view of the Earth appearing to rise over the lunar horizon. This is the first time that our home planet has been photographed from so far out in space, and also the first time that the Earth and the Moon have appeared in the same picture. The hi-resolution image, seen below, is breathtaking in black and white – I just wish it could be reproduced at a larger scale here. so that you could see all the detail it provides. Just imagine how much more spectacular this view of the Earth will be when we can finally see it in colour, perhaps taken when the first Apollo astronauts orbit the Moon! 

As I write this, Lunar Orbiter has recently taken another image of the Earth from the Moon and is continuing its primary task of imaging Apollo landing sites. The spacecraft will soon run out of film and take its last photographs, although transmission of the 200 or so scanned images may not be completed until mid-September. Its photography mission may then be over, but the probe will continue to return data on radiation and micrometeoroid conditions around the Moon. Once its maneouvring fuel is almost depleted, ground controllers will command Lunar Orbiter 1 to de-orbit and crash onto the Moon. This will ensure that its presence as a dead satellite in orbit will not interfere with future Lunar Orbiter or Apollo missions.

Prelude to Apollo

While Lunar Orbiter has been assisting the Apollo programme with its work in lunar orbit, here on Earth the latest step forward in the manned lunar program has just taken place. 25 August saw the sub-orbital flight of AS-202, the second unmanned test flight of a production Block I Apollo Command and Service Module and the third for the Saturn 1B rocket.

Originally intended as the second test flight of the Saturn IB vehicle, the mission was delayed until after AS-203 because its Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM-011) was not yet ready. CSM-011 is essentially a production model capable of carrying a crew, although it was not fully fitted out and lacked the crew couches. This was the first flight of the spacecraft’s guidance and navigation system as well as the fuel cell electrical system. The flight was also designed to test the Command Module’s heat shield.

The performance of the Saturn 1B was perfect, putting the spacecraft into a ballistic trajectory. Separating from the launcher’s second stage at an altitude of 419.8 nautical miles, the CSM was pre-programmed to make four burns to test its service propulsion system (SPS). The first, and longest, burn lasted 3 minutes, 35 seconds, lifting the spacecraft apogee to 617.1 nautical miles, 874.8 nautical miles downrange. The two final burns lasted only three seconds each, designed to test the rapid restart capabilities of the engine.

The spacecraft performed a skip re-entry to shed speed. It first descended to 36 nautical miles before lifting back up to 44 nautical miles and descending again. The Command Module splashed down south-east of Wake Island, about 205 nautical miles from the target landing site, but was retrieved by the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.

The success of this flight indicates that the Block I spacecraft and Saturn IB are ready to carry a crew into orbit, so the next mission, AS-204, may well be manned. What an exciting development that will be!

Continually Pioneering

Moon missions, manned spaceflight and planetary explorers capture the attention of the public, but NASA’s Pioneer series of probes are quietly continuing to gather scientific information about the Sun and conditions in interplanetary space.

Launched on 17 August, Pioneer 7 joins its predecessor Pioneer 6, as the second of five spacecraft designed to make a long term study of the solar wind, solar magnetic field and cosmic rays. This research will contribute to the Apollo programme as well, by producing a better understanding of the radiation environment that the astronauts will encounter on the Moon, which is not protected by a magnetic field like the Earth.

NASA illustration depicting the locations in interplanetary space of the Pioneer 6, 7 and the future Pioneer 8 (Pioneer C) spacecraft 37 days after launch

Where Pioneer 6 is orbiting the Sun between the orbits of Earth and Venus, Pioneer 7 is heading 12 million miles beyond Earth’s orbit, taking up station at approximately 1.1 Astronomical Units, between the orbits of Earth and Mars. Its 140-pound package of seven scientific instruments is the same as that carried on Pioneer 6. One of these instruments, the cosmic ray anisotropy experiment, was developed by Dr. Ken McCracken, an Australian physicist interested in the hazards of space radiation to astronauts and the behaviour of cosmic rays. With professorships at both the University of Adelaide and the University of Texas, McCracken is earning himself the nickname “Sir Launchalot” for the number of instruments he has already flown on satellites, sounding rockets and high-altitude balloons!

With NASA’s Ames Research Centre as the project managers, Pioneer 7 was built by TRW and is identical to Pioneer 6. Each spin-stabilised spacecraft is cylindrical, with the main body measuring 37 inches in diameter by 35 inches high. Solar panels are mounted around the body, with a long magnetometer boom extending 82 inches long. The antenna mast is 52 inches long and the entire spacecraft weighs approximately 150 pounds. The spacecraft have a design life of six months, but Pioneer 6 has already outlived that, and there is every expectation that Pioneer 7 will exceed its design life as well.

Off the Earth

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this update is that all of the launches involve extraterrestrial destinations. The focus has turned from the Earth to its nearest neighbors. How far we have come in just a few years! Where might we be headed come 1970?




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Science / Space Race

[July 24, 1966] Doubling Up (Gemini 10)

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by Kaye Dee

A few days ago, Gemini 10 returned from the most ambitious US spaceflight to date. It literally took the Gemini programme to new heights and has firmly cemented the United States’ lead over the Soviet Union in the race to the Moon. Featuring not one, but two orbital rendezvous and two EVAs, Gemini 10 was a complex mission designed to increase NASA’s experience with these two techniques vital to the success of the Apollo lunar programme.

Designed by astronaut John Young’s wife Barbara, the Gemini 10 patch is simple, but highly symbolic. It features the Roman numeral 10 and two stars representing the two rendezvous attempts; Castor and Pollux (the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini); and the two crew members. A stylized rendezvous is also depicted.

Crew for a Complex Mission

The Command Pilot for Gemini 10 was US Navy Commander John Young (left in the picture below), making his second spaceflight after acting as the Pilot of Gemini 3. Sitting in the right-hand seat as Pilot was US Air Force Major Michael Collins. A member of NASA’s third astronaut group, he is the first astronaut born outside the United States: his father is an Army officer and was stationed in Rome at the time of Collins’ birth.

Critical Timing

Blasting off on July 18, Gemini 10 was the first dual launch of a target vehicle and a manned Gemini flight to occurr exactly as planned. Launch timing was crucial, as Gemini 10 had only a 35-second window if it was going to rendezvous with two Agena targets in different orbits. The launch of the first rendezvous target, Agena 10, could not be delayed by more than 28 minutes, or it would result in a two-day wait until the second Agena already in orbit (originally launched for Gemini 8) would again be in position for the dual rendezvous plan to succeed. Agena 10 lifted off just two seconds late. One hundred minutes later it was followed by Gemini 10, launching exactly on time.

An amazing timelapse photo of Gemini 10's launch, showing the supporting rocker arm tower falling away

First Rendezvous

Despite the perfect launch, the path to Gemini 10’s first rendezvous was not completely smooth. An error made by John Young during the second burn – needed to rendezvous with the Agena about 160 miles above the Earth – required two additional burns to correct. By the time Gemini 10, on its fourth orbit, rendezvoused and docked with Agena 10, 60% of its fuel had been consumed. This placed constraints on the remainder of the mission, leading to the cancellation of several scheduled scientific experiments and additional docking practice.

Fortunately, the docking itself was successful and Mission Control decided to keep Gemini 10 docked to the Agena as long as possible. The target vehicle carried 3,400 pounds of fuel, some of which could be used for attitude control of the docked vehicles.


Docked to the nose of Agena 10, Gemini 10 Pilot Michael Collins took this impressive photograph of the Agena's engine firing as it boosted them to a record altitude

Rocketing to New Heights

Most of that fuel was needed for the second phase of Gemini 10’s mission. About seven and a half hours after launch, an 80 second burn of the Agena engine hurtled Young and Collins to an altitude of 474 miles, the farthest anyone has so far been from the Earth. This new record completely eclipses the previous record of 310 miles set by Voskhod 2 last year.

As the Gemini was docked nose-to-nose with the Agena, Young and Collins were flying ‘backwards’ as the rocket thrust them towards the higher altitude in a wild ride. Despite their unique vantage point, much of the view from the crew’s windows was blocked by the bulk of the Agena in front of them, so Young and Collins took very few photos: instead, they concentrated on their spacecraft’s instruments, especially the radiation dosage. The crew was particularly concerned about the radiation levels at their record-breaking altitude, as the lower edge of the inner Van Allen radiation belt was only about 150 miles above them. Fortunately, their instruments showed that the radiation levels at that altitude posed no danger to human life.


One of the few photos taken by the Gemini 10 crew at their record altitude, showing the curvature of the Earth. The Straits of Gibraltar are visible, with Europe to the left and North Africa to the right

Speaking of radiation, while Gemini 10 was orbiting aloft, France tested another nuclear weapon at Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific. Although the astronauts were high too high above the blast zone for radiation to be an issue, Young and Collins were warned not to look at its blinding flash as they passed overhead.

When is a Spacewalk not a Spacewalk? When It’s a “Standup EVA”!

The Gemini crew began their second day in space with the news that they had enough fuel to complete the next phase of their mission, the rendezvous with Gemini 8’s Agena target vehicle. Another wild ride, pushed by Agena 10, lowered the Gemini to a new orbit with an apogee of 237 miles. Now the crew began to prepare for the mission’s first EVA, which would not see an astronaut actually leave the spacecraft. 

As an orbital sunset approached, Collins opened his hatch, exposing both astronauts to the space environment to perform a “standup EVA”. Standing in his seat with the upper part of his body outside the spacecraft, for a view unconstrained by its small windows, Collins commenced a photographic study of stellar ultraviolet radiation. He took 22 images of the southern Milky Way, scanning from Beta Crucis to Gamma Velorum (though, unfortunately, few of the images have proved scientifically usable). As Gemini 10 passed from night back to day, Collins also photographed a colour patch on the exterior of the spacecraft, to see if film could accurately reproduce colors in space. This task was cut short, though, when both Collins and Young experienced an eye irritation that caused their eyes to tear, making it difficult to see. As I write this article, the cause of this irritation is still uncertain, although it is thought to be a leak of lithium hydroxide in the environmental system.

Second Rendezvous

Gemini 10’s third day in space was its most complex and hazardous, commencing with the rendezvous with Agena 8. For the final time, Agena 10 fired its engine, to bring the docked spacecraft within 70 miles of Agena 8. At this point Gemini 10 discarded the Agena, which remains in orbit for use as a target by a future Gemini mission. Gemini 10 continued under its own power, for the first time in almost 48 hours, to reach Agena 8.

The former Gemini 8 target, having been in space since March, was essentially dead, without any power. Commander Young completed the critical final stage of rendezvous without the help of bright running lights and target radar, while trying to conserve enough fuel to let Collins take a one-hour spacewalk. He successfully guided the Gemini to within 10 feet of Agena 8, maintaining station close to the target vehicle without docking. This unique rendezvous simulated the rescue of astronauts from a spacecraft that had lost all electrical power.

A “Working” Spacewalk

With enough maneouvring fuel still available, Collins’ second EVA was now Go! Dubbed a “working spacewalk”, this EVA involved activities around the exterior of Gemini 10 and a traverse across to Agena 8. Like Gene Cernan on Gemini 9, Major Collins experienced difficulties in conducting his EVA tasks, demonstrating the need for more hand- and footholds on the exterior of future space vehicles. Nevertheless, he retrieved a micrometeorite collector from the exterior of the Gemini, containing experiments from Britain, Israel and West Germany. Unfortunately, this collector was later lost in space, apparently floating out of the spacecraft before the final hatch closing. 

Another micrometeorite collector was located on Agena 8. After one failed attempt to retrieve it, Collins used an experimental nitrogen-propelled “jet gun”, the Hand-Held Maneuvering Unit, to propel himself back to the Agena. This time he successfully retrieved the micrometeorite experiment, which is of particular scientific interest because of its long duration in orbit. There are no photos of the spacewalk available, but these training images give some idea of the complexity of the operations. However, low propellant quantity curtailed the spacewalk after only 39 minutes, instead of the originally planned hour. The crew experienced some difficulty in closing the hatch, due to the snake-like 50-foot umbilical used for Collins’ spacewalk and it was later jettisoned, along with the chestpack used by Collins and some other equipment an hour later. 

Return to Earth

About 63 hours into the flight, Young and Collins awoke to homecoming day, completing some final experiments, mostly involving photography of the Earth. Then, 70 hours and 10 minutes after liftoff, re-entry commenced and Young steered Gemini 10 to a pinpoint landing in the Atlantic only three and a half miles from the aiming point. The crew of the prime recovery vessel, the USS Guadalcanal, watched the spacecraft hit the water, as did millions of television viewers via the Early Bird satellite (though not us here in Australia, as we do not yet have access to satellite communications: it’s coming soon, though!).


For the first time the children of the recovery ship crew were allowed to be aboard to watch the splashdown and recovery. Here they join the party celebrating Gemini 10's safe return from a record-setting mission

Gemini 10 was certainly a mission for the record books: I can’t wait to see what further developments Gemini 11 will bring in just a couple of months’ time.




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Science / Space Race

[July 16, 1966] Onward and Upward! (Apollo, Australia, and OV)

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Not a month goes by without some interesting tidbits on the space front.  Even between Gemini and Voskhod missions, there's always something going on, all over the world!


by Gideon Marcus

Heavy Lifting

We are used to space shots being manned spectaculars — brave men in space suits heading into the cosmos.  But the missions that precede the human-crewed flights are just as important.  On February 26 of this year, we saw the first full Apollo test flight.  It featured an old-style Command Module, the bit of Apollo that will house crew, but the Service Module was standard production line.  The rocket, too, is going to see service.  Unlike the Saturn 1, which flew ten test flights in a row with remarkable reliability, the Saturn 1B will be used for actual Apollo missions, at least ones that will take place in Earth orbit.

The February flight, dubbed AS-201, was not without problems.  Nevertheless, it comprised a successful launch and landing after a 37-minute suborbital flight.

AS-203, launched July 5, was strictly a booster test.  The goal was to see if the Centaur second stage of the Saturn 1B could restart successfully in orbit, a critical function for lunar missions.  As a booster test, the rocket stack looked a bit odd.  Instead of an Apollo capsule, there was simply a nosecone covering the second stage.  The deletion of even a boilerplate also meant that the rocket could carry more fuel for testing.  By the time the vehicle had reached orbit, there was still 20,000 pounds of hydrogen and 3,000 pounds of oxygen in its tanks.

For four orbits, NASA engineers subjected the vehicle to various stress tests.  Hydrogen and oxygen were vented in various quantities.  In its final orbit, hydrogen was vented but the oxygen vents kept closed to create a tremendous pressure differential.  This eventually caused the rocket to explode, but not before surviving twice the expected endurance of the vehicle.  Call that a success!

Next up will be AS-202, which was bumped to accommodate this flight.  It will be a suborbital test like AS-201, but the Apollo will have fully functional guidance and navigation systems to test.  A few more successful flights, and we'll be on our way to the Moon!

Fraternal Twins

The Air Force has gotten a lot out of its budget "Orbiting Vehicle" program.  The idea behind the program was to utilize space on rocket test launches for satellites using standardized, mass-produced bodies.  This meant a double-savings over custom-built missions on mission-specific flights. 

Of course, things don't always work out as planned.  There are at least three OV series now, and only the OV2s have used spare test flights (in their case, on Titan 3Cs).  The OV3 series uses purpose-launched Scout rockets.  The OV1s, instead of using space on test-launched Atlas rockets (save for the first one), have instead used spare Atlases that were decommissioned from military service last year.  Still, the rockets were just sitting there, so it's still cheaper than it could have been.

In any event, OV1-7 and OV1-8, launched on July 14, represent the second time a pair of OV1 satellites were orbited back-to-back.  This particular launch was a little unusual for two reasons.  Firstly, OV1-7 (a standard OV1 satellite) was supposed to be a particle physics and "earthglow" detector. But it never left its Atlas and fell back to Earth.

Secondly, OV1-8 wasn't an OV1 at all, really.  It was a big balloon.  And not just an ordinary balloon: it was actually an aluminum grid put into spherical shape by being embedded in inflatable plastic.  When OV1-8 got to orbit, it inflated.  The Sun's rays disintegrated the plastic leaving a hollow mesh sphere.  Called PaGeos (Passive Geosynchronous), OV1-8 orbits the Earth at the same rate as its rotation, keeping it pretty much in the same spot in the sky with reference to a ground-based observer. 

And what good is a hollow aluminum balloon?  Why, for bouncing messages off of!  Turns out PaGeos reflects signals five times as well as the old NASA Project Echo balloons.  Also, the hollow nature makes PaGeos much less susceptible to air drag, which shortens the lifetime of a satellite by eventually pulling it down to Earth.  PaGeos was shot into orbit backwards to maximize air drag, yet it is calculated to have a lifespan of four years. 

Though active satellites like Telstar and Syncom have largely replaced passive balloon satellites, the cheapness and durability of passive comsats like PaGeos suggests there may be a specialized use for them in years to come.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see!


by Kaye Dee

(Not) Going Up from Down Under

Hello everyone, Kaye here. Gideon has kindly allowed me an opportunity to provide a quick update on recent space events in Australia. While the British and Australian sounding rocket programmes keep expanding, the European Launcher Development Organisation’s Europa launcher program at Woomera has had its first major failure-and one that was not the fault of the rocket itself!

Following the three successful test flights of the Blue Streak first stage, ELDO F-4 was intended to be the first all-up test of the three-stage Europa vehicle. The first stage was active, with the French second stage and the West German third stage inert dummies. The rocket was also carrying a dummy test satellite that carried some instrumentation to measure the conditions that a real satellite would experience during launch.

Although the 24 May lift-off went perfectly, the impact predictor soon reported that the rocket was veering west of the planned trajectory. At 136 seconds the Range Safety Officer terminated the flight, with the debris raiding down into the lower part of the Simpson Desert. To the disappointment of all involved, the post-flight analysis revealed that the rocket had, in fact, been exactly on course, and inaccurate readings had been received at the Mirikata downrange radar station 120 miles away. Oops! ELDO is now preparing for a new all-up test later this year, possibly in November. 

Waking a Sleeping Beauty

Australia has also recently played a special role in the Surveyor mission currently on the Moon. After the solar-powered probe shut down during the two week lunar night, the task of bringing it back to operational life was entrusted to the NASA Tidbinbilla Deep Space Tracking Station, outside Canberra. The re-awakening process on 8 July was a complete success and the space tracker who sent the "wake up" command was jokingly given a special citation: the Prince Charming Award!

[…and that's the space news for this week.  Stay tuned for full Gemini 10 coverage next week!]




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Book, Science / Space Race, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[June 12, 1966] Which Way to Outer Space? (New Writings In SF 8)

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by Mx. Kris Vyas-Myall

Space has been big news in the British press recently. Not the current struggles of America’s Gemini-9 link-up, but rather the saga of the UK’s presence in the ELDO.

ELDO logo

The European Launch Development Organization was formed by a treaty signed in 1962 between Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and The Netherlands for the development of a three-stage rocket launch for satellite use (you can read an excellent report Kaye Dee did on the project two years ago). However, the new British Labour government has been unhappy with the increasing costs and with the fact that Britain was paying around 40% of the cost rather than investing in its own rocket program, like some of the other nations have been.

The issue apparently came to a head when estimates for the Europa 1 launcher had risen to £150m, with no expectation of much practical use before 1969. For the last week negotiations had been happening feverishly to try to come up with a solution, with concerns that Britain would have no involvement in space in the future and the whole Eldo project could end up being scrapped.

ELDO launch brochure
Brochure for the upcoming Europa 1 launches from Woomera

Thankfully, a solution has been found. Britain will still be involved but their share of the cost will be reduced to 27%, whilst other countries shares increasing to meet this shortfall, making the payments between the largest countries more equitable.

New Writings in SF 8

Space is also the main theme of this quarter’s New Writings anthology, with new angles used to look at the familiar subject.

New Writings in SF8 Cover

Before we start on the stories, can we address the fact that these Dobson hardbacks are incredibly ugly to look at? They are just the same image and format reproduced in different colors each time. The Corgi paperback editions all have much more attractive covers which are likely to intrigue the reader:

Covers for New Writings anthologies 1, 2 & 3 in paperback from Corgi
The first three New Writings anthologies in paperback from Corgi

Could the publishers please make more effort? Or at least give us some variety after two years of the same dust jacket?

Anyway, on to the stories, let us see what Carnell’s crew comes up with:

The Pen and the Dark by Colin Kapp

We have the return of Kapp’s Unorthodox engineers for a third installment (one in Carnell’s New Worlds and the other in New Writings 3). These stories seem to have fans enough to encourage more tales in this world, although I have personally not been enamored by what has been presented so far.

This time the team go to investigate a strange phenomenon on the planet Ithica. An alien vessel had appeared there, then vanished, leaving a mysterious pillar of darkness. The whole area appears to defy their understanding of physics and so the team must investigate further.

I have read some people find the stilted, unnatural dialogue in this series as a great way to give his world depth. To me it is just irritating, as it does not stray far enough from our own language to read as much other than wooden. This was also compounded for me by the fact that it is filled to the brim with scientific jargon I struggled to understand. I have a suspicion it may have been made up, as they say at the end:

And even if they’d tried to tell us, I doubt our capacity to have understood. Try explain the uses and construction of a Dewar flask to an ant – and see who gets tired first.

However, what I did appreciate was the atmosphere of adventure into the unknown he creates which dragged me along this obscure journey. Perhaps more one for the Niven fans out there?

Three stars

Spacemen Live Forever by Gerald W. Page

Page is a new writer to me but has apparently had a couple of pieces published in the American magazines. Here he produces a very grim take on the long intergalactic voyage.

Torman Graylight is first officer on a ship transporting a sleeping population to a new planet. He is the only person awake apart from second officer Kelly. But when Kelly dies in an accident, Graylight’s loneliness gets the better of him and he decides to wake one of the sleepers. But will this be enough for the two of them to survive the years of travel through the void of space?

Whilst these kinds of grim nihilistic tales are not generally to my taste, I do appreciate the skill with which he presents the atmosphere, giving us a real sense of hopelessness and isolation.

Four Stars

The Final Solution by R. W. Mackelworth

Mackelworth also serves up a grim vignette, this one on the inherent self-destructiveness of fascism. In this future, human racial supremacists (closely modelled on Nazis) encounter another species with similar ideology on The Rose World. They decide to do a series of tests to determine racial hierarchy.

Even though short it is a very poignant and necessary piece on the ease with which militarism and racism can take over a society. The only parts that stop me from giving it a full five stars are that some of the elements (e.g., calling the alien leader Slan) and the ending make the story a little too explicit, but it is still a very strong short.

A high four stars

Computer’s Mate by John Rackham

Captain Sven Soren is piloting the Stellar One through the gaps between atoms as a means of breaching light-speed, with the first attempt to Vega. To achieve this, they need a massive computer to control the ship’s complex mechanisms. Coming with it is Grant Wilson, whose job is to care for the machine and act as the link between crew and computer.

Their first “star-jaunt” is a success, with them finding an Earth style world and its inhabitants. However, the crew are distrustful of Wilson as he himself acts like a computer and are unwilling to heed his warnings of the dangers ahead.

I have decidedly mixed feelings about this piece. Whilst it is nice to see a story about a mentally disabled person (particularly where he gets to be the hero, rather than a victim) the abuse of the rest of the crew because of his differences still feels out of place. There are also large sections which are just philosophizing on the nature of life and humanity, which can be interesting at times but often seem to be used at the expense of the women crew members. And whilst it is nice to see multiple women involved in spaceship operations, they are not really shown to do much that is positive.

I think I will go straight down the middle and give it three stars.

Tryst by John Baxter

On the outer reaches of an Asimov-esque galactic empire, there is a barren, nearly forgotten colonized world called Dismas. their only real link with the central imperium is an annual ship sent to help support the colony and bring back any saleable merchandise.

However, on this shipment all the boxes of equipment sent instead contain boxes of rose petals and the new machines are made from paper and foil. Even the ship in orbit is mysteriously deserted. The young rebellious Nicholas is sent to take the ship back to Centre and find out what has happened.

This is a thoroughly sensory story, beautifully described with a real sense of wonder and melancholy. Unfortunately, the ending was a bit of a disappointment for me and the only thing keeping it from a full five stars.

Four stars

Synth by Keith Roberts

And of course, at last we come to the obligatory Keith Roberts tale! This time making up the final third of the anthology. However, this piece does not seem to have any relation to the space theme of the rest of the book, rather being one of artificial intelligence.

In the twenty-second century, Megan Wingrove is named as a co-respondent in a major divorce case, between famous painter Henry Davenport and his wife Ira Davenport, with it being claimed Megan had an affair with Henry whilst working as their maid and Ira’s companion. What makes this case unusual is that Megan is a synth, a kind of advanced robot with an organic skin and muscle structure.

As well as seeking damages for mental anguish, Ira wants to have Megan destroyed for being dangerous and behaving immorally. We observe the case unfolding as they debate as to whether or not it is possible for a human to have a sexual relationship with a synth and whether a synth can be deemed to be responsible.

I was initially cynical that Keith Roberts would be able to do this kind of tale justice but he manages to produce both a really tense courtroom drama as well as delving into questions of consent and love. This story manages to be applicable to real life (you could see the same questions emerging in a similar situation with a domestic servant) whilst also being distinctly science fictional. He gives more thought to what it would mean for human emotions and longings to hit up against our technological capabilities than I can think of in any similar story.

I am as surprised as anyone to find myself giving a Keith Roberts story a full five stars!

Back to Earth

Readjusting their focus back to traditional science fictional subjects and having a nice mix of new and old talents has really brought out the best in Carnell’s anthology series. Here they put new perspectives on these subjects and come out with a marvelous selection. Even the stories I didn’t like as much I think may have more to do with my personal foibles than the quality of the writing.

Hopefully, this can continue in issue #9 and not regress to the poor state of affairs we saw in the prior collection.

Tune in to KGJ, our radio station!  Nothing but the newest and best hits!




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Science / Space Race

[June 8, 1966] Pyrrhic Victory (the flight of Gemini 9)

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by Gideon Marcus

Keeping Score

It is remarkable to think how different the Space Race was just a little over a year ago.  Mercury was long past.  The Soviets had just stunned the world with two Voskhod flights.  One of them had carried three cosmonauts in space.  The other was the base for the first spacewalk.  We all waited with bated breath for Voskhod 3, sure it would leave American space efforts in the dust.

But it never happened.

The week after Voskhod 2, Gemini 3 went up.  A modest flight, barely a repeat of Glenn's mission, but with two people.  In June, Gemini 4 featured America's first spacewalk.  August's Gemini 5 mission lasted an unprecedented eight days.  December saw two Gemini (6 and 7) perform the first controlled space rendesvous.  And in March of this year, Gemini 8 accomplished the first docking in orbit.

Where are the Russians?  Indeed, the greatest threat to American space supremacy in the latest mission of Gemini 9, just concluded two days ago, was Mr. Murphy and his old back of tricks.

Prince of the Pad

Scheduled for May 17, 1966, Gemini 9 was supposed to be the first real all-up test of the two-seat spacecraft.  Astronauts Tom Stafford (veteran of Gemini 6) and Gene Cernan would dock with an Agena and conduct a spacewalk.  If successful, this would demonstrate all of the techniques and training necessary for a trip to the Moon. 

The first bit of bad luck involved the Agena docking adapter.  Shortly after liftoff on the 17th, one of the booster engines gimballed off center and propelled rocket and Agena into the Atlantic ocean.  The two astronauts, bolted into their Gemini capsule for a launch intended for just a few minutes after, had to abort their mission.

Luckily, NASA had a back-up: the Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ADTA).  The ADTA was basically an Agena without the engine.  A Gemini could practice docking with it, but the ADTA can't be used as an orbital booster for practice of the manuever that Apollo will employ when it breaks orbit to head for the Moon.

ADTA went up on June 1, no problem.  But just seconds before launch, the Gemini 9 computer refused navigational updates from the Cape.  The launch window was missed, and once again, Tom and Gene were forced to scrub.  Stafford got the nickname "Prince of the Pad."

On June 3, however, Gemini 9 had a picture-perfect liftoff, which we caught on TV, tuned into CBS for Walter Cronkite's smooth coverage.  Just a couple of hours later, Stafford had skillfully maneuvered his Gemini into docking range of the ADTA.

Angry Alligators and Foggy Visors

Unfortunately, ADTA was a mess.  The payload fairing that protected the adapter during launch had failed to come off.  It covered the front of the thing, half open, looking for all the world like, as Stafford described it, an "Angry Alligator."  Gemini 9 kept station with the adapter for a bit, but it was clear that a docking was impossible.  Eventually, the spacecraft left the ADTA behind.  There was other work to do.

Because on June 5, Gene Cernan suited up and left his cramped co-pilot seat for the longest spacewalk in American history.  This was to be a true working spacewalk, not just a sightseeing tour.  Connected to the Gemini by a long strap of nylon, Cernan clambered to the nose of the spacecraft to retrieve a micrometeorite experiment.  Then, agonizingly slowly, he made his way to the rear of the spacecraft.  It was proving much harder to operate in zero gee than expected.  That was okay; stowed in Gemini's rear was the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit (AMU).  With the AMU, theoretically, Cernan would become his own miniature spaceship, able to flit around as if on angel's wings.

Mr. Murphy would have none of it.  Struggle as Cernan might, he couldn't detach the AMU for use.  After endless struggling, during which Cernan's visor completely fogged up and his heart rate soared above a hundred beats per minute, Stafford ordered his crewmate back inside half an hour earlier than scheduled. 

Those of us who watched the TV coverage beheld things about as dimly as poor Cernan.  The transmissions from Gemini were garbled into unintelligibility, and as there was no live footage possible of the actual spacewalk, CBS had rigged up a stage setup involving a Gemini model, a rotating Earth background, and a poor fellow on wires in a spacesuit floating around.  ABC had a similar "simulation."  It was…less than convincing.

Happy Endings

The last day of the flight was uneventful.  Gemini 9 had completed, if unsatisfactorily, its scheduled activities.  I can imagine poor Tom and Gene were probably a bit glum at the lackluster record of the mission, though Stafford could take pride in being the first astronaut to fly two missions in the same spacecraft — and in the space of just seven months, to boot.

There was one bright spot in the mission, however.  After a perfect retro-fire almost exactly three days after launch, Gemini 9 came down in the Atlantic closer to its carrier recovery fleet than any previous mission.  So close did it splashdown to the U.S.S. Wasp that, for the first time, the carrier crew caught sight of the landing.

As did we at home.  Broadcast live via Early Bird satellite, we saw the beautiful spray of water followed by the graceful collapse of the parachute.  Within half an hour, the spacecraft and crew had been hoisted aboard the Wasp.  Less than four hours later, the two astronauts were already on their way back to Cape Kennedy for debriefing.  Spaceflight has become an efficient routine.

Which, if anything, marks the understated triumph of Gemini 9.  It's true that things did not go as planned during the flight.  Not in flashy, potentially deadly ways as in Armstrong's whirling flight in March, but frustratingly nonetheless.  But on the other hand, we've now had seven two-man flights in quick succession, with three more planned before the end of the year.  Compare this record to the six Mercury flights spread out over two years, the longest of which lasted barely more than a day.  America can afford less-than-perfect missions; if anything goes wrong, we can make it up in a few months.

This marks a threshold of maturity for American spaceflight.  Whereas the Soviets managed to secure an early lead in the Space Race with a series of spectaculars, like the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady will win ultimately win the competition for the United States. 

It may make for boring television, but that's a small price to pay for victory!




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Science / Space Race

[June 4, 1966] Over Under Sideways Down (Surveyor 1, Explorer 32, Kosmos 110 + 119!)

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by Gideon Marcus

[With Gemini 9 currently overhead and preempting regular network programming, it's easy to forget the other space spectaculars that are going on.  Here's the skinny on four of the more exciting ones.]

Live from the Moon!

America may be second in the Moon race, but we sure aren't far behind the Soviets.  Less than a month after the Russians managed their first soft-landing (with Luna 10, after several failed efforts), NASA's Surveyor 1 did it in just one try. 

On May 30, 7:40 AM Pacific, Atlas-Centaur #8 lifted off from Cape Canaveral less than a second after its scheduled launch time.  757 seconds later, right on the button, Surveyor departed from its Centaur stage on an almost perfect path toward the Moon.  Nevertheless, just before midnight, the spacecraft made a 20.75 second mid-course burn, reducing its landing margin of error from 250 miles to just 10.

Surveyor made a flawless touchdown almost exactly two days later, at 11:17 PM on June 1.  Shortly thereafter, America got its first pictures from the surface of the Moon.

The success of Surveyor marks several major achievements. Firstly, it's a success for the rocket that carried it.  The Atlas-Centaur is the most advanced booster currently in existence, the first to utilize pure hydrogen for fuel and liquid oxygen for the oxidizer.  There is no more efficient combination in existence, and the development of a system that could successfully utilize the pair has been tough.  Now that the Centaur second stage is operational, it can be used on top of many different first stages — from Titan to Saturn.  This dramatically increases the mass of the probes that can be sent to the Moon or to other planets.  By comparison, Surveyor masses more than twice as much as the Ranger crash-lander probes, launched with the less powerful Atlas-Agena.

Surveyor's success also marks a big leap forward for the Project Apollo.  It's been bandied about that this flight shaves a year off the schedule.  This soft-lander mission was really a dress rehearsal for a manned spacecraft, and what a beautiful rehearsal.  Reaching the lunar surface at just twelve feet per second, the three legged Surveyor with crushable aluminum honeycomb feet endured no undue strain.  Moreover, it didn't sink into a quicksand of lunar dust, as had been previously feared.  The landing spot, inside the dry Ocean of Storms, is in a zone that an Apollo mission will be sent to.  If a probe can safely land, then a piloted Lunar Excursion Module can, too.

Finally, Surveyor 1 marks a triumph for lunar science.  Not a huge one, mind you; Surveyor, like the latter Rangers, serves primarily as a handmaiden to the Apollo project.  Nevertheless, we have our first hundred pictures, temperature data, seismological data, and radar reflectivity data of the lunar surface.  The selenologists (lunar counterpart to Earth-based geologists) have plenty of information to play with.

Surveyor will continue broadcasting photos for at least the next 11 days, up through the lunar night.  Then there will be several more missions in the series.  You can be sure you'll read about them here!

Son of Explorer 17

Three years ago, NASA sent up its first high orbit atmospheric satellite, Explorer 17.  It only lasted a few months, going silent on July 10, 1963, but it returned a wealth of information on the least dense regions of our atmosphere.

Every good story deserves a sequel.  On May 25, 1966, we got one: Explorer 32, a satellite so similar to Explorer 17 that it must be considered kin, was hurled into an eccentric orbit that brings the ball of a probe zooming just 150 miles from Earth before flying far, far away.

Too far, actually.  It was only supposed to reach ~500 miles from the Earth at apogee.  Instead, because the Delta booster that carried Explorer didn't turn off in time, the satellite reaches 1000 miles in altitude before looping back.

This has not adversely affected plucky 32, and we are once again getting a wealth of data on the temperature, composition, density, and pressure of the upper atmosphere.  Explorer 32 also has several improvements on its predecessor.  Explorer 32 has solar cells, so its onboard batteries will last years instead of months.  Because the satellite has a tape recorder on board, data can be stored rather than only relayed when a ground station is in sight.  This means the data set from 32 will be continuous.

Even when the satellite goes silent, thanks to its perfectly round shape, it will be useful for measuring the density of the atmosphere, as 17 has been.  A bunch of cameras are tracking 32 from the ground.  Its slow orbital decay will tell us how thick the air is way up there.

It will be a legacy any parent could be proud of!

The Other Side

There have been a whole bunch of Kosmos satellites launched since our last update.  While all of them are classified to some degree, and most of them (Kosmos 107, 109, 111, 113, 114, 115, and 117) were probably spy satellites akin to our biweekly Discoverer program, a couple stand out as unusual — mostly because we know what they are!

Kosmos 110, launched February 22, 1966, carried two caninauts: Veterok and Ugolyok.  They and a menagerie of biological samples circled the Earth for an unprecedented 22 days before safely landing.  We're not sure what capsule was used for the trip, but it was probably a modified Voskhod — I don't think they've had time to test a lunar spacecraft akin to our Apollo yet.  Nevertheless, it's certain that this feat was conducted in support of long term efforts in space: either a Moon mission or a space station effort.

Most recently, Kosmos 119 went up on May 24.  We can deduce its purpose based on what it's doing, namely emitting 31.8 kHz and 44.9 kHz radio-waves.  It is believed that 119 is an ionospheric experiment to determine if and how ultralow frequency electromagnetic waves pass through that region of the atmosphere.  Data from this satellite will be useful for estimating charged-particle concentration in the lower ionosphere.  Whether the satellite's mission is purely scientific or serves to support some sort of military application is unknown.  Nevertheless, it's nifty!

Things to Come

Of course, the big news over the next week will be how successful Gemini 9 is at completing its rendezvous, docking, and spacewalk maneuvers.  You can be certain we'll have full coverage of that mission after splashdown next week!

Speaking of adventure in space, don't miss your chance to get this amazing novel by yours truly!

From a recent review:

Imagine Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys … in space! Kitra took me back to my childhood when I would have loved to read stories of young people in sci-fi settings overcoming difficult odds and conquering the universe. In Marcus's own words: "Tales of friendship, ingenuity, and wonder."

Take a group of diverse friends (not all human), toss in a bit of gender fluidity, cultural diversity, and conflict, and push them to their limits as they have to work together to overcome an unexpected threat. This YA fiction will thrill any number of budding science fiction fans.




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Science / Space Race

[April 20, 1966] Space Exploration is Hard (Venera 2 and 3, Luna 10 and OAO 1)

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by Kaye Dee

While manned spaceflight always grabs the headlines, the past month or so has seen some fascinating, if not always successful, attempts at planetary and lunar exploration and the launch of a new space observatory. The failures of some of these missions remind us that space exploration is hard and success is never guaranteed…

Still Unable to Lift the Veil of Venus

Launched just days apart back in November last year, Soviet Venus probes, Venera 2 and 3 were due to arrive at the Earth’s mysterious, cloud-veiled sister planet at the beginning of March, but both seem to have failed just on the verge of success. 

As early as February 1961, the USSR commenced its attempts to explore Venus with the Venera (Russian for Venus) 1 probe. Although Venera-1 flew past Venus at a distance of 100,000km on 19 May 1961, no data were received, due to a communications failure. According to my friends at the Weapons Research Establishment, following that mission there may have been several failed attempts by the USSR to launch missions to Venus, before Venera 2 and 3 were successfully sent on their way back in November.

(top) Venera 1, the USSR's first Venus probe and (bottom) its official follow on, Venera 2. I wonder how many unannounced failures lie between these two missions?

According to various news releases from the Soviet news agency TASS, the two spacecraft were intended for different exploration missions. Venera 2 was planned to fly past the sunlit side of Venus and examine its enigmatic clouds. The spacecraft was equipped with cameras, a magnetometer and a variety of instruments to measure the radiation environment in space and at Venus. Valuable data on the interplanetary space environment was transmitted back to Earth during the flight to Venus.

All Venera 2's instruments were activated for the flyby on 27 February, at a distance of 14,790 miles. While the instruments were operating, the radio had to be shut down, with the probe storing their data in onboard recorders. The plan was for the stored data to be transmitted it to Earth once contact was restored. However, it seems that ground controllers in the USSR were unable to re-establish communications with the spacecraft after the flyby. Attempts to re-establish contact with Venera 2 ceased on March 4, but if communication with the spacecraft can be made at some future point, Soviet scientists believe that it may still be possible to recover some of the flyby data.

Touchdown?

Unlike Venera 2’s flyby (similar to those of Mariner 2 at Venus and Mariner 4 at Mars), Venera 3’s ambitious goal was to land a small capsule of instruments on the surface of Venus, hopefully to unlock at least some of the secrets hidden beneath its veil of clouds. Because some scientists believe there could be life on Venus, the USSR claims the lander was “sterilised” before its departure from Earth so that would not contaminate the Venusian atmosphere or surface with any microbial terrestrial life.

The Venera 3 lander was a metal sphere about 35 inches in diameter, which carried instruments to measure atmospheric temperature, pressure and composition, and light levels at different altitudes, as well small metal Soviet emblems. Interestingly, because some scientists still hold the view that Venus could be a water world, the lander was designed to be able to float and carried a motion detector, which could determine if it had actually landed in water and was rocking in the waves.

Venera 3 was similar to its sister-probe Venera 2. But look closely and you can see the landing capsule at the bottom of the spacecraft

Weighing 884lbs, the lander was designed to drop through Venus’ atmosphere on a parachute, transmitting data from its instruments directly back to Earth, while the rest of the Venera 3 spacecraft went into orbit around Venus to take other scientific measurements. However, like its sister probe, contact with Venera 3 was lost as it approached Venus. Tracking data indicates that the landing capsule entered the Venusian atmosphere on 1 March, although no telemetry was received from the lander. Nevertheless, the Venera 3 lander has become the first manmade object to impact another planet, which is an achievement in itself. The reasons for the failure of the two Venera spacecraft remain a mystery, although some experts believe that the thick Venusian atmosphere may have had something to do with it.

Newly-released Venera 3 stamp (thanks Uncle Ernie!). It shows the Soviet medal and pendant depicting the planet Earth that were carried on board the lander

Advancing the Soviet Lunar Programme

Despite the problems with its Venus programme, the USSR’s lunar programme seems to be going from strength to strength. Following on from the historic soft landing on the Moon with Luna 9 in February, Luna 10 marks another step forward, becoming the first spacecraft to go into orbit around the Moon. (Of course, it’s obvious that this feat was timed to occur during the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, but I’m sure it was also deliberately planned to upstage the United States’ Lunar Orbiter program, which is due to commence later this year, with a series of spacecraft that will photograph and map the Moon in advance of the Apollo programme).

Luna 10, the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon

A pre-launch photograph of Luna 10 indicates that its design is very similar to that of Luna 9, although the instrument capsule on top has a different shape. Launched on 31 March, Luna 10 went into lunar orbit three days later. Its elliptical orbit approaches as close as to the lunar surface as 217 miles, with its farthest point at 632 miles, and takes just under three hours. The 530lb spacecraft is battery powered, rather than using solar panels, so it is unclear how long it will keep sending data back to the Earth, but at present it is producing a regular stream of information about the space environment in the vicinity of the Moon, that will help us understand how safe (or otherwise) it will be for the first cosmonauts and astronauts to explore cislunar space and the Moon itself.

Close up view of a model of the Luna 10 instrument capsule and the small Soviet metal pendants that it carried onboard

Scientific Instruments aboard Luna 10 include a gamma-ray spectrometer, a magnetometer, a meteorite detector, instruments for solar-plasma studies, and devices for measuring infrared emissions from the Moon and radiation conditions of the lunar environment. However, it is not clear whether the probe is actually carrying a camera to photograph the Moon’s surface. Preliminary data released by the Soviet Union indicates that there are higher concentrations of meteoritic dust in the vicinity of the Moon than in interplanetary space, as well as “electron fluxes” that are “70 to 100 times more intense than the cosmic ray background”.

First day cover commemorating the Luna 10 mission. Soviet space covers are masterpieces of propaganda, with the stamp design, envelope design and postmark all re-inforcing the message of Communist space achievement!

A Propaganda Serenade from the Moon!

As the Space Race heats up, the Soviet leadership is always ready to exploit propaganda opportunities associated with space exploration. To celebrate the CPSU Congress, a synthesised version of the Communist anthem “The Internationale” was broadcast live from Luna 10 to the congress on 4 April. (At least, it was claimed to be live: I wonder if Luna 10’s controllers actually used a pre-recorded version in case there were problems with the spacecraft? After all, it would be very politically embarrassing to have a failure of Soviet technology at such a high profile event for global Communism!)

Sky High Eyes on the Sky

The last mission I want to mention this month is NASA’s Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) 1, not least because this a major space project managed by a woman! Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, formerly a radio astronomer with the Naval Research Laboratory, joined NASA in 1959 and became Chief of Astronomy in NASA's Office of Space Science in 1960. She has a prestigious international reputation and was the first woman in an executive position at the space agency, where she has established the space astronomy programme.

Dr Nancy Grace Roman in 1962 with a model of another of her space observatory projects, the Orbiting Solar Observatory

The heaviest satellite yet launched by the United States (weighing almost two tons), OAO 1 was launched successfully on 8 April, riding to orbit on an Atlas-Agena D from Cape Canaveral. It carried 10 telescopes and other instruments capable of detecting ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma ray emissions to measure the absorption and emission characteristics of the stars, planets, nebulae from the visible to gamma-ray regions The observatory satellite was intended to give astronomers their first clear look at the heavens without the distorting effect of the Earth’s atmosphere and its results were greatly anticipated.

However, before the instruments could be activated, something caused a power failure that resulted in the mission being terminated after just 20 orbits. Because the spacecraft could not be controlled, its solar panels could not be deployed to recharge the batteries supplying the equipment and instruments on board the satellite. Although this is a blow to space astronomy, I’m sure the OAO programme will continue as future satellites are already in development.

NASA illustration of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 1. While this satellite has failed, there will be future space observatories in this program




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Science / Space Race

[March 18, 1966] Taking Gemini for a Spin (Gemini 8)

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by Kaye Dee

As the race for the Moon heats up, the Gemini program is moving forward at a cracking pace –three months ago, Gemini VII completed its record breaking long-duration mission and NASA’s latest manned space mission, Gemini VIII launched just two days ago on March 16 (US time). By co-incidence, this was right on the 40th anniversary of the first successful launch of a liquid-fuelled rocket by American physicist Dr. Robert Goddard.


Goddard and his first liquid fuel rocket, launched forty years to the day before Gemini VIII. Developing a liquid-fuelled rocket was the necessary first step to making spaceflight a reality

But are things moving too fast? This latest Gemini flight was one of NASA’s most ambitious to date, slated for a 3-day mission to carry out the first rendezvous and docking and the United States’ second spacewalk. However, it was prematurely cut short after about 10 and a half hours, due to an in-flight emergency.

What was Supposed to Happen

Gemini VIII was intended to carry out the four rendezvous and docking manoeuvres originally planned for Gemini VI (the goals of that mission had to be changed due to the loss of its Agena target vehicle and instead it rendezvoused with Gemini VII). Being able to rendezvous and dock two spacecraft is a technique that is vitally important for the success of the Apollo programme, so NASA needs to be sure that it can reliably carry out these manoeuvres.


Gemini VIII approaches its Agena target vehicle in preparation for docking, practicing one of the crucial technologies of the Apollo programme

NASA also needs to gain more experience with extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalking, which is another crucial technique needed for Apollo. So far, the Gemini programme’s only EVA has been the one carried out by Ed White during the Gemini IV mission in June last year. Astronaut David Scott was scheduled to perform an ambitious spacewalk of over two hours, operating at the end of a 25-foot tether. He was supposed to retrieve a radiation experiment from the front of the Gemini's spacecraft adapter and activate a micrometeoroid experiment on the Agena target vehicle. Then it was planned to test a space power tool by loosening and tightening bolts on a work panel attached to the Gemini.

The most exciting part of the spacewalk would have taken place after Mission Commander Neil Armstrong undocked from the Agena for the first time. Major Scott would have tested an Extravehicular Support Pack (ESP), which contained its own oxygen supply and propellant for his Hand-Held Manoeuvring Unit. A 75-foot extension to his tether would have enabled Scott to carry out several manoeuvres in conjunction with the Gemini and Agena vehicles, while separated from them at distances up to 60 feet.

Very Experienced Rookies


Neil Armstrong (front) and David Scott departing the suit up trailer on their way to the launch pad. Behind Scott is Chief Astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

Gemini VIII’s crew are both first-time astronauts, but they have a wealth of flight experience between them. Mission Commander Neil Armstrong is the first American civilian in space, and a highly experienced test pilot. Before being selected for NASA’s second group of astronauts, Mr. Armstrong was a Naval aviator during the Korean conflict and then an experimental test pilot with NASA’s predecessor the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which he joined in 1955. He developed a reputation as an excellent engineer, a cool-headed clear-thinker, and an outstanding test pilot with nerves of steel, all of which helped him survive a number of dangerous flight-test incidents. Included in his experience are seven flights aboard the X-15 hypersonic research aircraft.

Gemini VIII Pilot David Scott is a major in the US Air Force, and the first member of the third astronaut group to make a spaceflight. Scott saw active duty in Europe before gaining both a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics/Astronautics and the degree of Engineer in Aeronautics/Astronautics from MIT in 1962. He joined the US Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in 1962 and was selected as an astronaut in October 1963. 

A Spectrum of Objectives


Gemini VIII's mission patch. Look closely at the spectrum to see the text.

Now that mission patches seem to have become a standard part of each Gemini flight (after being introduced by the Gemini V crew), Armstrong and Scott designed their mission patch to feature a colour spectrum, which is shown as being produced by the light of two stars – Castor and Pollux, the two brightest stars in the constellation of Gemini – refracted through a prism. The spectrum symbolises “the whole spectrum of objectives” that they planned to accomplish on Gemini VIII, which included various science and technology experiments in addition to the docking and spacewalking activities. Looking closely at the spectrum, you can see that its lines have been drawn to represent the astronomical symbol for the constellation Gemini, as well as the Roman numeral VIII.

Things Go to Plan

The original Gemini VIII plan was for a three-day mission and at first everything seemed to be going perfectly. One hundred minutes before Gemini VIII, an Atlas rocket lifted off from Launch Pad 14 at the Cape carrying the Agena target vehicle. Unlike Gemini VI, this time the launch was successful, placing the Agena into a 161 nautical-mile circular orbit. Once it was certain that the Agena was safely in orbit, Gemini VIII lifted off from the nearby Pad 19: its launch, too, went without any problems.


A composite image combining the lift-off of the Atlas Agena and Gemini VIII

After an orbital “chase” of more than three and a half hours, Armstrong and Scott had their target in sight: they could visually spot it when they were about 76 nautical miles away. Then, at 55 nautical miles, the computer completed the rendezvous automatically.

Before docking with the Agena, the astronauts spent 35 minutes visually inspecting it, to ensure that it had suffered no damage from the launch. Then Armstrong started to move towards the Agena at 3.15 inches per second. In a matter of minutes, the Agena’s docking latches clicked: the first docking by a manned spacecraft had been successfully completed! Mission Commander Armstrong described the docking as “a real smoothie” and said that the Agena felt quite stable during the manoeuvre. NASA has now proved that it can achieve a critical technique needed for the Apollo Moon landings.

Things Don’t Go to Plan

The docking may have been a smoothie: however, what followed was anything but! Mission Control seems to have had some suspicions that the Agena's attitude control system could malfunction (my friends at Woomera say there was a possibility that the Agena’s onboard computer might not have the correct program stored in it), because the crew were reminded of the code to turn off the Agena’s computer and advised to abort the docking straight away if there were any problems with the target vehicle.


A close-up view as Gemini VIII approaches its Agena target vehicle.

As Gemini VIII lost radio contact with Houston (in a part of its orbit where it was out of range of any of the tracking stations on the ground), the Agena began to execute one of its stored test programs, to turn the two docked spacecraft. That’s when the emergency began! While the full details of the emergency are not yet known, it seems that the Agena started to roll uncontrollably, causing the docked spacecraft to gyrate wildly, making a full rotation every 10 seconds. The situation seems to have been pretty desperate, to judge from some communications picked up by monitors at the Radio Research Institute of the Japanese Postal Services.

Armstrong has reported that he used the Gemini capsule’s orbital attitude and manoeuvring system (OAMS) thrusters to stop the tumbling, but the roll immediately began again. As he struggled to control the rotating vehicles Armstrong noticed that the OAMS fuel dropped quickly, hinting that perhaps the problem was with the Gemini, rather than the Agena.


Diagram showing the location of the OAMS thrusters and the Re-entry Control System thrusters (incorrectly identified as "Reaction Control System")

Then They Get Worse!

Armstrong and Scott decided to undock from the Agena, apparently concerned that the high spin-rate might damage the spacecraft or possibly cause the Agena, still loaded with propellant, to rupture or explode. It turns out, though, that the Agena’s mass must have been actually damping the rotation, because as soon as Gemini VIII undocked it began to tumble even more rapidly, making almost a full end over end rotation per second! The issue was definitely with the spacecraft, and it was an extremely dangerous one. At that rate of spin, the astronauts’ vision became blurred and they have said they were in danger of blacking out!


CapCom Jim Lovell (left) and astronaut Bill Anders following reports from Gemini VIII during the crisis

It was only at this point that Gemini VIII came back into contact with Mission Control, via the tracking ship USNS Coastal Sentry Quebec, stationed southwest of Japan. Armstrong sure is a quick thinker, though. He disengaged the OAMS system and used the re-entry control system (RCS) to finally halt the spin and regain control of Gemini VIII. However, doing this used up almost 75% of the re-entry manoeuvring fuel.

Emergency Abort!

Gemini mission rules dictate that a flight has to be aborted once the RCS is activated for any reason. With so much of the RCS fuel already consumed, and with no guarantee that the tumbling might not occur again, Flight Director John Hodge (on his first mission as Chief Flight Director, too!), quickly decided to abort the mission and bring Gemini VIII back to Earth.

Hodge decided to bring Gemini VIII home after one more orbit, so that secondary recovery forces in the Pacific could be in place. Re-entry occurred over China, out of range of NASA tracking stations, but US Air Force planes spotted the spacecraft as it descended towards its landing site about 430 nautical miles east of Okinawa. Three para-rescuers were dropped to attach a flotation collar to the capsule and stay with the astronauts until the recovery ship arrived. 


Armstrong, Scott and their para-rescuers waiting for the arrival of the recovery ship

Initial reports are that, though exhausted, the crew were in good health when they landed, and they opened the Gemini hatches, ate some lunch, and relaxed in the sun with the para-rescuers while waiting for the recovery ship Leonard F Mason to arrive. Maybe the lunch wasn’t such a good idea, as I’ve heard that the crew and their rescuers were all a bit seasick by the time the ship reached them three hours later.

NASA officials met with the Gemini VIII crew in Japan for a preliminary debriefing, and Armstrong and Scott, together with Gemini VIII are now on their way back to the US. Hopefully, an accident investigation will soon reveal exactly what went wrong and why, causing NASA’s first in-flight emergency. But what we already know is that Armstrong and Scott behaved with cool competence in an extremely stressful and dangerous situation and NASA’s emergency procedures enabled the astronauts to be brought home quickly and safely. Everyone involved should be congratulated for demonstrating that even a crisis can be an important stepping-stone on the road to the Moon! 


Safe and sound aboard the U.S.S. Leonard F. Mason




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