Astronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962-1963

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7
off in the vacuum?
Schirra· - This might be a way of doing it.
Having it sublime
away or something of this order.
O'Keefe -
That could be done.
If that were done ...
Schirra - I definitely feel that th~s should not be a neglected
problem; if we, for example, do remove the window cover from the
Apollo command module.
It definitely should have some type of
protection when the star rocket goes.
This is going to be a
by-product of its own combustion, it won't leave marks on the
window.
I saw marks on mine as weli as a clouded effect and I
feel so strongly about this~- When I had the sun at oblique
angles shallow to the window I could see this film much as you
describe it.
Smokers in the gr~up will appreciate this.
On the
inside of an· automobile window, you can see the smoke condensa­
tion on there which you very rarely get washed off until you wash
the car yourself .
You see this when you have light at very
oblique angles across this window.
This is about the same type of
intensity - it is not enough to restrict your vision although it
does affect it at night.
This is exactly why I make the point.
I think · that is about the easiest analogy I can make for you.
Dr. Nordberg - You say this was on the Mercury window after the
exhaust.
Schirra - Yes sir, this is the result of this exhaust gas bathing
this window as the rocket lit and left almost instantaneously, but
the gas does form over it.