Astronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962-1963

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34
Dubin - W.as there any color whatever in it?
Schirra - In the .airglow that I saw?
No, other than during sunset
times where you would have sunlight itself.
Dubin - No color whatever?
Schirra - I think of white as being all colors and you can see
I've been trapped with painting~ few times.
This patch was denser
as you came into the middle of this belt.
It definitely had tb· have
a light stimulus to it or I wouldn't have seen it.
I was well
aware of this and thought this as I saw it.
The initial impression
that brought to my attention is, first off, and this is the liability
we have; we're wanting to see something that needs to be seen· with
the naked eye when the inside of the vehicle is dark.
Cameron - In the patch did you notice any variation in color eithe r
horizontal or vertical? - Or was it all one?
.
Schirra - The airglow now we are ~iscussing?
Cameron - The patth over (Madagascar).
Schirra - Oh~ this patch, it seemed ... You can't keep t~ack of whether
you a-re over. land or water continually and time is progressing fai rly
rapidly; for example, on this particular period where we are talking
in terms of 5 hours and 20 minutes, going back just a few minutes ,
am over Africa because I had left the southeast coast of Africa, in
other words, Durban and this is the place I had one time in my mind
wanted to see a flare and I did see cities and I know I saw Capetown
which was in the clear.
I talked to the Ambassador from that · section
of Africa when we were at Goddard for the 5th year celebration of
satellites, and he saiq, "Oh, I wish we had known that, because
I