Astronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962-1963

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39
could look down at the different angles.
Schirra - We had a mirror on there.
This permitted me basically to
look toward the heat shield.
Something like a rear view mirror,
except it was a front view mirror in Mercury.
But in any case,
you almost need - we need something like a dental mirror to move
around .
I think again you get in trouble with a mirror; I con­
sidered this.
In fact, I had a mirror on my hand which was a flat
plate much like the woman's cosmetic mirror.
It was about the same
size, and when you use a mirror you lose so much just by the fact
that you change distances.
Your image has been ranged differently.
So I found that I didn't have any luck at all.
Tennyson - It was just your disorientation.
Schirra - That itself was another problem.
(Cameron showing Schirra
a drawing)
Cameron - I have a drawing here of what I think you saw out your
window at S hours 20 minutes.
Schirra - Oh, really, I'd like to see that, yes .. . .
Cameron - It's just the star chart.
I tried.... I think this is whe r e
you we~e, well, I made a tracing of the thing and slid it (the plastic
slide which represents the capsule window) up (on the star chart)
here - here's the horizon and· I tried to guess where you might have
been, and I put the width about ... (showing Schirra) you· thought it
was -
Schirra - Very good.
But the thing is you see I could be tilted as
well in roll and it would move this field--see what I mean?