Astronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962-1963

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60
BEGINNING OF THIRD TAPE
Schirra - I could not pick up cloud structure because I was
looking down and at this pointp you don't have time, and
don 't think your cues are good enough to separate elevations .
Nordberg ~ You don't recall seeing any clouds when there was
no lightning?
Schirra - No.
I don 9 t recall this.
I don't think I did really.
I was really frantically trying to see this typhoon, and we cal led
it a typhoon where Pacific Command Ship was.
It was down south of
it, and I could not see it. It was still too dark, and I think
the other reason for it was that the periscope - here we go - was
annoying to me, that picked up the sunrise before I had my
sunrise, because it was looking in that direction, and it ruined
my adaptati on .
That was when I threw the filter over it, and that
was the end of the periscope forever.
I forgot to remove that
filter = not that I even intended to.
On descent on the parachute,
and in a way I would like to have had the prerogative of looking
at the periscope and seeing the recovery forces deployed around
there .
It took me a long time to realize why I couldn't see the
recovery forces .
(Laughter) .
And it finally came out that I
threw this filter over it just prior to retrofire .
And that was
the end of the periscope (laughter) which also showed that
didn 1 t need it, obviously .
Nordberg - This question of frequency of lightning is a real
importan t one .
Would you say that you saw lightning through each
night time orbit?
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