Astronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962-1963

Text

This text came with the file. It may have mistakes. When the text and the image disagree, the image is right.

Scientific Debriefing
-1­
Cooper: .Almost.
Almost as it began to get dark.
Of course it gets dark
Just like that.
Zam it gets dark~
I had Just,--it was dark earth background
and as I say 'lI13 first teeling on at,eing it was definitely coming :f'rom below_
j
very very slowly.
As I watched it was getting higher in 'lI13 line of sight to the
I
·earth. In other words as I ·was holding -the earth on .a fixed place1ton the
window this was coming u~. It was · coming up in relation to me, and was
finally ·up to 'lI13 level. And ·.as I saw it coming up it was solid light.
My
first though. on it was -that it looked Just like th·e missiles that I have seen .
I
,
'
•
• •
•
I
•
'
~
launched at night :f'rom Cape C~veral; when rou're t:cying at night at a·high·•
altitude. and see them launched. It didn't have the same glow but it· was
.....,
•
'
•
•
'
..
'
•
'
':,I ••
• •
·1
I'
­
very·very bright, and solid and <seemed to becoming up.
,, •'
Bill Armstrong:_ That is something else we checked into• . It would have be~--;~
impossible for this light to have been steady_for -you. It is neceSS_!ll'Y to
,
/ '
fully charge the condenser and then get a quick discharge.
•,· •
Cooper: That's why I think .it mat have been the suns~ine on it
Because of t~e altitude we were both at, the sun ·would be shining on it at
that point.
I had Just gone • into :the night side.~ Even though i~ was dark
•
I
' ..
•
.
I
if I had yawed around to zero _yaw it ·would have been in ·.the bright sun.,
.
~
f
•
•
•
'
I
I