NEWS R E L E A S E NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 1520 H S T R E E T , N O R T H W E S T ' W A S H I N G T O N 2 5 . D . C . T E L E P H O N E S : DUDLEY 2 - 6 3 2 5 . E X E C U T I V E 3 - 3 2 6 0

Cape Canaveral Press Room SUNSET 3-7626

Apri l 26, 1961

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Enclosed i s a press k i t d e t a i l i n g the f i rs t m nned Mercury sub-o rb i t a l launch, Mercury-Redstone 3. fx ?%~-*reTFaXE*~aTI Xmvr-mebla no e a l i e r than PM's Saturday, A p r i l 29, 1961.

The ma te r i a l +-%fit i n

The k i t conta ins eleven sec t ions :

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 6 .

7 .

8 .

9.

Mercury Redstone 3.

Astronaut Observations and Control Tasks During Manned Mercury F l i g h t

P i l o t Preparat ion f o r t he MR-3 F l i g h t .

MR-3 I n s i d e the P i l o t s Cabin.

Mercury Redstone Launch Vehicle.

Mercury MR-3 Recovery Operations.

Pro jec t Mercury - A Progress Report.

"IF" A Study of Contingency Planning f o r t he Pro jec t Mercury M i s s i o n ,

Mercury Redstone Abort.

10. Astronaut Biographies,

11. Astronaut Training Program Summary.

0. B. Lloyd Direc tor , Off ice of Public

. ... ,

NEWS R E L E A S E NATIONAL AERONAUTCS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION I S 2 0 H S T R E E T , NORTHWEST . W A S H I N G T O N 2 5 . D. C . T E L E P H O N E S : DUOLEY 2-6325 . E X E C U T I V E 3-3260

RELEASE NO, 61-88

In the next week OF so, the Project Mercury's third Hedstone launch will take place at Cape Canaveral. In this connection, James E. Webb, Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, stated:

manus participation in the exploration of space by our first ascronaut, The upcoming Mercury-Redstone flight is a most important step in the 16. S, program - a step that will lead on to manps ultimate conquest of this new and hostile environment. It is also a most serious step; for it cannot be taken without risk to human life. It is the kind of risk that Lindbergh tosk when he crossed the Atlantic, that Chuck Yeager took in the X-1's f i r s t supersonic flight, and test pilots Scott Crossf ie ld , Joe Walker, and Bob White have taken in their flights in the X-15 airplane,

precaution has been taken to minimize this risk.

that ha8 worked so hard to bring this day about.

making this flight, let me say 'Godspeed'.

''Our NationQs space program will soon enter a new era -

''1 am, confident that in Project Mercury every reasonable

"My very best wishes %OF success to to the Mercury team

''To a11 the astronauts who volunteered and to the one II

Mercury8s first manned apace flight is to take place approximately one hour after daybreak at Cape Canaveral, Florida, after a 2-day countdown operation. Maximum hold time on any given day will be 5 hours. The flight may be postponed fromi day to day fQP 5 days.

The one-ton-plus spacecraft, boosted by a modified Redstone launch vehicle, will follow a ballistic arc with a range of 290 statute miles and 8 maximum altitude of 115 statute miles, The flight time - lift-off to splash - will be about 15 minutes.

Primary mission t e s t ob jec t ives include:

1. Fami l ia r iz ing a man w i t h a brief but complete space f l i g h t experience inc luding l i f t -o f f " , powered f l i g h t , weight less f l i g h t , e n t r y and landing phases of space f l i g h t .

2 . Evaluating man's a b i l i t y t o perform u s e f u l func- t i o n s during space f l i g h t by ( a ) demonstrating manual c o n t r o l of t h e spacec ra f t a t t i t u d e before, during and a f t e r r e t r o f i r e and ( b ) using voice communications during f l i g h t .

3. Studying manos phys io logica l r e a c t i o n during space f l i g h t ,

General ob jec t ives inc lude the continued q u a l i f i c a t i o n of the Mercury spacec ra f t and i t s systems f o r manned f l i g h t , and t o provide t r a in ing for ground support and recovery f o r c e s f o r f u t u r e manned flights, During the f l i g h t the p i l o t w i l l be subjected t o approximately "6g" through the powered p o r t i o n of the f l i g h t , approximately 5 minutes of weight lessness a f t e r s epa ra t ion from t h e launch veh ic l e and approximately l l g during r een t ry i n t o the ear th 's atmosphere,

The spacec ra f t which s tands about 9 f e e t high and 6 f e e t ac ross i t s b lunt base w i l l be launched v e r t i c a l l y on a pa th s l i g h t l y south of e a s t ,

Here i s t h e noma1 OF planned mission p r o f i l e : The Redstone engine w i l l be shut down about two and a half minutes a f t e r l i f t - o f f when the veh ic l e has achieved a speed of about 4500 miles p e r hour i n a climbing a t t i t u d e about 40 degrees above the h o r i z o n t a l , A t engine cu to f f , the escape tower clamp r i n g i s separated and both t h e escape rocket and tower j e t t i s o n rocket are f i r e d t o remove t h e tower.

Ten seconds a f t e r engine c u t o f f , a c l w p r i n g secur ing boos te r and spacec ra f t w i l l be separa ted . Three 350-pound- t h r u s t s o l i d p rope l l an t rocke ts a t t h e base of the spacec ra f t w i l l be f i r e d t o separate t h e spacec ra f t from t h e launch veh ic l e . The p i l o t t s per iscope i s then extended. A t the same t i m e , t h e a u t o p i l o t swings t h e spacec ra f t around so the b lunt end i s forward and t i l t e d s l i g h t l y upward, 14.5 degrees above the ho r i zon ta l , the same p o s i t i o n t h e c r a f t i s t o maintain i n o r b i t a l flights, Thi r ty seconds before t h e c r a f t reaches peak a l t i t u d e , the a s t ronau t w i l l manually c o n t r o l t h e a t t i t u d e sf t h e c r a f t moving it i n t o se t rosocke t f i r i n g p o s i t i o n - 34 degrees above ho r i zon ta l - and w i l l hold t h i s

MR-3 1-2

, . . .

a t t i t u d e manually while t h e r e t r o r o c k e t s are f i r e d , It must be noted tha t the r e t ro rocke t s are not needed f o r r een t ry i n t h i s b a l l i s t i c f l i g h t but w i l l be f i r e d t o t e s t t h e i r opera- t i o n i n space an4 t o provide p i l o t s wi th f l i g h t experience i n c o n t r o l l i n g t h e r e t r o f i r e maneuver, The a s t ronau t w i l l be a b l e t o maneuver t h e c r a f t f o r a s h o r t per iod of time before he e s t a b l i s h e s the r een t ry a t t i t u d e and r e t r a c t s the per iscope. After t h e per iscope i s r e t r a c t e d , con t ro l of t h e c r a f t s s f l i g h t a t t i t u d e r e t u r n s to t h e automatic mode,

When t h e "gse f o r c e s of r een t ry bu i ld up t o a t least ".O5g", t h e spacec ra f t starts revolving i n a slow top- l ike motion a t two revolu t ions p e r minute,

A t 2lp0O0 f e e t , a pressure s e n s i t i v e switch deploys a drogue parachute and au tomat ica l ly s c a t t e r s radar r e f l e c t i v e "chaff .'I

A t 10,000 f e e t , t h e antenna f a i r i n g a t t h e neck of the spacec ra f t i s re leased , au tomat ica l ly deploying the main landing parachute , Concurrent wi th main chute deployment, an underwater charge i s e j ec t ed t o a id recovery fo rces , the UHF recovery beacon i s turned on, remaining hydrogen peroxide, used t o con t ro l t h e p o s i t i o n and r o l l of t h e s p a c e c r a f t , i s j e t t i s o n e d . The per iscope is extended s o the p i l o t may check v i s u a l l y on h i s parachute; should t h e main chute f a i l t o work, t h e p i l o t can j e t t i s o n t h e main chute and deploy a reserve landing parachute , During the descent, valves open t 0 allow ou t s ide a i r i n t o t h e cabin,

Upon landing, an impact switch j e t t i s o n s the parachute, r e l e a s e s f l o u r e s c e i n sea-marking dye, t u r n s o f f instrumenta- t i o n recorders and t r a n s m i t t e r s , The p i l o t , however, w i l l s t i l l have a voice r ad io link t o Mercury recovery f o r c e s .

The spacec ra f t w i l l be picked up by t h e Mercury Recovery Forces. These f o r c e s inc lude an a i r c r a f t c a r r i e r and two des t roye r s i n t h e prime landlng a rea . Search a i r c r a f t w i l l a l s o be deployed i n t h e psime l a n d i n g area, Other ships and f o r c e s w i l l be deployed along t h e intended pa th of f l i g h t t o provide for recovery i n case of undershoot o r overshoot.

If t h e f l i g h t and recovery are normal, a h e l i c o p t e r w i l l l i f t t h e c r a f t out of t he water and p l ace i t on t h e c a r r i e r e s f l i g h t deck, The p i l o t may e l e c t t o remain i n t h e spacec ra f t u n t i l i t i s onboard t h e c a r r i e r , He can a l s o climb out the spacec ra f t s i d e hatch, i n f l a t e a l i f e r a f t and be picked up by h e l i c o p f e r ,

MR-3 1-3

. . . . . ._ .. . . , - . . ., . ... . ._.

ASTRONAUT OBSERVATIONS AND CONTROL TASKS DURING MR-3 FLIGHT

CAPE CANAVEFUL, FLA, - One of t h e prime ob jec t ives i n P ro jec t Mercury i s t o d e t e m i n e man's c a p a b i l i t i e s i n t h e environment of space. During t h e MR-3 f l i g h t , t he re fo re , t h e a s t ronau t w i l l have seve ra l d e f i n i t e tasks t o perform. I n addi t ion , t h e a s t ronau t w i l l inform t h e ground of t h e a c t i o n he i s taking, t h e events as they unfold, and what he is see ing during h i s con t ro l of t h e spacecraf t , ,

A t t h e moment t h e Redstone l i f t s from t h e pad a t Cape Canaveral, the p i l o t w i l l check t o d e t e m i n e i f the f l i g h t timer on h i s instrument panel has begun t o ope ra t e , If i t has not, he a c t u a t e s t h e c lock s ta r t but ton and announces "clock operat ing." The fol lowing events w i l l occur i n a normal mission:

T h i r t y seconds a f t e r l i f t - o f f , and f o r each subsequent 30 seconds of elapsed time during powered f l i g h t , t he p i l o t w i l l r epo r t on h i s control-system f u e l supply, t h e amount of

g loading he i s experiencing, t h e p i t c h angle of h i s craf% ( i n degrees), h i s cabin pressure (in pounds p e r square inch) and i f h i s oxygen supply i s s a t i s f a c t o r y . If anything unusual happens he w i l l r epo r t t h e event immediately t o the ground.

Two minutes and 15 seconds a f t e r l i f t - o f f , he w i l l announce, s tanding by f a r c u t o f f . " A few seconds l a t e r t h e Redstone engines w i l l c u t off" and the s p a c e c r a f t D s escape tower w i l l j e t t i s o n . r e p o r t them as they occur ,

I t I t

I I

The p i l o t w i l l monitor t hese events and

About two and one-half" minutes away from t h e ground, t h e p i l o t w i l l t u r n the s e t r o j e t t i s o n switch o f f t o safeguard a g a i n s t inadver ten t j e t t i s o n i n g of t h e r e t ro rocke t package beneath t h e hea t shield. The c r a f t w i l l then sepa ra t e when the c l u s t e r of t h r e e small posigrade rocke ts (contained wi th in t h e r e t ro rocke t package) a r e f i r e d , pushing the cap- s u l e up and away from the Redstone, i s t o remove any capsule o s c i l l a t i o n s which rnigh"a; be generated by separa t ion , The p i P o t P s per iscope, which w i l l r evea l the curva ture of t h e e a r t h a t peak a l t i t u d e , w i l l be extended several. inches i n t o space, The p i l o t announces, "capsule sepa ra t e O O . posigrades f i r e d o o e a u x i l i a r y damping OK o o e

periscope out." Center team w i l l be a b l e t 6 t a l k w i t h the p i l o t i f necessary. However, i f a l l goes w e l l , all communications w i l l come from a f e l low as t ronau t a t t h e capsule communicator console i n t h e Mercury Control Center,

The automatic p i l o t then

Several key members of t h e Mercury Control

MR-3 2-1

About 15 seconds after engine cutoff, the pilot announces, "Turn around started.'' craft around 1800, placing the blunt end forward.

The craftus automatic pilot turns the

Just before Tf3 minutes, the pilot announces, "In orbit attitude." The craft is now traveling about 4,500 m.p.h. and

upward is neari$ (1 0 P eak altitude. The blunt end is pitched slightly

When the spacecraft is 3 minutes from the launch pad, the pilot begins to twist and turn the control stick in his right hand, announcing, "Hand controller movements pitch down ... yaw left ... pitch up roll left yaw right roll right." This will be done during periods when the control stick will not be connected to the craftls control system. The purpose of this is t o provide a study of the pilot's ability to perform while he is in a weightless environment, H i s hand motions will be instantaneously telemetered to the ground for analysis after the flight,

Just after 3 minutes the astronaut announces, "Manual control handle on," then takes control of the attitude of the spacecraft on one axis at a time in the manual proportional control mode. For example, he will be able to perform basic maneuvers by manually taking control of the craft on one axis while the remaining two axes are controlled by the automatic pilot. He will announce, "manual pitch on ... pitching to retro returning to orbit." He will then announce, "manual yaw on ... yawing left twenty (degrees) returning right to zero." He will then pull a third "T" handle on his instrument panel and announce, "manual roll on . . a rolling left to twenty (degrees) returning right to zero." The spacecraft motions throughout this sequence of simple control actions will be closely monitored,,

Time: Almost 4 minutes: The pilot for the first time in the flight begins to use his earth periscope as a navigational aid, controlling the capsulets attitude by using the periscope presentation for attitude reference. At this time he will describe his view of the earth and inform the ground what pre- determined checkpoints he can see from this altitude of approximately 100 miles, He is expected to say something U k e this, "Holding orbit with scope o o o Weather map essentially correct, no alto cumulus in northeast quadrant of Carolina Coast *.,, Florida to Gulf visible, Lake Okeechobee visible Gulf of Mexico visible e , o . , Island 5 visible e e a Island 3 visible and so on,

MR-3 2-2

J u s t over f o u r minuces from lift-off, he w i l l announce, "Going high mag . o o yawing Left twenty (degrees) r e tu rn ing r i g h t t o zero . . * MAR?." T h i s w i l l t e l l ground observers tha t t h e p i l o t has gone t o high magnification on h i s e a r t h peri- scope. Curvature of the eayth i s now no t i ceab le and the a s t r o n a u t ' s f i e l d ~f view 1 s reduced from 1900 miles t o about 80 miles of t h e E a r t h t s sur face . He can see e a r t h landmarks more c l e a r l y now. The p i l o t yaim h i s c r a f t , then r e t u r n s t o h i s normal ( ze ro degrees) p o s i t i o n us ing h i s per i scope f o r re ference . This maneuver determines t h e accuracy t o which he can determine yaw a t t i t u d e w i t h t h e per i scope .

p i t c h e s the blunt end up to 340, announcing "Start r e t r o - sequence . e . ' I ( then, seconds la ter , ) " i n r e t r o a t t i t u d e e on manual.

About 4$ minutes from t h e launch pad, the p i l o t manually

11

A t a l i t t l e past f i v e r inu tes t h e f l i g h t i s one-third over, Ground monitors listel; as t h e p i l o t announces, " f i r e one, ( t hen seconds Later, " f i r e twop'' and " f i r e t h r e e ,

f a c e of t h e c r a f t r i p p l e - f i r e , Each burns about 10 seconds, They w i l l be f i r e d in overlspping five-second i n t e r v a l s , During l a t e r o r b i t a l flights around t h e e a r t h , t h e s e rocke t s w i l l be used t o brake t h e speed of t h e c r a f t , a l lowing the p u l l of g r a v i t y to br ing it back i n t o the atmosphere. On the Redstone xuborbifal t r a i n i n g flignts, they w i l l be f i r e d only for continued q u a l i f i e a t i x i of the retromotors and t o provide p i l o t s w i t h manual r e t r o f i r e c o n t r o l experience.

I 1 I!

Three powerful so l id -p rope l l an t rocke ts on the b lun t

The p i l o t w i l l control any r e t r o f i r e misalignment torque by t h e manual proportfcnal c o n t r o l mode, r e p o r t i n g each r e t r o - f i r i n g and announcing t h e precise moment a t which the " f i r e r e t r o " Bight comes m on h i s instmrnent panel .

Seconds l a t e r t h e p i l o t ams the " r e t r o j e t t i s o n " switch s o t ha t t h e exhausted petsosocket package w i l l be j e t t i s o n e d through t h e automatic seqwmce,

Coming up on 6 minutes: The p i l o t announces, ''Going f l y by w i r e . " Simultaneously he switches h i s c o n t r o l mode t o l i n k h i s hand cont ro lLer t o a system of e l e c t r i c a l r e l a y s which i n t u r n opera te t h e hydrsgen-peroxide t h r u s t output from nozzles around the neck and base of t h e w a f t .

About 30 seconds l a t e r , he announces t ha t h i s re t ropack- age has been j e t t i s o n e d , "Going HF," he then says, as he t u r n s on t h e high frequency k ransmi t t e r t o check its operat ion.

MR- 3 2-3

S i x and one-half minutes: "To r e e n t r y a t t i t u d e , " he r epor t s , as the c r a f t s tar ts p i t c h i n g b lunt end down t o r e e n t r y a t t i t u d e i n response t o t h e p i l o t ' s c o n t r o l movements. " I n r een t ry a t t i t u d e . . ASCS ( a u t o p i l o t ) holding," he says, as he switches from manual c o n t r o l back t o automatic p i l o t .

A few seconds l a t e r he r e p o r t s the automatic r e t r a c t i o n of h i s per iscope.

"Going UHF and s t a r t i n g hand c o n t r o l l e r movements, the

"P i t ch down ... p i l o t says, Can he now perform manual c o n t r o l tasks as w e k l a f te r 4 minutes of weight lessness as when he en tered zero g? Here i s a chance t o compare h i s performance. yaw l e f t , " he says as h is r igh t hand moves the sidearm con- t r o l l e r , " p i t c h up, r o l l l e f t ... yaw r igh t , r o l l r igh t ... I1

Seven minutes from launch: T i m e for the touch test . The a s t ronau t touches, w i t h h i s r i gh t hand, p re se l ec t ed instruments . H i s eyes are closed. "Cabin a i r , he says ... "telemetry key ... scope ... AC v o l t s ... oxygen warning l i g h t . . . ' I h i s f i n g e r s move de f t ly ac ross the maze of instruments ... i n a l l there are some 127 switches, dials, bu t tons and f u s e s . The touch t e s t i s a check of h i s psychomotor a b i l i t y , and the complete sequence i s recorded by the con t ro l panel camera.

"Returning t o manual con t ro l , announces the p i l o t . A t t h i s t i m e he r e t u r n s t o manual i n the r o l l a x i s t o c o n t r o l the s p i n of the c r a f t on i t s v e r t i c a l axis during r een t ry . (Some r o l l i s planned, t o reduce landing d i s p e r s i o n . )

Seven minutes, plus: "Point O5g," says the p i l o t . The Mercury spacec ra f t touches the d e l i c a t e f r i n g e of the earth 's atmosphere. "Roll rate I N , " he cont inues. The f o r c e of g r a v i t y p re s ses h i m deeper and deeper i n t o h i s contour couch.

I1

"Three e . . e . . 9g I1 E-L-E-V-E-N . e o g o o o

I 1

There i s a p r o t r a c t e d per iod of s i l e n c e .

"Nine g 6g 3g o o o I 1

H i s vo ice i s c l e a r and i s no longer s t r a i n e d .

"Rate of descent and a l t i m e t e r on scale . . *

MR-3 2-4

s ix ty thousand ... f i f t y ... f o r t y I1 ... He i s 95 minutes from launch now.

"Drogue ( the small 6-foot parachute) deployed, I' he announces, then ( f o u r seconds l a t e r ) ; "snorkel (ambient a i r va lve ) open . . . twenty thousand ( f e e t ) "

Ten minutes p l u s from l i f t - o f f : one of t h e c r a f t ' s two viewport windows he should see the l a r g e (63 f o o t ) red and white parachute u n f u r l from the cap- s u l e ' s upper neck. Seconds l a t e r the a s t ronau t fee l s a pronounced tug.

... rate of decent - 30 fee t (about 20 m.p.h.) ... per i scope out ... peroxide ( con t ro l system f u e l ) dumped ... landing bag (instrument panel i n d i c a t i o n ) green.

and v e c t o r t o the landing area.

From a small mi r ro r a t

"Main chute out," he says ... "reefed ... coming open

READY FOR LANDING."

Ships and a i rcraf t have the c o l o r f u l parachute i n view

A Pro jec t Mercury a s t ronau t has re turned from space.

The func t ions descr ibed here a r e those e s t ab l i shed f o r t e s t exe rc i se purposes t o i n v e s t i g a t e man's c a p a b i l i t i e s during a normal f l i g h t . I n a d d i t i o n t o these func t ions , the p i l o t of the Mercury c r a f t can manually a c t i v a t e every system which i s e s s e n t i a l t o t h e completion of the mission.

MR-3

PILOT PREPARATION FOR THE MR-3 MISSION

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA, - P i l o t rehearsals f o r Mercury- Redstone-3, us ing a c t u a l f l i g h t hardwareunder r e a l i s t i c condi t ions , have been vigorously conducted f o r more than a month.

Before the launch, many mission s imula t ions were con- ducted using t r a i n i n g f a c i l i t i e s a t P ro jec t Mercury Headquarters, Langley F ie ld , Vi rg in ia , w i t h the Mercury p i l o t " f ly ing" h i s spacec ra f t wi th in a s p e c i a l l y designed a l t i t u d e chamber loca t ed i n Hangar " S " a t Cape Canaveral, F lor ida , and i n the Navy Centr i fuge a t Johnsv i l l e , Pa ,

I n p repa ra t ion f o r chamber runs t o space equivalent a l t i t u d e , the p i l o t s were subjected t o p re f l igh t phys ica ls , equipped w i t h medical sensors , and assisted i n t o t h e i r 20-lbe f u l l - p r e s s u r e space s u i t s . The p i l o t s and medical a t t endan t s simulated all requirements as r e a l i s t i c a l l y as condi t ions would permit, conducting pressure and biomedical checks on t h e s u i t ,

About two weeks before t h e programmed launch date, t h r e e days were devoted t o conducting simulated f l i g h t t es t s wi th t h e medical t r a n s f e r van, car ry ing an a s t ronau t and aeromedical a t t endan t s , moving from Hanger "S " t o the launch s i t e . Wearing h is f u l l - p r e s s u r e s u i t , a p i l o t went up t h e gant ry and entered the spacec ra f t , A r e a l i s t i c countdown and simulated Mercury f l i g h t , followed w i t h ground f l i g h t c o n t r o l l e r s a t t h e i r s t a t i o n s .

During the f i rs t two s imulat ions the gant ry remained up a g a i n s t the veh ic l e and the s ide ha tch of t h e spacec ra f t was l e f t o f f . The t h i r d day, "dry run" s imulat ion included secur- i n g t h e s ide hatch, purging the p i l o t ' s cabin wi th oxygen and p u l l i n g away the gant ry .

During the f o u r days preceding launch, t h e MR-3 mission was repea ted ly rehearsed, both i n the veh ic l e and i n a Link- type spacec ra f t s imula tor ( t h e Mercury Procedures T r a i n e r ) i n the Mercury Control Center.

on a low-residue d i e t , Three days before the f l i g h t , t h e p i l o t s w i l l be placed

A t two i n the morning on the day of t h e launch, l i g h t s w i l l go on i n t h e crews' q u a r t e r s on t h e second f l o o r of Hangar 'IS" e After a shower and a shave, t h e p i l o t w i l l have MR-3 3-1

breakfast. a t y p i c a l breakfast w i l l c o n s i s t of : sherbert; 4 ounces of f rozen s t r awber r i e s i n syrup, 2 sugar cookies and 8 ounces of skim milk,

For ty minutes af ter he i s wakened, he w i l l be given a p r e f l i g h t phys ica l , About 35 minutes w i l l be spent p l ac ing medical sensors a g a i n s t t a t t ooed re ference marks on h i s body. Then he w i l l climb i n t o h i s p re s su re s u i t .

i n a medical van, t oge the r w i th a procession of e s c o r t veh ic l e s and w i l l begin the 15-minute t r i p t o t h e launching s i t e .

He w i l l have a s e l e c t i o n of t h i n g s t o eat; however, 4 ounces of orange

A t T- 145 minutes the a s t ronau t w i l l l eave Hangar "S"

The a s t r o n a u t ' s s u i t i s purged w i t h oxygen during t h e t r a n s f e r per iod, and as the p i l o t relaxes i n a r e c l i n i n g couch, continuous medical data are read out from the t r a i l e r consoles.

A t T- 2 hours the p i l o t t s f i n a l b r i e f i n g w i l l be conducted.

F i f t e e n minutes are devoted then t o donning h i s gloves

The medical van w i l l have halted n e a r the Mercury-Redstone,

and conducting a leakage tes t of the s u i t , An a d d i t i o n a l 5 minutes e lapses as the p i l o t and h i s a t t e n d a n t s ascend the gan t ry ,

T-100 minutes:

The f l i g h t surgeon i n the Mercury Control Center passes t h e word along t o the Flight Direc tor - "The a s t ronau t i s on gantry." The p i l o t e n t e r s the c r a f t through the s ide hatch and a d j u s t s himself i n the contour couch. Cornmunicationa and biomedical leads are connected. Res t r a in t harnesses are secured about h i s shoulders, t o r so , and knees. A t T - 75 minutes, the a s t r o n a u t ' s helmet v i s o r i s closed and the s u i t i s i n f l a t e d t o 5 pounds per square inch , Leakage checks a r e conducted. A but ton i s depressed on the side of the p i l o t ' s helmet and the p res su re i s exhausted. The s u i t w i l l not be i n f l a t e d during the f l i g h t un le s s the cabin p re s su re should f a i l . The s u i t , t he re fo re , se rves as a backup "pressure chamber" providing the proper gaseous environment t o s u s t a i n l i f e i n the event of the f a i l u r e of the primary system (cabin) .

I n s t a l l a t i o n of the spacecraft 's s ide ha tch commences. The opera t ion takes 20 minutes. forced i n t o the cabin. Leakage checks are conducted t o i n s u r e that the p i l o t ' s chamber i s proper ly sealed.

A flow of cold oxygen i s

MR-3 3-2

T - 55 minutes: Spacecraf t and t h e gant ry i s moved away from

T - 15 minutes: M r . Walter Director , informs D r . Kurt Debus, Clearance f o r t h e Redstone.

t echn ic i ans leave t h e gant ry the launch veh ic l e .

Williams, Mercury Operation that he may ob ta in Range

T - 4 minutes: A l l spacec ra f t systems a r e i n GO condi- t i o n . Mercum Control Center i s GO on t e l e m e t w and voice communications. and S ( radar) beacons. The spacec ra f t ready l i g h t i s ON.

A t l a n t i c Miss i le Range i s GO on" spacec ra f t C

T - 2 minutes: Onboard cameras and t ape recorders are started. Th e a s t ronau t se rv ing as capsule communicator i n t h e blockhouse announces t ha t a l l f u r t h e r communications between t h e spacec ra f t and the ground w i l l be by rad io .

stopped, Remaining commands a r e i n i t i a t e d by the Test Conductor. T - 1 minute: Freon flow ( spacec ra f t cabin coo lan t ) i s

T - 35 seconds t o l i f t - o f f - i n r ap id sequence: The t e s t conductor announces "Capsule umbi l ica l dropped." Other con- t r o l l e r voices announce:

"Periscppe OK"

"Vent valves closed"

"Fuel tank pressurized ' '

"LOX tank pressur ized"

I' Ve hi c 1 e P ow e r I'

"Boom drop"

' I Ign i t ion"

"Main s tage"

"L i f t -o f f "

MR-3

. .

3-3

MR-3 - INSIDE THE PILOT'S CABIN

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. -- The pilot's cabin of the MR-3 spacecraft contains many items of equipment.

Instrument Panel - Instruments are located on a main instrument panel, a left console, and a right console. The main panel is directly in front of the pilot. Navigational instruments are located in the left and center sections of the panel and the periscope is located in the center. The right section of the main panel is composed of environmental system indicators and controls, electrical switches, and indicators and communication system controls. The left console includes sequerxing telelights and warning panel, indicators and controls for the spacecraft's automatic pilot (ASCS) , environmental control and landing systems. All told there are well over 100 lights, fuses, switches and miscellaneous controls and displays.

Periscope - Approximately two feet in front of the pilot will be located the earth periscope which will provide a 360° view of the horizon. lowll or high" magnificaticn. On 'llowll he will have a view of the earth of about 1900 miles in diameter - on "high" the field of view will be redyced to about 80 miles. measured within -10 nautical miles. The Mercury-earth peri- scope will, in addition, serve as a navigational aid.

of a crushable honeycomb material bonded t o a fiberglas shell and lined with a rubber padding. Each astronaut has a couch contoured to his specific shape. The couch is designed to support the pilot's body loads during all phases of the flight and to protect him from the acceleration forces of launch and reentry.

11 The pilot may manually adjust for I 1

Altitude can be

Pilot Support Couch - The astronaut's couch is constructed

Restraint System - The pilot restraint system, which consists of shoulder ard chest straps, leg straps, a crotch strap, lap belt a d b e guards, is designed t o restrain the astronaut in the couch during maximum deceleration.

system provid-es the MR-3 spacecraft cabin and the astronaut with a 100-percent oxygen environment t o furnish breathing, ventilation, and pressurization gas required during the flight. The system is completely automatic, but in the event the automatic control malfunctions, manual controls can be used.

Environmental CoRtrol System - The environmental control

MR-3 4- 1

The system c o n s i s t s of two i n d i v i d u a l c o n t r o l c i r c u i t s , namely the cabin c i r c u i t and the s u i t c i r c u i t , which w i l l normally opera te for about 28 hours. operated simultaneously. The s u i t c i r c u i t i s simply i s o l a t e d from the cabin c i r c u i t by the a s t ronau t c los ing the f a c e p l a t e on h i s helmet. Unless there i s a f a i l u r e i n the cabin c i r c u i t causing loss of pressure , the p i l o t ' s p ressure s u i t w i l l no t be i n f l a t e d .

Aeromedical Information - Throughout the f l i g h t the phys ica l well-being of the p i l o t w i l l be monitored, The p i l o t ' s r e s p i r a t i o n r a t e and depth, electrocardiogram, and body temperature w i l l be te lemetered t o f l i g h t surgeons on the ground.

with the ground through t h e use of high-frequency and u l t r a - high-frequency r ad ios , radar recovery beacons, and i f t h e s i t u a t i o n d i c t a t e s , a command r e c e i v e r and/or a telegraph- type code key.

and one 1,500-watt-hour ba t te ry are connected i n para l le l t o provide power f o r the complete mission and about a 16-hour post- landing per iod . watt-hour capac i ty i s a l s o provided. To f u r t h e r i n s u r e re l iable opera t ion of t he pyrotechnic system, each device has a completely i s o l a t e d power feed system.

a s t r o n a u t ' s head t o photograph the instrument panel d i sp l ay from launch through recovery. mounted i n the main instrurpent panel and w i l l a l s o be operated from launch t h r

Clock - There w i l l be a clock i n the MR-3 spacec ra f t w i t h three major separate ope ra t iona l components, I , (I) a standard a i r c r a f t - t y p e elapsed time clock, (2) a seconds from launch" d i g i t a l i n d i c a t o r with a manual reset, and (3) a time-delay relay which i s t o i n i t i a t e the r e t r o - grade f i r e sequence. %en the preset time has passed, the r e l a y c l o s e s and a c t u a t e s the r e t rog rade f i r e s i g n a l , a t the same time sending a telemetered s i g n a l t o the ground.

r evo lu t ion i n d i c a t o r with a range from sea l e v e l t o 100,000 feet . and main parachute deployment a l t i t udes .

Both systems are

P i l o t Communications - The a s t ronau t may remain i n touch

Main Battery System - Three 3,000-watt-hour bat ter ies

A standby backup power system of 1,500-

Cameras - A 16mm camera i s i n s t a l l e d t o the l e f t of the

A p i l o t observer camera i s

gh recovery.

Altimeter - The Mercury barometer altimeter i s a single-

The d i a l f ace w i l l have re ference marks a t the drogue

m-3 4-2

. . -.

At the top right corner of the main panel are located environmental displays, providing the pilot with readings of cabin pressure, temperature, humidity, and oxygen quantity remaining.

Food, Water, and Waste Storage - As with all manned capsules, MR-3 will be supplied'with about 3,000 calories of non-residue food and about 6 pounds of water. The water supply, which is sufficient for at least 28 hours, is contained in two flat bottles, each fitted with an extendable tube. A container f o r liquid waste is located near the entrance hatch.

Survival Equipment - A survival M t on the left side of

The survival package will also consist of a one-

the pilot's couch w i l l contain a personnel parachute which may be used as a third parachute backup for use in an extreme emergency. man life raft, desalting k i t , shark repellant, dye markers, first aid kit, distress signals, a signal mirror , portable radio, survival ration, matches, a whistle, and 10 feet of nylon cord. Although not expected to be needed in Redstone flights it is the same k i t as carried in the orbital flights where contingencies might arise which require its use.

include a detailed breakdown of all onboard systems and dis- plays. purpose of equipping newsmen with a general understanding of the types and functions of major Mercury spacecraft equipment. More detailed information on Mercury flight systems may be obtained by writing: Administration, Project Mercury Public Affairs Office, Space Task Group, Langley Field, Virginia.

For obvious reasons, it is not possible in this paper to

Information contained in this paper is for the sole

The National Aeronautics and Space

4-3

MERCURY REDSTONE V E H I C J Z

The Mercury-Redstone vehic le , a proven modif icat ion of one of the most r e l i a b l e l a r g e rocke ts developed i n t h e United S t a t e s , w i l l serve as t h e launch veh ic l e f o r the coming experiment i n the n a t i o n ' s Mercury manned space f l i g h t program.

Personnel of NASA's George C . Marshall Space F l i g h t Center a t Huntsv i l le , A l a . , who o r i g i n a l l y developed t h e Redstone, f i rs t a l t e r e d the rocket f o r use i n s c i e n t i f i c space explora t ion and more r e c e n t l y for t h e Mercury p r o j e c t . A Mercury-Redstone w i l l soon laurlch an a s t ronau t on a sub- o r b i t a l f l i g h t down the A t l a n t i c Missile Range from Cape Canaveral, F la . , i n a prelude to f u t u r e U.S. manned o r b i t a l f l i g h t s .

I n an e a r l i e r modified. vers ion , t he Redstone was used as the f i r s t s t age of $he J x p i k r C vehic le , which o r i b t e d t h e f ree world 's f i r s t s a t e l l i t e -- Ekplorer I. achievement of Explorer I was the discovery of the i n n e r Van Allen r a d i a t i o n b e l t e n c i r c l i n g t h e e a r t h . range vers ion of t h e rocket had previously boosted t h e f i rs t nose cone t o success fu l ly reenteer the atmosphere from space.

phases of the Mercury progrm, the Mercury-Redstone i s a f u r t h e r depar ture from i t s o r i g i n a l design.

man-carrying power p l a n t . The T(IR-3 mission Redstone was b u i l t by t h e Chrysler Corporation.

The g r e a t e s t

A s p e c i a l long-

A s t h e i n i t i a l launch veh ic l e to be used i n t h e manned

Some 800 changes were requi red t o transform the I t old" Redstone i n t o a modern,

I n its redesign, the r o c k e t ' s 70-inch-diameter tank s e c t i o n was lengthened about 6 f e e t , adding more than 20 seconds of burning time. to 83 f e e t -- inc luding spacec ra f t and escape tower -- and i t s l i f t - o f f weight t o 66,000 pounds. Major changes i n the engine, which increased i t s r e l i a b i l i t y , were a l s o n e c e s s i t a t e d . For example, p rovis ions were b u i l t i n t o t h e engine t o allow f o r the e x t r a burning time, and major improvements were made i n the peroxide system which d r i v e s t h e f u e l and l i q u i d oxygen pumps and provides th rus t con t ro l . Other modif icat ions i m - proved the engine ' s s t a b i l i t y , and added an anti-fire hazard system. The Mercury-Redstone engine, developed and b u i l t by t h e Rocketdyne Divis ion of Nor th American Aviation, genera tes a thrus t of 78,000 pounds. I n add i t ion , a new instrument compartment, a completely automatic emergency sensing system, and a spacec ra f t adap te r were added.

T h i s increased the vehicle's l eng th

MR-3 5-1

The i n s t m e f i t corrlpartment, produced by the Marshall Space F l i g h t Center,, houses the s e n s i t i v e c o n t r o l system. It i s loca ted betweei-, the f u e l banks and the spacec ra f t . Unlike the ord inary Redstone, t h i s compartment does no t s epa ra t e from the boos ter a f te r Surnout, rather i t descends t o the earth a t t ached t o t h e propuls ion u n i t . or an e l e c t r i c s i g n a l warning of poss ib l e t roub le . I f t h i s s i g n a l i s iven, i t causes (1) terminat ion o f launch veh ic l e thrust ( 2 7 sepa ra t ion o f the spacec ra f t from t h e boos te r and (31 a c t i v a t e s t h e s p a c e c r a f t ' s escape rocke t which propels the c r a f t t o a s a f e d i s t a n c e wi th in a f r a c t i o n of a second.

The sensing abor t" system, a l s o developed by MSFC engineers , g ives 11

The a b m t system sensss ;Ip,d i s a c t i v a t e d by such condi t ions as unacceptable dev ia t ions i n '&e programmed a t t i t u d e of the rocket , excessive turYr;Eng rates, l o s s of t h rus t , c r i t i c a l i r r e g u l a r i t i e s of t h r u s t or l o s s o f e l e c t r i c a l power. I n a manned mission, the esca2e system could be a c t i - vated by the p i l o t i n the spacec ra f t , a-qd mavrually i n the launching blockhouse m d at; t he NASA Mercury Control Center.

The c o n t r o l system of t h e Mercury-Redstone i s l e s s complex than t h e e a r l i e r b a l l i s t i c model. T h i s system, s impler and more re l iable thaq before, uses an a z t o p i l o t which minimizes d r i f t &..ming powered f l i g h t . l oca t ed i n the j e t exhaust of the propuls ion uni t coupled with a i r vanes are used as c o n t r o l su r f aces t o mairLtain proper a t t i t u d e . The m J o r p o r t i o n of t h i s systen was provided by %he Ford Instranen% Company.

Carbon vanes

Instruments are i n s t a l l e d i n the boos te r 'GO provide and telemeter some 65 measurements surveying a l l a spec t s of boos t e r behavior during f l i g h t , such as a t t i t u d e , v ib ra t ion , acce le ra t ion , temperature, p ressure , and t h r u s t l e v e l . channels of information which w i l l be telemetered from the spacec ra f t i t s e l f during i t s journey. Severa l t racklng signals are a l s o te lemetered by the boos ter .

These measurements are i n a d d i t i o n t o the many

Three Mercury-Redstones have been flown. The f i r s t f i r e d on December 1g9 1960, launched a heavily-instrumented product ion Mercury spacecraf-5 oil a success fu l s u b o r b i t a l f l i gh t . The t e s t v e r i f i e d the opera t ion of the Mercury system i n the space environment.

A second vehic le , launched on January 21, c a r r i e d a chimpanzee on a similar f l i g h t . The passenger, named Ham, was recovered unharmed i n a t e s t that proved the Mercury l i f e

MR-3 5-2

ppor t system i n f l i g h t . The tes t d i d , hc - rever, r evea l s e v e r a l t r o u b l e areas Systems v i b r a t i o n , r e s u l t i n g from the g r e a t e r l eng th and a l t e r e d mass d i s t r i b u t i o n of t he Mercury-modified Redstone, fed i n t o the v e h i c l e ' s automatic p i l o t and d i s tu rbed i t s c o n t r o l system. I n add i t ion , the Redstone engine ran wi th i t s t h r o t t l e wide open, increas ing the v e h i c l e ' s speed from 4,900 t o 5,300 mph. Consequently, liquid oxygen w a s consumed a t a h igher rate than usua l , causing the engine t o c u t off prematurely. The r o c k e t ' s abo r t sensing system reac ted properly, a c t i v a t i n g t h e s p a c e c r a f t ' s emergency escape device which pu l l ed t h e c r a f t away from the vehic le . F i r i n g of t h e escape rocke t added fur ther t o the a l ready g r e a t e r range and a l t i t u d e of the c r a f t t s f l i g h t .

A s a r e s u l t of +,his f l i g h t , s t e p s were taken t o c o r r e c t the problems and a tes t of the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of these modi- f i c a t i o n s was conducted on March 24., when a Mercury-Redstone car ry ing a dummy spacec ra f t was f i r e d from Cape Canaveral.

P r o j e c t o f f i c i a l s at the Marshall Center t e m e d t h e t e s t an unqua l i f i ed success. The rocket , w i t h its space- c r a f t remaining a t tached throughout the f l i g h t , followed i t s prescr ibed t r a j e c t o r y , reaching an a l t i t u d e of about 100 miles and a d i s t ance of some 400 miles .

During the f l i gh t , the power p l a n t funct ioned normally, t h e veh ic l e was w e l l con t ro l l ed along the planned t r a J e c t o r y , and a l l networks a rd ground equipment operated as progrsmed.

The MR-3 roclcet, asse&led a t MSFC, w i l l be launckied by the Center s Launch Operations Direc to ra t e .

. .- . - . . . . . . . . ..

5-3

MR-3 RECOVERY OPERATIONS

Ships, a i r c r a f t , h e l i c o p t e r s and ground veh ic l e s w i l l be deployed i n a number of a r eas t o e f f e c t quick recovery of t h e spacec ra f t . These areas inc lude Cape Canaveral, t o cover t he p o s s i b i l i t y of ar?? abort while the boos ter i s e i t h e r on o r j u s t o f f the pad; the off-shore waters near Cape Canaveral, f o r an abor t during t h e e a r l y s t ages of f l i g h t ; and t h e e n t i r e f l i g h t pa th from Cape Canaveral t o beyond t h e p red ic t ed impact p o i n t f o r t h e case of l a te r a b o r t i n a d d i t i o n t o a fiormal landing.

The Task Force assigned t o recover t h e a s t ronau t and spacec ra f t , i n NASA's MR-3 t e s t , w i l l be under t h e command of Rear Admiral F. V. 3. HILLES. The fo rce w i l l be made up of u n i t s from t h e Destroyer Force, Naval A i r Force, F l e e t Marine Force, Serv ice Force, Mine Force, A i r Resuce Service, and the A i r Force Missile Tes t Center. Many of t h e u n i t s have p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the sizccessIou.1 recovery exe rc i se s prev ious ly conducted. Pas t experience and c lose coordinat ion with NASA i n t h e development of procedures and techniques f o r safe bu t expedi t ious recovery have been developed over t h e p a s t two yea r s .

Admiral HILLES, Commander Destroyer F l o t i l l a FOUR and Commander P r o j e c t Mercury Recovery Force, w i l l exe rc i se command of t h e Recovery Force from the Recovery Control Room loca ted i n t h e Natiorzal Aerormitics and Space Adminis- t r a t i o n , Mercury Coctrol Center a t Cape Canaveral, F lor ida . The Task Force i s comprised of several Task GYOUPS, each under a n i n d i v i d u a l comnmder .

A Task Group d ispersed along the t r a c k and i n t h e p red ic t ed landing area w i l l be under t h e command of Rear A d m i r a l G . P. KOCH, Commander Carrier Divis ion EIGHTEENj who w i l l f l y h i s f l a g i n t h e a i r c r a f t c a r r i e r USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN (CVS 39).

USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN (CVS 39) commanded by CAPT. R. M O U T H , USN

USS DECATUR (DD 936) coma2ded by CDR A. W. MC LANE, USN USS WADLEIGH (DD 689) commanded by LCDR D. W. KILEY, USN USS ROOKS (DD 804) commanded by CDR W. H. PATTILO, USN USS THE SULLIVANS (DD 537) commanded by CDR F.H.S. HALL, USN USS ABBOT (DD 629) commanded by CDR R. J. NORMAN, USN USS N.K. PERRY (DDR 883) commanded by CDR 0. A. ROBERTS, USN

The u n i t s of t h i s group are:

MR-3 6-1

Air Support f o r this group will be provided by Patrol Squadron FIVE P2V's commanded by CDR T. H. CASEX, Jr., USN and supplemented with Air Rescue Service Aircraft. Carrier and shore based helicopters will be provided from the veteran recovery unit, Marine Air Group TWENTY SIX, commanded by COL P. T. JOHNSON, USMC.

A group positioned off shore consists of two minecraft and the USS RECOVERY (ARS 43) under the command of LCDR R. H, TAYLOR, USN.

Another group located at Cape Canaveral consists of numerous land vehicles and small craft from the Air Force Missile Test Center w i l l be under the command of LT COL Harry E. CANNON, USAF, of the Air Force Missile Test Center.

6-2

PROJECT MERCURY PROGRESS

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. -- Project Mercury, the first step in the United States manned space flight program, has been vigorously pursued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration since the project was begun two and one-half years ago.

Carrying the nation's highest priority (DX) the project has had extensive support by the Department of Defense, other Government agencies, the scientific com- munity, and U. S. industry. Main purpose of Mercury is to provide vitally needed information for future, more advanced, manned space flights.

PROGRESS TO DATE

With the launching of a man into suborbital flight, Mercury reaches a milestone -- first major event in the research and development process which got under way in early October, 1958. Subject to successful completion of other tests, orbital flight by an American astronaut is scheduled late this year.

Project Mercury has been built on a solid body or scientific knowledge and has involved a wide variety of ground and flight tests, engineering problems and oper- ational planning. It has involved hundreds of wind tunnel and aircraft drop tests, wider direction of NASA's Space Task Group and supported by the entire NASA staff and plant. Ten major rocket launches have succeeded out of 13 tries (See attached table). Specially modified rocket boosters have been put in production; the McDonnell Mercury spacecraft has gone through the entire process of design, engineering, production and test, and 12 capsules have been completed and delivered; the seven astronauts and the operating forces have been trained, and a worldwide network of communications and tracking stations is in the final phase of construction. Cost of the program is expected to total about $400 million for the entire process from design and production, through the planned series of orbital flights.

A high-priority project, Mercury has incurred over- time work by the NASA staff and the contracting personnel. For many months the McDonnell plant at St. Louis, Missouri,

~ . . . . - . . .,. .. -

and the NASA and o t h e r employes a t ,Cape Canaveral, have been on a t h r e e - s h i f t , seven-day week. A number of NASA employes work as much as 60 hours each week.

A s w i t h a l l research and development p r o j e c t s , Mercury has kept pace with s c i e n t i f i c and technological advances as the work progressed, and i t s f l i g h t schedules -- now coming i n t o the phase of increas ing frequency -- have followed a s teady course.

ORGANIZATION

P ro jec t Mercury was born a f e w days a f t e r t h e NASA was born October 1, 1958. It followed c lose ly the formation of t h e NASA Space Task Group under the Off ice of Space F l igh t Programs.

Space Task Group, loca ted a t Langley Field, Virgin ia , has a staff of more than TOO headed by Robert R . Gi l ru th , Di rec tor . Langley Research Center. Walter C, Williams, Associate Director , who heads Mercury f l i g h t operat ions, w a s drawn from the F l i g h t Research Center, Edwards, Cal i forn ia , where he d i r e c t e d N A S A ' s h igh speed arid abt i tude research flights.

G i l r u t h formerly was Ass is tan t Di rec tor of N A S A ' s

Grea tes t government support of Mercury has been given by the Department of Defense. experienced ae ronau t i ca l engineer ing t e s t p i l o t s , NASA se l ec t ed i t s seven a s t ronau t s . The A r m y , N a v y and A i r Force are supplying valuable medical s e rv i ces and personnel . Each of t he se rv ices i s providing communications and t racking equipment and f a c i l i t i e s f o r s ec t ions of t he Mercury network. By agreement-with the Department, the NASA reimburses the ind iv idua l armed fo rces f o r s e rv i ces above t h e i r normal opera t ions .

Atlas rocket boos te rs and launch se rv ices , a i r rescue u n i t s , map-making and char t ing , a i r c r a f t f o r a s t ronau t f l i g h t and zero G t r a i n i n g , use of the A t l a n t i c Miss i le Range, and animal specimens for t he space f l i g h t program.

White Sands Miss i le Range and amphibious veh ic l e s for recovery needs near the launch s i t e . The Redstone rocket ,

From i t s l a rge pool of

The A i r Force Space Systems Command a l s o suppl ies

The U . S. Army i s furn ish ing a t racking base a t i t s

MR-3 7-2

originally developed by the Army and now produced by NASA and industry, is the prime launcher for Mercury suborbital f l i g h t series.

The Navy, whose main responsibility is location, recovery and delivery of the capsule and astronaut fol- lowing flight, provides ships, aircraft, early warning craft , amphibious and service vessels, Marine helicopters, and associated gear from the Atlantic fleet. The Navy is assisting with construction and operation of tracking and communications stations on i t s Pacific Missile Range.

Much of the progress of the Mercury project to date is due to the assistance and capability of American industry. A large share of its work has been performed by the hundreds of contractors and subcontractors from many segments of industry.

- end -

. ~ . .

7-3

.. I

A Study of Contingency Planning

f o r

The P ro jec t Mercury Mission

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

SPACE TASK GROUP

Langley Field, V a .

April 10, 1961

MR-3 8-1

. - . - . - . . . .. . . .. . . . - . I ..- . . . . ... . -

In aQy research and development program in which the state-of-the a& is being pressed or is about to be surmounted, there is always an undetermined number of "lF1~" or unknowns. Project Mercury is just such a program. Its purpose is to investigate mmls capabilities -- perhaps to confirm those capabilities -- in space.

In Mercury, extreme efforts have been made to attempt to insure operating reliability mission success and pilot safety. But these are mechanical, man-made pieces of equipment and are therefore subject t o malfunction. Many repetitive or backup systems have 'bee12 built into the Mercury spacecraft and related equipment. From prelaunch until safe recovery, hundreds of different possible contingencies have been anticipated. For example, in the Redstone-boosted flights:

IF space vehicle-to-ground connections indicate an unsafe condison in the booster before lift-off and umbilical disconnect, the escape system can be fired on signal from the blockhouse through the launch vehicle or through the spacecraft umbilical Line.

IF an unsafe condition is indicated before lift-off but afterTround umbilical disconnect, the escape system can be fired by a signal from the blockhouse ground-command equip- ment or by the astronaut in the cockpit.

I ) IF an impending catastrophic failure is indicated between lift-off and esca;?e tower separation about 140 seconds after launchz the av.tomatic abort-sensing and implementation system (ASIS) c m automstically icitia'ce an escape sequence to re- mc;ve %he spacecraft from the booster, o r the escape system can be fired by ground command from the blocMnouse or by ground command! from the Mercury Control Center, or , by the astronaut in t h e cockpit.

IF a mission abort Secomes necessary after tower sepa- ratioE the spacecraft can be separated from the booster by firing the posigrade rockets on the blunt face of the space- craft, by actomatfc sequencing equipment, or by the astronaut in the cockpi-k. Since only about ten seconds elapse between escape-tower jettison and spacecraft separation from the boos ter , a near-normal Redstone-boosted mission is still possible at this point.

IF the automatic sequencing equipment does not jettison the ezape tower, tire astronaut in the cockpit can trigger the systen mar,i:.ail;y fron the cockpit.

m-3 8-2

IF the spacecraft does not automatically separate from the l-ch vehicle at booster burnout, separation can be initiated by ground command or by the astronaut. The astro- naut can initiate separation f rom the cockpit manually.

IF the automatic stabi l izat ion and control system (ASCS) fails70 orient the spacecraft after separation from the booster, the astronaut has two separate manual backup control systems to achieve proper attitude control.

The success of the mission and the safety of the astronaut also depend on the Life Support System, communications, and electrical power.

IF the automatic environmental control system, which provizs the spacecraft cabin and astronaut with oxygen and temperature control, fails - alternate systems can be selected manually by the astronaut.

IF the spacecraft pressure vessel develops a leak during flighc the astronaut I s full-pressure suit automatically inflates to five pounds per square inch to provide a second closed environment.

IF the system which supplies oxygen to the astronaut's pressure suit fails, an emergency supply, which is in parallel w i t h the normal supply, automatically cuts into the circuit. The astronaut can start the alternate systems.

a s t a b y system of 15-hour duration capacity is activated automatically or manually by the astronaut.

IF the astronaut's primary ultra-high frequency voice link with the ground-tracking network fails, he may switch to a second UHF or a high frequency channel.

IF the astronaut's microphone fails, a second mike in paralEl with the first automatically begins to operate.

IF all voice link systems fail, the astronaut may resort to a code key in the cockpit and use the telemetry trans- mitters and frequencies to send messages back to the tracking network.

IF the spacecraft's main batteries fail during flight,

I I IF command receiver A" fails, receiver "B" may be used to rezive commands f rom the ground.

MR-3 8-3

IF one telemetry transmitter fails, another with four channzs will convey aeromedical information and 90 other different measurements to ground-tracking stations.

IF a11 telemetry transmission equipment fails, onboard recorzrs will record and preserve data for use after recovery.

One of the most important phases of the flight is the landing-recovery phase. are not needed on the Redstone-boosted flights to cause reentry, one of the objectives of these flights is to exercise the retro- rocket system for in space" qualification. This phase of the flight begins with the establishment of the proper retrorocket firing attitude and ends with the successful delivery of the spacecraft akoaTd the recovery ship.

IF the automatic attitude control system does not orient the szcecraft to the proper retrorocket firing attitude, the astronaut in the cockpit can assume attitude control through one of two alternate control systems.

Although the retro (braking) rockets

I1

IF the automatic timer in the cockpit does not fire the retroGckets, they can be fired by ground command from the Mercury Cor,trai Center, or, they can be fired by the astronaut in the cockpit.

IF the automatic system fails to initiate Jettisoning of tlirspent rekrorocket pack, the pilot can initiate the sequence from $he cocmft.

IF the automatic system does not retract the periscope befcrrreentry i n % o the atmosphere, the pilot can retract it namally from the cwkpit.

ALL SYSTEMS ARE AUTOMATIC IN SPACECRAFT

Since each Mercury manned mission profile is to be flow- l.lmnmn .ed before man can fly the same profile, all systems must be designed, manufactured, and installed in the spacecraft to operate on a completely automated basis. Many of the primary flight actions and systems can be activated OF controlled from the ground. sible to provide for ground control over all spacecraft systems. The introduction of the astronaut - the human observation and judgment factor - serves to enhance operational reliability to a great degree.

For exampie, cutomated electronic equipment which controls the initiation of the landing and recovery aids is duplicated. These systems are installed in parallel so that failure of one system should automatically cause a switchover to the alternate sys tern .

However, it has not been pos-

MR-3 8-4

IF, however, these paral le l systems f a i l t o deploy the

At s ix - fGt -d iame te r drogue parachute a t about 21,000 f e e t , the as t ronau t i n the cockpi t can deploy the chute manually. t h i s po in t , small s t r ips of aluminum (radar cha f f ) a r e dispersed t o provide a t a r g e t f o r radar loca t ion .

I F the antenna c a n i s t e r , t o which the drogue parachute i s a tGched , i s not j e t t i s o n e d t o automatical ly deploy the main 63-foot r ingsa i l - type landing parachute, t he p i l o t can manually j e t t i s o n the c a n i s t e r and deploy t h e main chute .

I F the main landing parachute does not deploy o r open properly, a t about 10,000 f e e t , a reserve landing parachute i s ava i l ab le and can be deployed by the as t ronaut i n the cockpi t .

When the main landing parachute i s deployed, a SOFAR underwater bomb i s deployed over the side t o provide an audible sound landing-point i nd ica t ion , and an u l t r a -h igh frequency SARAH r a d i o beacon begins t r ansmi t t i ng . sea-marker dye i s deployed w i t h the reserve parachute and remains a t tached t o the spacecraf t by a lanyard r ega rd le s s of when the reserve chute i s deployed.

On landing, an impact switch j e t t i s o n s the landing parachute and i n i t i a t e s the remaining l o c a t i o n and recovery aids. These include release of sea-marker dye w i t h t he reserve parachute i f it has not prev ious ly been deployed, t r i g g e r i n g a h igh - in t ens i ty f lashing l i g h t , extension of a 16-foot whip antenna and the i n i t i a t i o n of t he operatioi? of a high-frequency r a d i o beacon.

p a r a c E t e and j e t t i s o n the reserve parachute , t he a s t ronac t i n the cockpi t can i n i t i a t e the systems manually.

t he hEh-frequency radio beacon au tomat ica l ly becomes -the primary r ad io l o c a t i o n a id .

A can of

I F the automatic equipment f a i l s t o r e l e a s e the maf r ,

IF the u l t r a -h igh frequency S A W rad io beacon fa i l s ,

I F both the UHF SARAH beacon and the HF recovery beacons f a i l to operate , t he a s t r o n a u t ' s UHF and HF r a d i o t r a n s m i t t e r s become primary rad io loca t ion aids.

I F a l l of t he r a d i o beacon l o c a t i o n aids fa i l , the high- i n t e n x t y f l a s h i n g l i g h t and sea-marker dye become valuable aids t o v i s u a l l oca t ion by searching a i r c r a f t and sh ips .

o r =The l i f e support system should become fouled a f t e r I F a f t e r landing, t he spacec ra f t should sp r ing a l eak

MR-3 8-5

. ._.. .. .-. . "

landing, the astronaut can escape either through the upper neck of the spacecraft or through the side hatch.

- IF it becomes necessary to terminate or

IF the flight terminates early, inadvertently, elemen-ts of thrMercury recovery forces are deployed along the intended flight path to make the recovery.

IF it is necessary to abort the mission, either off-the- pad oyimmediately after engine ignitlon and lift-off, emergency rescue and recovery crew and equipment have been stationed near the launch area to make the recovery.

The foregoing is NOT a complete stu$y o f r , a l l redundant Mercury systems or of all of the vexing considered in the conduct of Mercury flight tests.

IF'S which must be

It is intended, rather, as a primer for the layman interested in acquiring a basic understanding of contingency planning in the Mercury mission and the role of the astronaut as a "backup system" capable of greatly increasing mission reliability.

8-6

MERCURY -REDSTONE ABORT

What i s an "abort" i n Me-cury-Redstone? It i s any unplanned te rmina t ioz of t h e f i i g , h t i n i s s i o ~ ; , ~ of such a b o r t s has been foreseen and provided f o r i n t h i s program through t h e i n c l u s i o n of an escape rocket mounted on a tower above the spacec ra f t and thraiAgh t h e pwsovision of both automatic and manual means of fi??ing t h e escape pocket t o p u l l the spacec ra f t away from an impending launch veh ic l e malfunc- t i o n . I n add i t ion , an e l eva t ing bocrn know. as a "cherry. p icker" has been provided t o remove the pilot; during an emergency a r i s i n g during the fical, 90 minutes af t h e countdown,

Once the Redstone launch veh ic l e has received i t s f i r i n g s i g n a l and even before i t has l i f t e d of f t h e pad, automatic f a i l u r e - d e t e c t i n g systems e s p e c i a l l y b u l l % i n r o the vehhcle w i l l sense impending tmuS2.e and w i l l i r i i t i a t e an a b o r t , When t h i s happens, t h e clamp ring which attaches the spacec ra f t t o the launch v e h i c l e i s re leased by explosive b o l t s , t h e r e t r o - rocket package a t tached t o t h e spa,cecrafc heat sh i e ld i s j e t t i s o n e d , and t h e escape rocket i s f i r e d . The t h r u s t of t h e escape rocket i s suf f ic ien t , t'o p u l l t h e spacec ra f t 50 an a l t i t u d e of over 2000 f e e t and we l l t o one s i d e sf 'che launch pad. A s the spacec ra f t reaches i t s peak a l t i t u d e i n t h i s s h o r t f l i g h t explosive b o l t s ari? fSP-ed t o ?elease another clamp r i n g which a t t a c h e s t h e escape roeI.cet and tower t o the spacec ra f t A small roc,ke+, moi:n'r,ec2 beneath t h e escape rocket begins t h r u s t i n g Lo c a r r y t,h% tower axd n c m empty escape rocket away from t he spacec ra f t and c l ea r t h e way f o r deploying parachutes from the small upper end af the spacec ra f t . When the tower has gone t h e sn?sll 6-foot drog-de parachut,e i s deployed. T h i s parachute stags any r o t a t i o n of tne spacec ra f t , then p u l i s away t h e antenna can a,ad deploys the 63-foot main landing parachute . When +,he landing parachute I s de2loyed the heat s h i e l d i s re leased and this, i n turn, extends t h e landing- impact bag which forms a pneumatic cushion to absorb t h e shock of landing. The impact bag i s needed p?;ar,arilg for impacts on land but i s a l s o required f ~ r iandfngs on water whea wind and waves are high.

escape rocket can be f i r e d , i f necessary, by t h e a s t ronau t o r by r a d i o command from t h e Redstone blockhouse, the Mercury Control Center, o r the A t l a n t i c Missile Range range s a f e t y o f f i c e r from the AMR Centra l Control Bui lding.

The p c s s i b i l i t y

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e automatic system descr ibed above, t h e

MR-3 9-1

_. . " .- . ".. .". . .. . ...-

For impending boas t e r malfunctions a f t e r 1lf.t;-off t h e automatic system described above goes through t h e $8188 sequence t o assure t h a t the spacec ra f t i s moved well away from any p o t e n t i a l boos te r explosion.

w1t;hln t h e spacec ra f t t he a s t r m a u t and t h e f l i g h t monitors i n the Mercury Control Center can a l s o i n i t i a t e an abor t , thus aepara t ing t h e spacec ra f t f rom t h e boos te r and s a f e l y terminat lng t h e f l i g h t .

The a t tached brochure e n t i t l e d "IF" descr ibes a number of the poss lb l e emergencies that could lead t o an abort i n a Mercury f l i g h t mission and also descr ibes the many s t e p s that have been taken t o minimize t h e number of such emergencies t ha t oould reach t h e s t a g e of r equ i r ing an abor t .

Bor o the r emergencies such as systems malfunctions

MR-3 9-2

J O H N HERSCHEL GLENN, Jr. Pro jec t Mercury Astronaut

BIOQRAPHY

John H, Glennp Jr., a l i e u t e n a n t co lone l i n the U. S. Marine Corps, was born Ju ly 18, 1921 i n Cambridge, Ohio. He cons iders New Concord, Ohio, h i s permanent home. H e i s 5 feet 104 inches t a l l , weighs 168 pounds and has green eyes and red hair, H i s wife i s the former Anna Margaret Castor, daughter of D r . and Mrs. H. W. Castor, The Glenns have two chi ldren : John David, 14, and Carolyn Ann, lae H i s pa ren t s are M r . and Mrs. John H. Glenn. The e l d e r M r . Glenn i s a re t i red operakor of a plumbing and hea t ing bus iness , The e l d e r Glenns and Castors a l l l i v e on Bloomfield Road i n New Concord, Glenn also has a s i s t e r , Mrs. Jean Pinkston, of Cambridge.

Glenn at tended primary and high schools i n Concord and

He was graduated from at tended Muskingum College t h e r e a l s o , Glenn en tered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program i n March 1942. t h i s program and commissioned i n the Marine Corps a y e a r la ter , After advanced t r a i n i n g , he jo ined Marine Fighter Squadron 155 and spent a year f l y i n g F4U f ighters i n the Marshall I s l ands , During h i s World War 11 s e r v i c e he f l e w 59 combat missions. Af t e r t h e war, he was a member of F i g h t e r Squadron 218 on North China p a t r o l and had duty i n Guam, From June 1948 t o December 1950, he was an i n s t r u c t o r i n advanced f l i g h t training a t Corpus Chris t i , Texas, Glenn then at tended Amphibious Warfare School a t Quantico, V i rg in i a . I n Korea he flew 63 missions w i t h Marine Fighter Squadrons 311 and 27 while an exchange p i l o t with t h e A i r Force i n F-86 Sabre j e t s . l a s t nine days of f i g h t i n g i n Korea, he downed three WXG1s i n combat along the Yalu River. Af t e r Korea, Glenn at tended T e s t P i l o t School a t the Naval A i r T e s t Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. Afeer graduat ion, he was p r o j e c t o f f i c e r on a number of a i r c r a f t . H e was assigned t o the Fighter Design Branch of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics i n Washington from November 1956 t o Apr i l 1959, during which time he a l s o at tended the Universi ty of Maryland. I n Apr i l 1959 he was s e l e c t e d as an a s t ronau t for Pro jec t Mercury.

I n t h e

Glenn has been awarded the Distinguished Fly ing Cross on f i v e occasions, and holds t h e A i r Medal w i th 18 Clusters f o r h i s s e r v i c e during World War I1 and Korea. while p r o j e c t o f f i c e r of t h e FBU, he set a t r a n s c o n t i n e n t a l speed record from Los Angeles t o New York, spanning t h e country i n 3 hours and 23 minutes, T h i s was the f i rs t t r a n s c o n t i n e n t a l f l i g h t t o average supersonic speed. He has more than 5,100 hours of f l y i n g t i m e , inc luding 1,600 hours i n jet; aircraft.

I n J u l y 1957,

The Glenn family habbies a r e boat ing and water sk i ing .

10-1

VIRGIL I V A N GRISSOM P r o j e c t Mercury Astronaut

BIOGRAPHY

V i r g i l I. Grissom, a cap ta in i n the U. S, A i r Force, was born Apri l 3, 1926 i n Mitchell , Indiana. He i s 5 fee t 7 inches t a l l , weighs 150 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes. Mrs, Grissom i s the former Bet ty L, Moore. They have two sons: Sco t t , 11,and Mark, 7 . Grissom's parents , M r , and Mrs, Dennis D. Grisaom, l i v e a t 715 Baker Street , Mitchel l . He has two bro thers : Norman, of Mitchel l ; and Lowell, a s e n i o r a t Indiana Universi ty; and a sister, Mrs. Joe Beavers, who resides i n Baltimore, Maryland. H i s wife 's father, Claude Moore, l i v e s i n Mitchell; her mother i s deceased.

Grissom at tended primary and high schools i n Mi tche l l . He f i rs t entered the A i r Force i n 1944 as an a v i a t i o n cadet and was discharged i n November 1945. He was graduated from Purdue Universi ty w i t h a degree i n mechanical engineer ing i n 1950. He re turned t o a v i a t i o n cade t t r a i n i n g a f t e r h i s gradua- t i o n from Purdue and received h i s wings i n March 1951. Grissom jo ined t h e 75th F igh te r - In t e rcep to r Squadron a t Presque Isle, Maine, as an F-86 f i g h t e r p i l o t . He f lew 100 combat missions i n Korea i n F-868s wi th t h e 334th F igh te r - In t e rcep to r Squadron. He l e f t Korea i n June 1952 and became a j e t p i l o t i n s t r u c t o r a t Bryan, Texas. I n August 1955 he went t o the A i r Force I n s t i t u t e of Technology a t Wright-Patterson A i r Force Base, Ohio, t o study ae ronau t i ca l engineering. I n October 1956 he at tended the T e s t P i l o t School at Edwards A i r Force Base, Ca l i fo rn ia , and re turned t o Wright-Patterson A i r Force Base i n May 1957 as a t e s t p i l o t assigned t o the F i g h t e r Branch, He has flown more than 3,400 hours, over Z95QO i n j e t s .

Grissom has been awarded t h e Distinguished Flying Cross and A i r Medal w i t h C l u s t e r f o r s e r v i c e i n Korea,

H i s hobbies are hunt ing and f i shing e

10-2

. .

ALAN BARLETT SHEPARD, JR, Project Mercury Astronaut

BIOGRAPHY

Alan B. Shepard, Jr., a commander in the U.S. Navy, was born November 18, 1923 in East Derry, New Hampshire. The 37-year-old astronaut is 5 feet 11 inches t a l l , weighs 160 pounds, has blue eyes and brown hair. Shepard is married to the former Louise Brewer of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The couple has two daughters: Juliana, 9, and Laura, 13. His parents, Col. and Mrs. Alan B. Shepard, live in East Derry where the elder Shepard, a retired officer of the Army of the United States, is an insurance broker, Shepard's sister, Mrs, Pauline S. Sheman, resides in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

Shepard attended primary school in East Derry and was graduated from Pinkerton Academy, Derry, New Hampshire, 1940., He studied one year at Admiral Farragut Academy, Toms River, New Jersey, and then entered the Naval Academy, Annapolis, He was graduated from Annapolis in 1944. He was graduated from the Naval War College, Newport, mode Island, in 1958.

The astronaut saw service on the destroyer COGSWELL in the Pacific during World War 11. Corpus Christi, Texas9 and Pensacola9 Florida, Me received his wings in March 1947. Subsequent service was in Fighter Squadron 42 at the Norfolk Naval Air Station and Jacksonville, Florida. He also served several tours aboard aimraft; carriers in the Mediterranean. Shepard went to USN Test Pilot School at Pacuxent River, Maryland, in 1950 and served two t ou r s in flight test work there. During this service he took part in high altitude tests to obtain data on light at different altitudes and on a variety of air masses over the North American Continent, He also took part in experihents in test and development of the Mavyns in-flight refueling system9 carrier suit- ability trials of the F2H3 Bansheeg and Navy t r ia l s of the first angled carrier deck. Between his flfght-tesk tours at Patuxent, Shepard was assigned to Fighter Squadron 193 at Moffett Field, California, a night fighter unit flying mnshee j e t s . He was Opera- tions Officer of this squadron and made two t ~ u m with it to the Western Pacific on board the carrier ORISKANY. He has been engaged in the test of the F3H Dernoc, FbU Crusader2 F4D Skyray, and Fl1F Tigercat, He was proJect test pilot on the F5D Skylancer., The last five months at Patuxenf; were spmt as an instructor in the Test Pilot School. After his graduation from the Naval War College, Shepard joined the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet, as air- craft readiness officer. in j e t s ,

He then entered flying training at

He has 3,700 hours of flying time, 1,800

Shepard's hobbies are golf, ice skating, and water skiing.

10-3

. . . .. . . _-I._. .. . . . - . .. - _ _ .

ASTRONAUT T R A I N I N G PROGRAM SUMMARY

Here are some of the general t r a i n i n g a c t i v i t i e s t h a t t h e a s t ronau t s have undergone s i n c e May 1959,

1. Systems and veh ic l e f a m i l i a r i z a t i o n . - The a s t ronau t s were given l e c t u r e s i n the veh ic l e systems by NASA and seve ra l of t h e con t r ac t ing companies. Langley Research Center gave them a 50-hour course in a s t r o n a u t i c s . McDonnell gave the a s t ronau t s l e c t u r e s on t h e Mercury sub- systems and se s s ions on code t r a i n i n g . Lectures were given t o the a s t r o n a u t s by D r . W i l l i a m K. Douglas on aero- medical problems of space f l i g h t . A t t h e Wright A i r Development Division, the a s t r o n a u t s were indoc t r ina t ed wi th the Mercury p res su re s u i t , opera t ion of t h e s u i t i n low p res su re and hea t chambers, on the cen t r i fuge , and during weightless f l y i n g . A t t h e Naval Medical Research I n s t i t u t e , they were f a m i l i a r i z e d w i t h the phys io logica l e f f e c t s of a high CO content i n the environment. The Army B a l l i s t i c Missi f e Agency indoc t r ina t ed t h e a s t r o - nauts an t h e Redstone, The A i r Force B a l l i s t i c Miss i le Division and i t s a s soc ia t ed con t r ac to r s i ndoc t r ina t ed the a s t ronau t s on t h e Atlas.

2. S ta r recogni t ion . - Each a s t ronau t was given concentrated personal i n s t r u c t i o n on the elements of c e l e s t i a l naviga t ion and on s t a r recogni t ion a t t he Morehead Planetarium, Chapel H i l l , North Carolina, during February 1961. view through a capsule window permit ted a s t ronau t p r a c t i c e i n co r rec t ing yaw d r i f t .

3. Desert su rv iva l . - A 5$-day course i n desert s u r v i v a l t r a i n i n g was accomplished a t t h e U. S. A i r Force Training Command Surv iva l School a t Stead A i r Force Baseo Nevada. The course cons is ted of s u r v i v a l techniques through l e c t u r e s , demonstrations, and appl ica- t i o n i n a r ep resen ta t ive d e s e r t environment. The Mercury s u r v i v a l k i t was a l s o evaluated.

open-water normal egress t r a i n i n g was conducted i n the Gulf of Mexico o f f Pensacola, F lo r ida . Each a s t ronau t made a t l e a s t 2 egresses throu h the upper hatch. State 3-4 seas (up t o 10-foot swells7 were experienced. Water s u r v i v a l t r a i n i n g was a l s o accomplished during t h i s program. A t r a i n i n g program of s ide ha tch egress was

A t r a i n e r s imula t ing the c e l e s t i a l

4. Egress t r a i n i n g . - During March and Apri l 1960

MR-3 11-1

.- . .. . . . . . -. .. . . . . . .. . ... .-.. -.I.. .. .. . ,.,... . .

accomplished in August 1960 at Langley. astronauts made underwater egresses, some of which were made in the Mercury pressure suit.

5. Specialty assignments. - The astronauts contrib- uted to the Mercury development program by working directly with Space Task Group engineers and by attending NASA- McDonnell coordination meetings and Mercury-Redstone or Mercury-Atlas panel meetings in their specialty areas. Astronaut specialty areas are:

Each of the

a. Carpenter - Communication equipment and procedures, periscope operation, navigational aids and procedures.

b. Cooper - Redstone booster, including con- f i g u r a t i o n , t ra j e c t o r y , aerodynaml c s, count down, and flight procedures.

c. Glenn - Cockpit layout or configuration, instrumentation, and controls for capsule and simulation.

d o Grissom - Reaction control system, hand controller, autopilot and horizon scanners.

e. Schirra - Environmental control systems, pilot support and restraint, pressure suit, aero- medical monitoring.

f. Shepard - Recovery systems, parachutes, recovery aids, recovery procedures and range net- work *

g. Slayton - Atlas booster and escape system including Atlas configuration, trajectory, aero- dynamics, countdown, and flight procedures.

Some of the more specific training programs and equipment are:

1, Centrifuge programs. - During the three Johnsville centrifuge programs, astronauts received extensive training in the full-scale simulations of the Mercury-Redstone and Mercury-Atlas flights and the aborts associated with each type of trajectory. The primary purpose of these programs was to give the astronauts training in capsule attitude and rate control, monitoring normal sequencing functions, and

MR-3 11-2

r e c t i f y i n g emergency problems while being exposed t o environmental condi t ions that might be a s soc ia t ed wi th the Mercury-Redstone and Mercury-Atlas p r o f i l e s . environmental f a c t o r s emphasized during these programs were acce le ra t ion , reduced cabin pressures , and Mercury p res su re s u i t condi t ion, and the e f f e c t s of these condi- t i o n s on a s t ronau t performance. The a s t r o n a u t s a l s o received a d d i t i o n a l t r a i n i n g w i t h voice communications and code. Further eva lua t ion of t h e McDonnell hand c o n t r o l l e r , Couch, capsule l i g h t i n g and instrument design was a l s o accomplished during these programs.

2, Weightless f l y i n g . - The a s t ronau t s received f a m i l i a r i z a t i o n w i t h weight lessness by being flown as passengers through s e v e r a l pa rabo l i c t r a j e c t o r i e s i n Cl31, C135, and F-100 type a i r c r a f t . The dura t ions of weight lessness va r i ed from 15 seconds t o a minute, and the number of parabolas p e r f l i g h t var ied from 3 t o 24, depending upon the type of a i r c r a f t being used. Each a s t ronau t has experienced approximately 40 minutes of weight lessness . During t h e s e f l i g h t s , data were c o l l e c t e d on the a s t r o n a u t ' s a b i l i t y t o perform a simple t r ack ing task, changes i n normal speech, experience i n e a t i n g and dr inking, v i s u a l a c u i t y and v i s u a l o r i e n t a t i o n problems for var ious body pos i t i ons , and pos t weightless psychomotor , t e s t i n g .

The

3. Procedures t r a i n e r s . - The procedures t r a i n e r i s a complete mockup of the Mercury spacec ra f t w i t h operat- i ng inst,lwments and c o n t r o l s connected t o an analog computer t o s imula te a11 f l i g h t condi t ions . T h i s t r a i n e r enables a s t ronau t t r a i n i n g w i t h p r a c t i c a l l y a l l of t h e environmental v a r i a b l e s of 'che Mercury-Redstone and Mercury-Atlas t r a j e c t o r i e s w i t h the except ion of t h e involved a c c e l e r a t i o n s . P r i m a r y emphasis has been astronauk t r a i n i n g on t h e spacec ra f t systems, opera t ions and procedures. experience i s a l s o accomplished during t h i s program. Because of t h e t r a i n e r f l e x i b i l i t y , the a s t ronau t can p r a c t i c e with any of the cont ro l -d isp lay modes u t i l i z i n g a v a r i e t y of r e t r o f i r e misalinement to rques and r een t ry o s c i l l a t i o n s , Astronauts have concentrated on f l y i n g Mercusy-Redstone mission s imula t ions f o r t h e past s e v e r a l months, but they have a l s o had ex tens ive t r a i n i n g i n f l y i n g the Mercury-Atlas mission, c o n t r o l l i n g capsule a t t i t u d e s and r a t e s during re t rof i re p r a c t i c e sess ions , and r e so lv ing a mul t i tude of i n f l i g h t systems f a i l u r e s .

Voice communications and p res su re s u i t

11-3

4. ALFA t r a i n e r . - The a s t r o n a u t s received exten- s i v e t r a i n i n g i n the A i r Lubricated Free Axis T ra ine r u t i l i z i n g a per iscope d i sp lay o r a window w i t h a simulated e a r t h horizon f o r c o n t r o l l i n g a c t u a l capsule a t t i t u d e s and rates during o r b i t and r e t r o r o c k e t f i r i n g . The a s t r o n a u t s c o n t r o l the capsule by a Reaction Control System c o n s i s t i n g of pressur ized a i r r e a c t i o n c o n t r o l nozzles . The a s t r o n a u t s received pe r iod ic t r a i n i n g i n the ALFA t r a i n e r f o r the p a s t year .

5. MASTIF. - In March 1960 the a s t r o n a u t s received t r a i n i n g i n t h e mul t ip l e axes space t e s t i n e r t i a f a c i l i t y loca ted a t NASA-Lewis Research Center. The purpose of the s tudy w a s twofold: f a m i l i a r i z a t i o n w i t h phys io logica l and psychological e f f e c t s of tumbling, and ( 2 ) t o recover from tumbling when i t occurs. A slow buildup of axes and rates was used t o a m a x i m u m of 30 rpm r o t a t i n g about a l l three axes. The a s t r o n a u t s i n a l l cases were a b l e t o s t o p tumbling i n a r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t per iod of time, us ing the Mercury-type rate i n d i c a t o r and hand c o n t r o l l e r .

(1) t o g ive the a s t r o n a u t s

6. Summary of experience i n p re s su re s u i t . - The a s t ronau t s have had ex tens ive experience i n the p res su re s u i t , a good deal of i t while undergoing t r a i n i n g f o r Mercury-Redstone and Mercury-Atlas f l i g h t missions. During the e a r l y Mercury p res su re s u i t development s tage , much of the a s t ronau t s ! experience i n the s u i t has been concerned wi th f i t t i n g s both a t Goodrich and Langley. I n the past year , however, almost a l l t h e t r a i n i n g i n the Centrifuge, Procedures Tra iners , Egress Trainer , Environmental Control T ra ine r a t ACEL, and weightless f l i g h t t r a i n i n g have incorporated the Mercury p res su re s u i t i n the o v e r a l l t r a i n i n g programs.

7. F l igh t record. - The a s t r o n a u t s maintain f l y i n g

Current ly two F-1061s have been assigned t o p ro f i c i ency as part of t h e i r r e g u l a r a s t ronau t t r a i n i n g a c t i v i t i e s . them f o r these purposes. The a s t r o n a u t s cont inue t o o b t a i n r e g u l a r p ro f i c i ency and annual instrument checks i n T-33 a i r c r a f t assigned t o t h e Tactical A i r Command, Langley A i r Force Base, Vi rg in ia .

MR-3 11-4