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Title: Gemini 6: The NASA Mission Reports (Apogee Books Space Series) by Robert Godwin ISBN: 1-896522-61-0 Publisher: Collector's Guide Pub Pub. Date: 20 December, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Addendum on Lunar Orbit Rendezvous
Comment: I completely neglected to mention in my initial review that this fascinating little book includes some of the key memos and reports covering the decision to implement the lunar landing using lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR). Those familiar with the history of Project Apollo will know that John Houboult, a middle manager at NASA's Langley facility, put his job on the line by writing a letter to NASA Associate Administrator Robert Seamans, skipping at least half-a-dozen layers of bureaucracy in a desperate attempt to get someone to address the issue. Well, you will find that memo here, followed by von Braun's report acquiescing that LOR is the way to go.
Rating: 5
Summary: Getting ready for the moon
Comment: Gemini 6? What's the big deal about Gemini 6? One word: rendezvous.
Before Gemini 6 (and 7), no two spacecraft had met in space. For the moon missions, which required not only a meeting in space but a meeting in lunar orbit, this was a critical issue. And space rendezvous is a far from simple process. If you're behind someone in orbit, you'd think you could blast your rockets and zoom ahead. No, if you do that, you just put yourself in a higher orbit and get farther behind. The paradoxical solution is to slow down, get into a lower, faster orbit, and catch up that way.
But enough technospeak: the bottom line is that it's tough, and Gemini 6 was to be the first. The original plan was to use an Agena. When the Agena failed, then the target became Gemini 7. And that almost became a problem when the Titan II launch vehicle for Gemini 6 shut down right at liftoff. Only Schirra's cool hand, staying off the abort switch, made a successful launch possible a few days later.
You can find all this information in this excellent book. It has the press kit, the pre-launch briefing for the NASA administrator, transcripts of press conferences, and, most interesting for me, the post-mission debriefing with the astronauts - something never before shared with the public. You get to hear what Wally Schirra really thought of some of the decisions made by McDonnell Douglas (the spacecraft manufacturer) and NASA management.
In addition to the fascinating text, there's also a marvelous CD. It's advertised as Windows-only, but I didn't have any significant problems accessing it (via Netscape) on my Macintosh. It's got movies from the mission, a ton of still photos, and an interview with Wally Schirra. I've only checked out part of it so far, so I can't comment too much, but what I've seen has been very interesting.
I look forward to acquiring the rest of the books in this series. Highly recommended for those with a strong interest in America's space program.
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