Category Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006

Flight Crew

AFANASYEV, Viktor Mikhailovich, 45, Russian Air Force, 2nd mission Previous mission: Soyuz TM11/Mir EO-8 (1990)

USACHEV, Yuri Vladimirovich, 36, civilian NPO Energiya, flight engineer POLYAKOV, Valery Vladimirovich, 51, civilian, cosmonaut researcher, 2nd mission

Previous mission: Soyuz TM6/Mir EO-3/4 (1988)

Flight Log

The launch of TM18 had been delayed due to the unavailability of the more powerful Soyuz U launch vehicle to lift the three-man crew. The flight of Polyakov was a logical step in the Russian quest for long-duration space flight experience and medical data. When Polyakov devised the programme for a second space flight, he aimed for an 18-month duration, but delays forced him to curtail the duration to 14 months, as he could not remain aboard Mir when the first NASA astronaut arrived on the station, which at the time was planned for early 1995. Though he carried out his own research programme, Polyakov still participated in other tasks, working with three different resident crews until his return in March 1995.

One of the first tasks on this mission was to relocate the Soyuz TM18 ferry from the aft port to the front port of the base block, which occurred on 24 January. During the short flight, the crew flew past the Kristall module and reported only minor scratches on its hull from where TM17 had struck it. Work for this resident crew was again limited by plans for the upcoming American docking missions, particularly the integration of Soyuz and Progress launches and amendments to subsequent

resident crews to accommodate the joint programme with the Americans. At the time of Afanasyev and Usachev’s flight, this national and international coordination was difficult to implement, mainly due to the lack of funds, and soon the launch of the next resident crew had slipped from April to July. However, the EO-15 crew continued their research along the lines of previous resident crews, but also conducted medical and technical experiments sponsored by German institutes. Polyakov had also sup­plemented the science payload with smaller items brought up in his personal baggage on TM18.

In February, Sergei Krikalev was launched on the American Shuttle mission STS – 60, the first time that cosmonauts had been in space at the same time on different missions in spacecraft belonging to different nations. The following month, Progress M22 was also delayed for three days from 19 March when heavy snowfall at the launch site resulted in snow drifts covering the rail network to a depth of up to seven metres, making it impossible to move the spacecraft and its booster from the assembly building to the launch pad.

At the end of March, the cosmonauts on Mir participated in an experiment with a Swedish satellite called Freja, designed to study space plasma and magnetosphere physics in Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere. Launched in 1992 by the Chinese, Freja was located 1,770 km above the Alaskan coast when the crew of Mir, situated 383 km above the Pacific south of Alaska, fired an electron beam gun at it. At the time of the experiment, a Canadian ground station monitored the operation. Despite its scientific aim of determining how charged particle beams were scattered in the atmosphere, the media still reported the experiment as a test of Russian “Star Wars” weapons.

The difficulties that the post-Soviet Russia was undergoing were brought home to the cosmonauts aboard Mir in May, during unloading of the Progress M23 re-supply craft. They found that some of the food containers intended for the orbiting crew had been tampered with by ground staff, and items that should have been there were missing.

Milestones

166th manned space flight

77th Russian manned space flight

18th manned Mir mission

15th Mir resident crew

70th manned Soyuz mission

17th manned Soyuz TM mission

1st Mir resident mission without scheduled EVAs

Polyakov sets world endurance record for one flight of 437 days 17hrs, and a career record of 678 days 16hrs on two flights Polyakov celebrates his 52nd birthday in space (27 Apr)

. SOYUZ TM23 Posted by admin in Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006 on November 2, 2015 Flight Crew ONUFRIYENKO, Yuri Ivanovich, 35, Russian Air Force, commander USACHEV, Yuri Vladimirovich, 38, civilian, flight engineer, 2nd mission Previous mission: Soyuz TM18 (1994) Flight Log After taking over from the EO-20 crew, the next resident crew for Mir had a busy programme of activities planned for their mission. They were to perform six EVAs, support the arrival of the final Mir science module (Priroda), and work with the second American to live on Mir, Shannon Lucid. In addition there was a change of cosmonauts in the subsequent resident crew and an extension both to Lucid’s mission and to the cosmonauts’ own stay on Mir. The “two Yuris’’, as the press called them, were expecting to conduct a four-and – a-half month residency, but by July, continued problems over the construction of Soyuz rockets at the Samara factory meant that the next mission would have to slip and the cosmonauts were told they would have to fly a six-month mission. Their first EVA (15 May, 5 hours 52 minutes) featured the installation of a second Strela boom to allow easier movement to the repositioned Kristall module. Other EVAs would be performed after the arrival of STS-76 and the transfer of Shannon Lucid to the station. Shannon Lucid had arrived at Mir on 24 March for what was planned as a 140-day mission but, again in July, following technical problems with the Shuttle SRBs and the decision to replace those assigned to STS-79 (the mission that would bring her home), her own residency was extended, eventually reaching 188 days, and setting a new US endurance record both for a single mission and for a career total. During the other EVAs conducted by the two Russian cosmonauts, Lucid would remain inside the station, monitoring the activities of her two colleagues. “The two Yuris”, Usachev (left) and Onufriyenko with the second US resident astronaut Shannon Lucid The science module Priroda arrived on 26 April, and the following day was transferred to the left radial (+Z) port, completing the Mir complex. The module contained an array of remote-sensing instruments for ecological and environmental investigations. It also included over 700 kg of NASA equipment and experiments for the American resident crew members to use during their science programmes. Part of the task of the EO-21 resident crew was to begin changing the inside of the new module from its launch configuration to allow it to be used on orbit over the next few years. The two Yuri’s conducted their other five EVAs from mid-May to mid-June (21 May for 5 hours 20 minutes; 24 May for 5 hours 43 minutes; 30 May for 4 hours 20 minutes; 6 Jun for 3 hours 34 minutes; and 14 Jun for 5 hours 42 minutes). Their activities included the installation of the Mir Cooperative Solar Array, the installation of a multi-spectral scanner, retrieval and installation of sample cassettes, the assembly of the Stombus (Ferma-3) 5.9-metre truss, and the deployment of a Symmetric Aper­ture Radar antenna. They also constructed (over two of the EVAs) a 1.2-m replica Pepsi can from aluminium struts and decorated nylon sheets. They filmed each other near the replica and then disassembled it for return to Earth. The video footage was to be used in a PepsiCo commercial campaign. Towards the end of their mission, the two cosmonauts handed over to the 22nd resident crew, who had arrived on 19 August. Also arriving with the new crew was French cosmonaut Claudie Andre-Deshays, who would return to Earth with the EO-21 cosmonauts two weeks later. For a while, six cosmonauts were on board the station, and Usachev noted the increase in noise levels aboard the station, though it still seemed roomy enough for now. Milestones 186th manned space flight 82nd Russian manned space flight 75th manned Soyuz mission 22nd manned Soyuz TM mission 28th Russian and 61st flight with EVA operations 21st Mir resident crew Flight Crew ALLEN, Andrew Michael, 40, USMC, commander, 3rd mission Previous missions: STS-46 (1992); STS-62 (1994) HOROWITZ, Scott Jay, USAF, pilot HOFFMAN, Jeffrey Alan, civilian, mission specialist 1, 5th mission Previous missions: STS 51-D (1985); STS-35 (1990); STS-46 (1992); STS-61 (1993) CHELI, Maurizio, Italian Air Force, ESA mission specialist 2 NICOLLIER, Claude, Swiss Air Force, ESA, mission specialist 3, 3rd mission Previous missions: STS-46 (1992); STS-61 (1993) CHANG-DIAZ, Franklin Ramon, 45, civilian, mission specialist 4, payload commander, 4th mission Previous missions: STS 61-C (1986); STS-34 (1989); STS-46 (1992) GUIDONI, Umberto, 41, civilian, Italian payload specialist 1 Flight Log This mission was the re-flight of the US/Italian Tethered Satellite System that was previously flown on STS-46 in 1992. The crew worked a two-shift system. Allen, Horowitz, Cheli and Guidoni worked the Red Shift while Hoffman, Nicollier and Chang-Diaz formed the Blue Shift. Allen and Hoffman were also designated the White Shift, allowing them to work between shifts as necessary. The deployment of TSS-1R was delayed on STS-75 for 24 hours so that the flight crew could troubleshoot problems with the system’s computers. On FD 3, the tether was extended almost to its maximum 20.5 km length and the satellite was sending back excellent data when the tether suddenly snapped (at 19.7 km) without prior warning. Orbital parameters at the time meant that the satellite separated from Columbia and the crew were placed in no danger. The day after the loss of the satellite, the remaining tether was reeled in and The frayed end of the TSS is seen at the end of the support boom. The TSS broke free during operations on 25 February (FD 3) just short of its 20.5-km full deployment range the deployer retracted. Tether Optical Phenomenon operations continued through to FD 14 and there was some consideration given to a rendezvous and possible retrieval of the free-flying satellite. However, there was insufficient propellant aboard and projections precluded any detailed plans for an attempt from being pursued. Despite this loss, the satellite had recorded useful data for five hours up to the point of separation. Analysis of the data revealed that voltages as high as 3,500 volts developed across the tether, and this achieved current levels of 480 milliamps. In addition, scientists received important data on how satellite thruster gas interacted with Earth’s ionosphere, measurements of ionised shock waves around a satellite for the first time, and data on plasma wakes created by the movement of a body through the electrically charged ionosphere. Some experiments were also conducted using the free-flying satellite and its attached tether prior to its re-entry and destruction in the upper atmosphere. Despite the loss, the data gathered during the TSS-1R operation resulted in a number of space physics and plasma theories being revised or overturned. The other major payload of this mission was the USMP-3 package, which included re-flights of US and international experiments. Most of the operation of USMP experiments was via telescience, with principle investigators located at the Marshall Space Flight Center Spacelab Mission Operations Control Center in Huntsville, Alabama. There were five major experiments in materials science and a glove box on the mid-deck was used to perform a series of combustion experiments to better understand combustion processes and improve fire safety for the ISS. Protein crystal growth experiments included processing nine proteins extracted from the tropical rain forests of Costa Rica into crystals to further the understanding of their molecular structures. This was a joint US, Costa Rican and Chilean experiment, with application for the pharmaceutical treatment of Chagas Disease, an incurable ailment that affects over 15 million people in Latin America. The landing of Columbia on 9 March occurred after a 24-hour waive-off due to unfavourable weather con­ditions. The first attempt on 9 March was also abandoned due to bad weather, but it cleared to allow a landing at the Cape at the second opportunity. On FD 7, Hoffman surpassed Kathy Thornton’s Shuttle space flight record of 978 hours 18 minutes, and by the end of the mission both he and Chang-Diaz had achieved over 1,000 hours cumulative flight time aboard the Shuttle. In June 1996, a joint NASA and ASI (the Italian Space Agency) investigation board report was released, which determined that the tether failed as a result of “arcing and burning of the tether, which led to a tensile failure after a significant portion of the tether had burned away.’’ The board concluded that external penetra­tion (but not space debris or micrometeoroids) or a defect in the tether caused a breach in the layer of insulation surrounding the conductor. This would have allowed a current to jump or arc from the copper wire in the tether to a nearby electrical ground. By examining the data and the frayed end of the tether, the board concluded that there was nothing to preclude any follow-on mission, after sufficient improvements had been made to ensure that the problem would not recur. The data received from the abbreviated experiments indicated that, on the whole, the major objectives had been met, the programme was mostly successful, and it was viable for future development. Milestones 187th manned space flight 105th US manned space flight 75th Shuttle mission 19th flight of Columbia 2nd flight of TSS 7th EDO mission STS-88 Posted by admin in Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006 on November 2, 2015 Int. Designation 1998-069A Launched 4 December 1998 Launch Site Pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida Landed 15 December 1998 Landing Site Runway 15, Shuttle Landing Facility, KSC, Florida Launch Vehicle OV-105 Endeavour/ET-097/SRB BI-095; SSME #1 2043; #2 2044; #3 2045 Duration 11 days 19hrs 17 min 57 sec Call sign Endeavour Objective ISS assembly flight 2A; mating of Unity docking node to Zarya control module Flight Crew CABANA, Robert Donald, 49, USMC, commander, 4th mission Previous missions: STS-41 (1990); STS-53 (1992); STS-65 (1994) STURCKOW, Frederick Wilford, 37, USMC, pilot ROSS, Jerry Lynn, 50, USAF, mission specialist 1, 6th mission Previous missions: STS 61-C (1985); STS-27 (1988); STS-37 (1997); STS-55 (1993); STS-74 (1995) CURRIE, Nancy Jane, 39, US Army, mission specialist 2, 3rd mission Previous missions: STS-57 (1993); STS-70 (1995) NEWMAN, James Hanson, 42, civilian, mission specialist 3, 3rd mission Previous missions: STS-51 (1993); STS-69 (1995) KRIKALEV, Sergei Konstantinovich, 40, civilian, Russian, mission specialist 5, 4th mission Previous missions: Soyuz TM7 (1988); Soyuz TM12 (1991); STS-60 (1994) Flight Log This mission initiated the construction of the International Space Station (ISS), a project which had long been proposed but which so often looked as though it would never become reality. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan had challenged NASA to build a space station within a decade. An international team assembled to accomplish the feat, but an over-complicated and expensive design, coupled with the loss of Challenger and doubts over the reliability of the Shuttle had added years to the project. By 1993, the idea was still only on the drawing board and in mock-ups. After several redesigns, a new partnership with Russia helped put the programme back on track. The series of Shuttle-Mir dockings proved that the Shuttle was perfectly capable of doing what it was originally envisioned for back in 1969 – servicing and supplying a space station. A simplified station design helped focus Shortly after release from Endeavour’s cargo bay, the connected Unity and Zarya modules are photographed during a fly-around survey, documenting the completion of a major milestone in the ISS programme with the connection of the first two elements in orbit the ISS project to the point where the first element of the station was launched on 20 November 1998. This was not an American element, however, but the Russian FGB Zarya (“Dawn”), designed to provide electrical power, attitude control and computer command and later serve as a fuel depot and storage facility. The next element of the station would be the link between the US and the Russian elements. Known as Node 1 (“Unity”), it featured six docking ports that would enable the facility to be further expanded. Unity was the primary payload of STS-88, the first American ISS Shuttle mission, which would use the RMS to attach the module to the forward docking port of Zarya. The launch of STS-88 was postponed by 24 hours on 3 December due to problems with hydraulic system number 1. By the time the problem was cleared, it was too late in the launch process to initiate the final countdown, so the first American element had to wait until the following day to lift off without further incident. During the approach to Zarya, the crew used their time to prepare Unity by testing the RMS. On 5 December, they attached the end effector to the node, lifting it out of the rear of the payload bay and relocating it in the front of the payload bay along with the Shuttle docking system. This would later allow the crew access through internal hatches from the crew compartment of Endeavour into Unity and on into Zarya. The attachment of Unity to Zarya occurred on 6 December, using the RMS to grasp a grapple feature on Zarya and using the Shuttle’s engines to gently nudge the Unity docking system on to that of Zarya. The embryonic ISS configuration was created. After powering up Unity and checking the integrity of the docking seals and internal atmospheres, the hatches were opened, allowing Cabana and Krikalev to symbolically float into ISS together for the first time. During the three EVAs (7 Dec for 7 hours 21 minutes; 9 Dec for 7 hours 2 minutes; and 12 Dec for 6 hours 59 minutes), Ross (EV1) and Newman (EV2) removed launch restraint pins on the four hatches on Unity that would be used in future operations, nudged two stuck antennas on Zarya into position, installed sunshades over Unity’s data relay boxes, disconnected the umbilicals that were used to mate the units, and installed a handrail, a tool bag and an S-Band communication system. They also tested the SAFER units. Inside Zarya, Krikalev and Currie replaced a faulty unit, inspected the inside of the module and removed some launch bolts and restraints. The undocking from ISS took place on 13 December. After a fly-around photographic inspection, the crew prepared for landing, having completed one of the most important and critical Shuttle flights. One of the largest international construction projects in history – and certainly the largest off the Earth – had begun. The STS crew called themselves “Dog Crew 3’’, since two of them had flown on previous “Dog Crews’’. Thus, the crew were known as “Mighty Dog’’ (Cabana), “Devil Dog’’ (Sturckow), “Hooch” (Ross), “Laika” (Currie), “Pluto’’ (Newman) and “Spotnik” (Krikalev). Milestones 210th manned space flight 123rd US manned space flight 93rd Shuttle mission 41st US and 72nd flight with EVA operations 13th flight of Endeavour 1st Shuttle ISS mission 1st Endeavour ISS mission STS-109 Posted by admin in Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006 on November 2, 2015

Flight Crew

ALTMAN, Scott Douglas, 42, USN, commander, 3rd mission Previous missions: STS-90 (1998); STS-106 (2000)

CAREY, Duane Gene, 44, USAF, pilot

GRUNSFELD, John Mace, 43, civilian, mission specialist 1, payload commander, 4th mission

Previous missions: STS-67 (1995); STS-81 (1997); STS-103 (1999)

CURRIE, Nancy Jane, 43, US Army, mission specialist 2, 4th mission Previous missions: STS-57 (1993); STS-70 (1995); STS-88 (1998) LINNEHAN, Richard Michael, 44, civilian, mission specialist 3, 3rd mission Previous missions: STS-78 (1996); STS-90 (1998)

NEWMAN, James Hansen, 45, civilian, mission specialist 4, 4th mission Previous missions: STS-51 (1993); STS-69 (1995); STS-88 (1998) MASSIMINO, Michael James, 39, civilian, mission specialist 5

Flight Log

The scheduled launch on 28 February was postponed 24 hours before tanking operations commenced when adverse weather conditions threatened launch criteria. Waiting 24 hours also gave the launch team the option of back-to-back launch opportunities, but they did not need them as launch occurred without delay on 1 March. Following the launch, controllers noted a degradation of the flow rate in one of two freon coolant loops which help dissipate heat from the orbiter. After a management review, the mission was given a “go” for its full duration. The problem had no impact on the crew’s activities and the vehicle de-orbited nominally.

Hubble was grappled and secured in the payload bay by the RMS on 2 March (FD 2). A series of five EVAs were completed by the crew, working in pairs. Grunsfeld (EV1) and Linnehan (EV2) completed EVAs 1, 3 and 5, while Newman (EV3) and Massimino (EV4) completed EVAs 2 and 4. When not performing an EVA, the resting

team also acted as IV crew for those who were outside, and serviced, cleaned and prepared their own equipment ready for their next excursion. Each EVA was supported by Nancy Currie operating the RMS, with Altman and Carey photo – documenting the activities.

During the first EVA (4 Mar for 7 hours 1 minute), the astronauts removed the older starboard solar array from the telescope (attached during STS-61 in December 1993) and installed a new third-generation array. The old (retracted) array was then stowed in Columbia’s payload bay for return to Earth for analysis of its condition after nine years in space. During EVA 2 (5 Mar for 7 hours 16 minutes), the new port array was installed, together with a new Reaction Wheel Assembly after the removal of the older array. The astronauts also installed thermal blankets on Bay 6, door stop extensions on Bay 5 and foot restraints to assist with the next EVA. EVA 2 also included a test of bolts located on the aft shroud doors. The lower two bolts were found to need replacing, which they accomplished successfully. EVA 3 (6 Mar for 6 hours 48 minutes) was delayed by a fault in Grunsfeld’s suit, but after changing the HUT, they continued with the EVA programme. This included replacing the Power Control Unit (PCU) with a new unit capable of handling 20 per cent of power output generated from the new arrays. The extracted PCU was the original launched on the telescope in 1990, and this operation required the telescope to be powered down. This was the first time since its launch that Hubble had been turned off. The astronauts removed all 36 connectors to the old PCU and stowed it in the payload bay before attaching the new unit within 90 minutes. One hour later, the new unit passed its tests and Hubble came back to life. EVA 4 (7 Mar for 7 hours 18 minutes) completed the first science instrument upgrade of the mission by removing the last original instrument on the telescope, the Faint Object Camera, and installing the Advanced Camera for Surveys. They also installed the first element of an environmental cooling system, called the Electronics Support Module (ESM). The rest of the system would be installed the following day. The final EVA (8 Mar for 7 hours 32 minutes) saw the installation of the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) in the aft shroud and the connection of cables to the ESM. They also installed the Cooling System Radiator on the outside of Hubble and fed radiator wires through the bottom of the telescope to connections on NICMOS.

Hubble was released by the RMS on 9 March (FD 9) and the next day was a rest day for the astronauts. During the day, they took the opportunity to speak with the ISS-4 crew (Yuri Onufriyenko, Carl Walz and Dan Bursch). FD 11 saw a full systems check before landing at the first opportunity at the Cape on FD 12, rounding out a highly successful mission. At this time, there was a further Hubble service mission on the manifest (HST SM #4) in 2004 or 2005, with a close-out mission in 2010. The options of either bringing the telescope back to Earth for eventual display in a museum or leaving it in orbit, boosted to a higher apogee to reduce atmospheric drag, were still being considered when Columbia was lost in February 2003. It looked as though Hubble was likely be abandoned when its systems eventually failed, but there was also growing support both inside and outside of NASA to devote one Shuttle mission to revisit the telescope before the Shuttle fleet is retired in 2010. In

October 2006, a return to Hubble was authorised for 2008 due to public and scientific demand for keeping the telescope working for as long as possible.

Milestones

230th manned space flight

138th US manned space flight

108th Shuttle mission

27th flight of Columbia

52nd US and 85th flight with EVA operations

4th Hubble service mission (3B)

EVA duration record for single Shuttle mission (35hrs 55 min)

Flight Crew

JETT, Brent, 47, USN, commander, 4th mission

Previous missions: STS-72 (1996); STS-81 (1997); STS-97 (2000)

FERGUSON, Chris, 44, USN, pilot

TANNER, Joe, 56, civilian, mission specialist 1, 4th mission Previous missions: STS-66 (1994); STS-82 (1997); STS-97 (2000) BURBANK, Dan, 45, USCG, mission specialist 2, 2nd mission Previous mission: STS-106 (2000)

STEFANYSHYN-PIPER, Heidemarie, 43, USN, mission specialist 3 MACLEAN, Steve, 51, civilian, Canadian mission specialist 4

Flight Log

Set for a 29 August launch, the lift-off for the STS-115 mission to resume space station construction was postponed due to the proximity of tropical storm Ernesto. A decision was then made to roll back the STS-115 stack into the protection of the VAB for the duration of the storm as it passed KSC. This had a scheduling impact for the Russian launch of Soyuz TMA9 in September, but later the same day, NASA managers decided to reverse the decision and began moving the Shuttle back to the pad as weather predictions improved. On 6 September, a problem with Fuel Cell #1 in Atlantis was noted when a voltage spike in the coolant pump was recorded, threat­ening the planned 8 September launch. Analysis indicated that this was not a problem that would prevent the launch, but when a fuel cut-off sensor in the ET caused concern during the final minutes of the count, the mission was postponed 24 hours at the T — 9 minute mark. After a nominal performance during tests, the launch was given the all clear to proceed, which it did without further incident.

The delay had resulted in a short postponement of the launch of Soyuz TMA9 to the station and the shortening of the STS-115 mission by a day.

The first day in orbit found the crew preparing equipment for the docking and EVA activities, as well as inspecting the thermal protection system on the orbiter. After analysis on the ground, no significant damage was found. Prior to docking on 11 September, the orbiter was flipped to allow the ISS-13 crew to observe and photo­document the TPS. Less than two hours after docking, the crew entered the station for the first time. At the end of the day, the first EVA crew of Tanner (EV1) and Stefanyshyn-Piper (EV2) “camped-out” for the night in the Quest airlock to purge their bloodstreams of nitrogen, which would shorten EVA preparations the next day. This pair completed the first and third EVAs of the mission, with Burbank (EV3) and Canadian Steve MacLean (EV4) completing the second EVA. All three EVAs (12 Sep for 6 hours 26 minutes; 13 Sep for 7 hours 11 minutes; and 15 Sep for 6 hours 42 minutes) were associated with the installation of the P3/P4 Truss and the deployment of the solar arrays and radiators.

No focused inspection of the Atlantis TPS was required after detailed analysis of the images from the crew, RMS and station inspections, so after the first two EVAs were completed, the crew rested for a couple of days and turned their attention to the transfer of logistics to and from the station. Such was the success of the first two EVAs, the crew managed to complete several get-ahead tasks along with their primary objectives.

On 17 September, Atlantis undocked from ISS after a visit lasting six days. Early the next morning, as the Shuttle began preparations for the return to Earth, Soyuz TMA9 was launched from Baikonur. With 12 space explorers in orbit at the same time

on three different vehicles (six astronauts on board Atlantis, three on Soyuz and three on ISS), it was the most people in space at the same time since April 2001, when the ISS-2, STS-100 and Soyuz TM32 crews (totalling 13 crew members) were all aloft. The hatches were open for 5 days 21 hours and 57 minutes and during this time, the two crews transferred 362.88 kg of hardware and 473 kg of water into the station and returned 491 kg of unwanted hardware and trash. In addition, 90.72 kg of launch lock restraints and unnecessary hardware was placed in Progress M56 for disposal.

Another inspection of the TPS of Atlantis was completed the day after undocking and the following day, the Shuttle crew spoke with both the crew on ISS and the crew on the approaching Soyuz TMA9 craft in a three-way link up. On 19 September the mission was extended in order to re-check some of the TPS areas of Atlantis after small unidentified particles were found floating near the Shuttle. There were sufficient supplies to allow the mission to be extended until 22 September or for them to return to ISS for a possible rescue mission if anything untoward been found. However, analysis revealed no significant problems and Atlantis was cleared for landing on 21 September (the previous day had been ruled out due to weather concerns). In the event all went well, and Atlantis made a textbook landing at night at the SLF at the Cape.

During homecoming events in Houston on 21 September, Stefanyshyn-Piper collapsed twice and had to be assisted by officials and crew members. She was not taken to hospital and the effects were attributed to her adjustment to gravity after her first 12-day flight into space.

Milestones

249th manned space flight

146th US manned space flight

116th Shuttle mission

27th flight of Atlantis

19th Shuttle ISS mission

7th Atlantis ISS mission

59th US and 98th flight with EVA operations

The Atlas ICBM was used to launch four manned Mercury missions in 1962-3, while the Titan II ICBM launched ten Gemini crews between 1965-6. A modified Titan II would have been used to fly the manned DynaSoar military space plane in the mid – 1960s, but this was cancelled in 1963 and replaced by the Gemini-based military Manned Orbital Laboratory. This was due to be launched on a Titan IIIM starting in 1966 but was also cancelled (in 1969), with some of its astronauts transferring to NASA.

The Atlas D intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) had a thrust of 166,470 kg (367,066 lb) from two Rocketdyne LR89 engines – which were burnt out and separated at about T + 2 min 14 sec – and an LR105 central sustainer engine. These were powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene. The Atlas was stabilised at lift-off by two powerful vernier engines. The Mercury-Atlas combination was 29 m (95 ft) high. The Atlas booster for the fifth manned mission was the first of a new model to be used for Mercury and was static test-fired on the pad because the US Air Force was concerned about turbo-pump failures that had occurred on some military ICBM launches. Atlas 113D would also ascend on ignition, rather than remaining on the pad for the previously prescribed two-second hold down period.

The Gemini Launch Vehicle (GLV) was a modified ICBM. Its twin first-stage LR-87 engines burned nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine hypergolic propellants which ig­nited spontaneously on contact. The first-stage engines had a thrust of 195,046 kg (430,076 lb). The second stage, with a smaller LR-91 engine, had a thrust of 45,359 kg (100,017 lb). First-stage cut-off came at T + 2 min 30 sec, with a “fire in the hole’’ second-stage ignition following immediately. Orbit was achieved in 5 min 30 sec after launch. The launch vehicle was 3.04m (10 ft) in diameter and with Gemini on top, was 33.22m (109ft) tall.

The Saturn family of launch vehicles was developed for civilian space launches by a team led by Werner von Braun. The series built upon the successes and proven hardware of its early variants (Saturn 1 and 1B) before the huge Saturn V was used to send American astronauts to the Moon. Other variants were proposed but none were funded or built. Following a series of unmanned launches, the Saturn 1 manned missions were cancelled as unnecessary. After unmanned test flights, the Saturn 1B

launched one Apollo crew on a test flight in 1968, three Skylab space station crews in 1973-4 and the US part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program in 1975. Just two unmanned test flights were flown before the Saturn V carried a crew aloft for the first time. Apollo 8 and 10-17 launched their crews to the Moon in 1968-72, while Apollo 9 launched to Earth orbit as planned.

The Saturn 1B launch vehicle, with the launch escape system on top of the Command Module, was 74.37 m (244 ft) tall. The launch escape system comprised a 10m (33ft) high tower with a 66,675kg (147,018lb) thrust solid propellant motor, which could be used on the pad or during the first 100 seconds of launch. When ejected, it pulled away a conical blast shield from the Command Module, exposing the latter’s five windows. The first stage of the Saturn 1B comprised eight H1 engines, developing a thrust of 743,899 kg (1,640,297 lb) and burning the RP1 and liquid oxygen propellants for the first 150 seconds. The second stage was the S-IVB cryogenic liquid oxygen/ liquid hydrogen stage that would also form the third stage of the Saturn V booster. The S-IVB was powered by the J2,102,059 kg (225,040 lb) thrust engine with a burn time of 450 seconds. This engine could be restarted. The Saturn S-IVB also included the all­important Instrument Unit, the vehicle’s guidance and performance system. The

Saturn 1B was also the first manned launch vehicle used that was not a converted ballistic missile.

The Saturn V launch vehicle was 110.64 m (363 ft) high from the base of the F1 engines to the tip of the launch escape system tower. The first stage, called the S-1C, had five F1 engines developing a thrust of 3,442,801kg (7,591,376 lb) and burning liquid oxygen and RP1 propellants at a rate of 15 tonnes a second. The second stage, the S-11, also had five engines, called J2, with a thrust of 498,956kg (1,100,198 lb). The third stage was the S-IVB from the Saturn 1B launch vehicle. The whole vehicle weighed 2,903,020 kg (6,401,159 lb) at lift-off. The third stage was used for the Trans-Lunar Injection (TLI) burn to take the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and towards the Moon. The last Saturn V launch was a two-stage variant that carried the unmanned Saturn Workshop (Skylab) – itself a modified former S-IVB stage – in 1973. The earlier and larger Nova launch vehicle was abandoned in favour of the Saturn class of vehicles, which would be developed much quicker.

The Space Shuttle flew its first mission in 1981 and will be retired in 2010, although the programme may be extended if there are any further delays to the completion of the International Space Station. The “Space Shuttle” is a combination of boosters, fuel tank and orbital vehicle, often termed “the stack”. The orbiter is the manned portion of the vehicle and there have been six orbiters built: OV-101 (Enterprise) was used for

atmospheric and ground tests; OV-102 (Columbia 1981-2003) was the first to launch to space and was lost in the STS-107 re-entry accident; OV-099 (Challenger 1983­1986) was a former structural test article and was lost in the STS 51-L launch accident; OV-103 (Discovery) is the oldest remaining vehicle and has been in service since 1984; OV-104 (Atlantis) has been used since 1985; and OV-105 (Endeavour) was built as a replacement for Challenger and was introduced in 1992.

The Space Shuttle orbiter Enterprise, which was to have been refurbished for space flight later, made five approach and landing atmospheric glide flights over Edwards Air Force Base in 1977, being air-launched from the back of a Boeing 747. Three flights were piloted by NASA astronauts Fred Haise and Gordon Fullerton and the other two by Joe Engle and Richard Truly. The longest glide flight, ALT 3, lasted 5 min 34 sec. Columbia was the first space flight-worthy orbiter and weighed 99,454 kg (219,296 lb) at orbital insertion. The orbiter measured 37.24 m (122 ft) long, with a wingspan of 23.79 m (78 ft). Three liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen main engines, with a maximum thrust rating of 100 per cent, 170,098 kg (375,066 lb) each at sea level, took the orbiter into an initial orbit, which was then augmented by firing the Orbital Manoeuvring System (OMS) engines. These were powered by nitrogen tetroxide and UDMH, which also powered the reaction control thrusters. Power was provided by a liquid oxygen/ liquid hydrogen fuel cell system. A Thermal Protection System (TPS) heat shield tile system, comprising over 35,000 tiles, covered the orbiter to protect it from re-entry temperatures of between 370 and 1,260°C. A 756,453 kg (1,667,979lb), 47m (154 ft) long, 3.7 m (12 ft) wide External Tank (ET), painted white on the first two missions, held the SSME liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Attached to it were two 45.46 m (149 ft) long, 3.7 m (12 ft) wide Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB), weighing 586,502 kg (1,293,237lb). Tail to nose, the Shuttle stack measured 56.144m (184ft) tall. The orbiter, an unpowered glider, had conventional flaps, rudder and ailerons for control in the atmosphere. Columbia’s STS-1 landing speed was 344kph (214mph). Improve­ments were made to the Shuttle fleet all the time. For example, Challenger was equipped with SRBs with an uprated thrust of 1,469,200 kg (3,239,586 lb) on its first mission, as well as main engines which were throttled up to 104 per cent for the first time. It also carried a new lighter weight external tank. Much of the areas covered with Low Temperature Surface Insulation tiles on Columbia were covered by lighter blankets of Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation on Challenger.

The space race ultimately turned into the Moon race after President Kennedy’s challenge in May 1961 for the USA to land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. Human space exploration wasn’t going to involve step-by-step advances, but a crash programme.

Gemini

To cover the steps that still needed to be learned a new programme, Gemini, was devised. Now, the Americans could develop the technologies and experience required to go the Moon, including spacewalks, rendezvous and docking and long-duration flights. Ten crewed flights were launched between 1965 and 1966.

The distinctive black and white Gemini spacecraft consisted of two components; the re-entry module, of similar configuration but larger than Mercury, with a pres­surised cabin, re-entry control, and rendezvous and recovery sections; and the adapter module, with retro-rockets and equipment. Gemini 3 – which did not carry rendezvous systems – weighed 7,111 kg (15,680lb) and measured 5.58m (18ft) long with a base diameter of 2.28 m (7.5 ft). The re-entry module was 3.35m (11ft) long and 2.28 m (7.5 ft) at its heat shield base.

Gemini 3’s systems included a 100 per cent oxygen environmental control system, electrical batteries – fuel cells would be fitted for the first time on Gemini 5 – sixteen liquid-fuelled orbital attitude and manoeuvring system thrusters, and four solid propellant 1,133 kg (2,498 lb) thrust retro re-entry control system rockets. Gemini was also equipped with ejection seats and did not have a launch escape system. There was a drogue and one main parachute, and the landing sequence ended with Gemini moving from vertical to 30° horizontal position for splashdown.

1963-015A

15 May 1963

Pad 14, Cape Canaveral, Florida

16 May 1963

128 km southeast of Midway Island, Pacific Ocean Atlas 130D; spacecraft serial number SC-20 1 day 10 hrs 19 min 49 sec Faith 7

First US 24-hour space flight

Flight Crew

COOPER, Leroy Gordon Jr., 36, USAF, pilot

Flight Log

Such was the increased confidence in the Mercury spacecraft and manned space flight, that NASA not only planned a flight three times as long as Schirra’s, but also increased the duration again in November 1962 to a full 22 orbits. The man in the hot seat, Gordon Cooper, was named the same month, with a May 1963 launch date as the target. Cooper, who affirmed his faith in God, his country and the Mercury team by naming his spacecraft Faith 7, had a packed flight plan, with emphasis on photo­graphy. He called the mission, the “flying camera’’. The camera was fixed on to the tripod on 22 April and was ready to go on 14 May.

Unfortunately, the gantry tower refused to budge because water had seeped into its diesel fuel pump and when the gantry was moved away two hours later, radar data from the Bermuda tracking station was insufficient and the launch was scrubbed. Not so on 15 May, when the relaxed Cooper awoke from a catnap in Faith 7 in time to be launched at 08: 04 hrs local time. He reached his 32.5° orbit with an apogee of 267 km (166 miles) and a peak velocity of 28,238 kph (17,547 mph) five minutes later. Cooper remained extremely unruffled and calm throughout the flight, which featured the first in-flight television from a US spacecraft, although the pictures were disappointing.

Cooper’s photography from Faith 7, however, was a revelation, confirming to observers his own reports of being able to see the wakes of ships and smoke from a log cabin in the Himalayas with the naked eye. Cooper deployed a small flashing beacon from Faith 7, the first deployment in history, as well as a tethered balloon like Schirra’s. The flight went swimmingly, with Cooper becoming the first American to sleep in space, but during the nineteenth orbit, the astronaut noticed the one-G light coming on, which apparently detected the onset of gravity.

Tracing the cause, the astronaut discovered that the attitude and stabilisation control system a/c converter had failed. The astronaut would have to perform an

entirely manual re-entry, which he did perfectly, splashing down just 7 km (4 miles) from the USS Kearsage, 128 km (80 miles) southeast of Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean, at T + 1 day 10 hours 19 minutes 49 seconds, the longest launch-to-landing solo US manned space flight in history. A planned three-day mission (Mercury-Atlas 10/Freedom II, flown by Alan Shepard) was mooted but scrapped, and the Mercury programme ended officially on 12 June 1963

Milestones

10th manned space flight

6th US manned space flight

6th and final Mercury manned flight

1st satellite deployment from manned spacecraft

Flight Crew

BYKOVSKY, Valeri Fyodorovich, 28, Soviet Air Force, pilot Vostok 5 TERESHKOVA, Valentina Vladimirovna, 26, Soviet Air Force, pilot Vostok 6

Flight Log

The much-rumoured launch of Vostok 5 was delayed by bad weather on 13 June but the following day, at 17:00 hrs local time at Baikonur, launch pad 1 reverberated to the sound of another SL-3 ignition as cosmonaut Valeri Bykovsky began what was planned as a long-duration mission. At 4 days 23 hours 6 minutes, it actually became (and still remains) the longest manned solo space flight in history. Vostok 5 entered a 65° inclination orbit with an apogee of 209 km (130 miles) as rumours persisted that another Vostok would be launched the following day. It was to be a Vostok that would overshadow Bykovsky’s feat.

Vostok 6 carried the first woman (and tenth human) to venture into space. Valentina Tereshkova was launched at 14: 30 hrs Baikonur time. Reflecting the frenetic space activity of the 1960s, in between the Vostok 5 and 6 launches, the USA had performed six satellite launches, all from California. Vostok 6 entered a 65° inclination orbit with a peak altitude of 218 km (135 miles) and almost immediately came to within 5 km (3 miles) of Vostok 5 for a brief encounter, which according to the western press went much further, with such headlines as “Valya chases her space date’’.

As Tereshkova was not a pilot, it was perhaps inevitable that she reportedly had difficulties in adapting to weightlessness, but the rumours of her being so ill that she pleaded to come home seem far-fetched, as it appears that the flight, originally

planned to be a 24-hour affair, was in fact extended. The launch of a woman into space was undoubtedly a major propaganda coup for Premier Khrushchev, who may have ordered such a mission, a theory supported by the fact that the next woman to fly into space was not launched until 1982.

Tereshkova was the first of the space pair to land, 624 km (388 miles) northeast of Karaganda at mission elapsed time of 2 days 22 hours 50 minutes. As the landing was a nominal one, she is thus the only woman to end a space flight outside her spacecraft, as well as the only one to make a solo female space flight. Bykovsky was the third Vostok pilot to experience a partial separation of the descent module but the sepa­ration occurred prior to the worst part of the re-entry profile and he returned to Earth about 540 km (336 miles) northwest of Karaganda. Plans were set in motion for a Vostok 7 mission lasting a week, by “non-cosmonaut” doctor Boris Yegorov, in the summer of 1964 but, like the US Mercury programme, the Soviet Vostok project ended after six flights. However, the next series of spacecraft (Soyuz, or “Union”) would not be ready for some time and so in order to appear ahead in the space race with the Americans, the Vostok was converted into what seemed to outsiders to be a radically new and improved spacecraft – Voskhod.

Milestones

11th and 12th manned space flights 5th and 6th Soviet manned space flights

5th and 6th Vostok manned flights

1st space flight with female crew (Vostok 6)

1st joint male-female space flight

Bykovsky has held the solo space flight record for over 43 years

On 27 June 1963, Robert Rushworth, 39, of the USAF flew X-15-3 on the third astro – flight, to 88 km. Less than a month later, on 19 July 1963, Joe Walker, 42, flew the same vehicle on the fourth astro-flight, this time to 105 km. Finally this year, on 22 August 1963, Walker flew X-15-3 to 107 km in the fifth astro-flight, the highest altitude any X-15 would attain.

Flight Crew

KOMAROV, Vladimir Mikhailovich, 37, Soviet Air Force, commander FEOKTISTOV, Konstantin Petrovich, 38, civilian, flight engineer YEGOROV, Boris Borisovich, 27, civilian, doctor

Flight Log

Voskhod (“Sunrise”) 1 provided the classic illustration of how the secret Soviet space programme completely misled the west. After the Vostok missions, Sergei Korolyov, the then anonymous space designer, considered improvements to the basic spacecraft to allow longer missions by more than one passenger. These studies led to the design of a new spacecraft, Soyuz, which would perform Earth orbital and lunar looping missions and support a possible lunar landing programme. Delays to Soyuz meant that there would be a hiatus in the manned space programme, to which Premier Khrushchev reacted in customary fashion, demanding a multi-crewed space flight before the United States launched its two-man Gemini spacecraft in early 1965.

As Soyuz could not be accelerated, Korolyov responded with a version of the uprated Vostok. But in order to launch three men rather than two, as the Americans were planning, practically all the “stuffing” had to be taken out of Vostok and the crew would have to fly without spacesuits and without any means of emergency escape. Voskhod would, however, carry a back up retro-rocket. Despite the imperfec­tions of Voskhod, seven cosmonauts seemed happy to be assigned to train for the most risky manned space flight in history. The three to be chosen were a commander, Vladimir Komarov, a scientist, Konstantin Feoktistov – who, it turned out, was the man who helped design Vostok to fly with three passengers – and a doctor, Boris Yegorov.

They arrived at the launch pad wearing cotton overalls and leather flying helmets, about to board the first SL-4 booster to fly a manned crew a few days after the one and only “test flight” of the “new” Voskhod, as Cosmos 47. Launch came at 12: 30hrs Baikonur time and soon after the spacecraft had reached its 65°, 409 km (254 miles)

maximum altitude orbit, the western media went wild, reporting that Russia had launched a “mammoth” new spaceship in which the scientist and doctor would perform experiments while the commander controlled the mission. In truth, the conditions were so cramped inside the Voskhod that it must have been hard to eat and go to the toilet, let alone perform experiments, although Yegorov apparently performed some basic medical checks.

Khrushchev had the propaganda success he wanted, but as he was congratulating the crew by telephone, the receiver was taken from his hands. The Brezhnev-Kosygin takeover had begun and it was they who greeted the fortunate cosmonauts after they had landed safely. The crew remained in the spherical capsule as small retro – rockets fired just before touchdown to cushion the impact, some 310 km (193 miles) northeast of Kustanai. The mission lasted just 1 day 17 minutes 3 seconds, the shortest three-crew flight in history. The three-man crew apparently requested an extension but were refused by Korolyov, who quoted Shakespeare: “There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio…” At the time, no one knew the name of the chief designer, who had one more spacecraft to design before he succumbed to ill health in January 1966.

Milestones

13th manned space flight

7th Soviet manned space flight

7th Vostok manned flight

1st Voskhod manned variant flight

1st three-person crew

1st flight by crew without spacesuits

1st flight with no launch escape or ejection system

1st Soviet space flight to end with crew inside spacecraft

1st space flight with non-pilot, civilian crew

1965-022A

18 March 1965

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

19 March 1965

180 km northeast of Perm, Siberia

R7 (11A57); spacecraft serial number (11F63/3KD) #4

1 day 2hrs 2 min 17 sec

Almaz (Diamond)

First Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA – spacewalk) demonstration

Flight Crew

BELYAYEV, Pavel Ivanovich, 39, Soviet Air Force, commander LEONOV, Alexei Arkhipovich, 30, Soviet Air Force, pilot

Flight Log

The second of a planned series of multi-crew Voskhod missions got underway at 12: 00 Baikonur time, entering a 65° inclination orbit with the highest manned apogee to date of 495 km (308 miles). Instead of three crewmen without spacesuits, there were two, this time suitably attired. This Voskhod had been reconfigured to carry a telescopic airlock leading from the crew cabin. The space where the third seat had been was left free to give one of the crewmen, Alexei Leonov, the room in which to don an emergency oxygen backpack and connect an umbilical air and communications tether to his spacesuit, before crawling through the airlock after the spacecraft had been depressurised.

The first walk into open space began at the start of the second orbit of Voskhod, as Leonov emerged from the airlock at the end of his 5 m (16 ft) tether, watched by two television and film cameras attached to the end of the airlock and on top of the back­up retro-rocket. Leonov cavorted in space doing cartwheels, not for show but because he was essentially out of control as his umbilical snaked around. His official free spacewalk lasted 12 minutes 9 seconds, but he was in the vacuum environment for about 20 minutes, since he couldn’t get back into the airlock. His spacesuit had ballooned more than anticipated and he had to squeeze himself back into the airlock quite forcibly before closing the hatch and re-pressurising the spacecraft.

Unfortunately, he forgot to retrieve the film camera which would have shown clear photos of the EVA rather than the blurred and fuzzy television reproductions. Nonetheless, Leonov’s exploits had a dramatic effect on the watching world, cap­turing more headlines than Gagarin himself, and this mission was one of the highlights of the “Space Age’’ of the 1960s. The rest of the flight went quietly until they

attempted retro-fire at the end of the seventeenth orbit. The prime retro-rocket in the instrument module of Voskhod failed to fire because of a sensor attitude control malfunction.

The cosmonauts made one more orbit as, not without a certain amount of drama, preparations were made to fire the back-up retro-pack on the next pass. The instru­ment section was apparently jettisoned (again not cleanly) before this, and the Voskhod spherical flight cabin was manually orientated by Belyayev, who punched the retro-pack arming device. The re-entry was quite dramatic and the capsule natur­ally missed the main recovery area by 960 km (597 miles), landing in the thick, snow – covered forest near the city of Perm. A damaged telemetry antenna made it impossible for the rescue teams to locate the craft, so the cosmonauts put their emergency landing training into effect, lighting a fire and waiting for rescue. However, ravenous wolves compelled their return to the capsule and it was two and a half hours before a helicopter spotted the capsule, thanks to the parachutes which were splayed out across the tree tops. Ground vehicles rescued the crew after they had spent a night in the forest.

Observers in the west, expecting a landing announcement to be made at the end of the seventeenth orbit, suspected that something was wrong and were only told of the touchdown when the crew had been located, four hours later. The drama of

the landing events was only fully revealed a year later, rather perversely, after the emergency US landing of Gemini 8. Flight time was 1 day 2 hours 2 minutes 17 sec­onds. This proved to be the last Voskhod manned mission. There had originally been plans for a series of at least seven manned Voskhod flights. Voskhod 3 was to have been a two-man 15-20-day extended scientific mission, and then Voskhod 4 would have flown a 15-day biomedical mission with a cosmonaut doctor in the crew. Voskhod 5 would be an all female crew with an EVA, Voskhod 6 was a 14-day EVA mission featuring the use of a small manoeuvring unit, and Voskhod 7 would attempt tether dynamics with the spent upper stage before flying a 10-15 day mission. There was also a plan to include a professional Soviet journalist on board a Voskhod but all these flights were cancelled.

Milestones

14th manned space flight

8th Soviet manned space flight

8th Vostok manned flight

2nd Voskhod manned variant flight

1st manned space flight with two crew

1st space flight with EVA operations

1st extended mission

Flight Crew

GRISSOM, Virgil Ivan “Gus”, 39, USAF, commander, 2nd mission Previous mission: Mercury-Redstone 4 (1961)

YOUNG, John Watts, 35, USN, pilot

Flight Log

Project Gemini was born as the logical follow-on to the Mercury programme, but its raison d’itre was changed by President Kennedy’s pledge to land a man on the Moon before 1970. Gemini was to act as the testing ground for all the manoeuvres and operations to be performed on an Apollo mission, but in Earth orbit – orbital manoeuvring, rendezvous, docking, extended flights and spacewalking. The task of Gemini 3 was straightforward: with the aid of the first computer on a manned spacecraft, Gemini 3 would change its orbit.

The crew was chosen at the time of the Gemini 1 unmanned test flight and was well into training by the time unmanned Gemini 2 had become the first to be recovered. Command pilot Gus Grissom and his pilot John Young, the Taciturn Twins as they were dubbed, were overshadowed by the exploits of Voskhod 2 five days earlier, particularly as Gemini 3 was to make only a modest three orbits. The crew were lying in their ejector seats inside Gemini 3 at 07: 30 hrs, waiting for a 09: 00 hrs launch. At T — 35 minutes, the Titan II first-stage oxidiser line sprang a leak and a handy wrench was required, delaying the launch by 24 minutes. The hypergolic engines of the Titan gave out a high-pitched whine and sprang to life and the mission lifted off.

As the second stage ignited while still attached to the first stage, its exhaust spewing out of the lattice framework between the two, the rocket was surrounded by a bright aurora, disconcerting the pilot. After reaching the 32.5°, 224km (139 miles) peak apogee orbit, the crew was immediately assigned to a series of science

experiments, including a sea urchin cell growth experiment, which failed because Grissom was rather heavy-handed with it.

At last, the frustrated astronauts had some real space flying to do as, at T + 1 hour 30 minutes, Grissom performed the first orbital manoeuvring system burn, for 75 seconds. Two more burns followed, with the last placing Gemini 3’s perigee at 72 km (45 miles), low enough to ensure re-entry even if the retros failed to fire, which they didn’t. Grissom tried to use Gemini’s lift capability to reduce a predicted landing miss but the capability of the spacecraft was less than anticipated and resulted in a 111 km (69 miles) miss. As Gemini assumed splashdown position, it literally yanked from vertical to an almost horizontal position, pitching the crew forward and smashing Grissom’s faceplate against the instrument panel.

The flight ended near Grand Turk Island in the Atlantic Ocean at T + 4 hours 52 minutes 51 seconds, the shortest US two-crew mission. The landing miss meant a long wait in heaving seas but Grissom – remembering Liberty Bell – elected to stay on board with the hatch well and truly closed. Grissom lost his pre-launch breakfast and both doffed their spacesuits in the heat. They later walked rather ignominiously along the deck of the carrier Intrepid, to which they had been helicoptered, in sporting underwear beneath bathrobes. After the Liberty Bell 7 incident, Grissom named his next space craft “Molly Brown’’ after the hit Broadway show “The Unsinkable Molly

Brown”. NASA was not happy about this and asked him to change the name, but when he indicated that his second choice was “Titanic” they relented. “Molly Brown” became the last named American spacecraft until Apollo 9 in March 1969.

Gemini 3 became known as the “corned beef sandwich flight”, when afterwards it was revealed that Young had been reprimanded for carrying food aboard and offering it to Grissom who, on taking a hefty bite, spread crumbs around the cabin. The prank was, not surprisingly, hatched by the back-up command pilot, Wally Schirra, who put the sandwich into Young’s spacesuit, but the joke got out of hand and became the subject of a Congressional inquiry. The cost of the sandwich, which Schirra had bought in Cocoa Beach, escalated, and it became known as the “$30 million sandwich’’.

Milestones

15th manned space flight 7th US manned space flight 1st Gemini manned flight

1st manned space flight to perform orbital manoeuvres

1st US two-man crew mission

1st flight by crewman on second mission