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Gemini 9 Flight Press Kit
Gemini 9 Flight Press Kit
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GENERAL RELEASE
During t h e f i r s t d a y l i g h t p o r t i o n of t h e e x t r a v e h i c u l a r a c t i v i t y , Cernan
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w i l l remain on a 25-foot u n b i l i c a l t e t h e r with oxygen supplied from the
spacecraft. He w i l l r e t r i e v e a meteoroid c o l l e c t i o n experiment from t h e
Gemini adapter and expose some new s u r f a c e s on another meteoroid c o l l e c t i o n
experiment on theATDR.
Gemini 8 mission, w i l l be made using only the on-board computer and cWtic31
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Seven experlments are scheduled for t h e m i s s i o n . Sci-
e n t i f i c experiments i n c l u d e z o d i a c a l l i g h t photography, two
meteoroid c o l l e c t i o n experiments, and airglow horizon photo-
graphy. Technological experiments are t h e UHF/VHF p o l a r i z a -
t i o n and t h e Astronaut Maneuvering U n i t . The medical e x p e r i -
ment is the b i o a s s a y s of body f l u i d s .
to carrying o u t experiments.
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9A TURNAIIGUK! CIIRGNOLOGY
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The Gemini 9A count actually is a combination of nine different
countdowns, mostly running simultaneously. The different counts are
associated with the two launch vchiclcs, the two spacecraft, crew,
Houston Mission Control and the worldwide tracking network, t h e Zast-
ern Test Range and the Radio-Command Guidance System.
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Time Gemini Atl.as-ATDA
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T-285 minutes ................... Primary crew awakened
T-255 minutes ................... Medical examination
T-240 minutes ................... GLV terminal count begins
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REENTRY
(Elapsed Time from Gemini L i f t - o f f )
Rctrof ire
J e t t i s o n retrograde s e c t i o n
400,000 fcet altitude
Communications blackout
I n i t i a t e guidance
Blackout ended
Drogue chute deployed
(50,000 f e e t )
70 :46 Main chute f u l l y deployed
(9,800 S e a t )
70:50 Spacecraft landing
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-IAlJNCl
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RENDEZVOUS
t i m e s are approximate)
(~11
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. .
:?misters
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Intermediate C0rrer.t j on:; -- Twclvc rninulcs a r t o r i n i Lial i m p i l c c , the.
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DOCKING OPERATIONS
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A t 27 hours i n t o t h c f'liekit, ttlcl crcw w i l l Lc;:j n prcpraLiori f'or
t h e f i r s t of two planned re-rcndczvous mancuvcr:;. 'I'hc cqu i pcriod rc-
rendezvous i s the same t y p e o[' manl:UVcr w l l i c h had bccn p1;liiiic.d l'or G c : i n i ~ ~ i
8. I t w i l l be a complctely onboard o p e r a t i o n using Lhc compuLcr a n d n
hand-held s e x t a n t t o o b t a i n guidance informaLion. The purposc o f ' Lhi:; rc-
rendezvous i s t o simulate t h e t e r m i n a l phasc oI' il passivc I,argcL rcntlc;.-
VOUS which w i l l be performed on a later Gemini mission. 'Chc T':L(.Lxr wiL1.
not be used except as a backup if v i s u a l c o n t a c t i s l o s t w i L h t h e t a r ' i ~ , c t .
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Cormonly known as rcndczvous ['r'omabove, tliis rc-rc.ixJc:zvous is
designed to simulate a lunar rcndczvous which cou1.d take place il' the
hnar module had descended t o t h e 50,000 rooL :level abov(> Ltie Moon's
surface and a decision not to conI,i niic ['or a 1;Ltldin,D;was nr~c!c:. ' I ' k
LM's h i g h l y e l l i p t i c a l orbi t would carry it above Llic Coiruntlnd arid
Service Module before the two o r b i t s could bu mstclicd. In t h e C c m i r i i
maneuver, the spacecraft will make it small rcL1wgraiie maneuver on tlic
second day to allow the Gemini to p u l l npproxiinatcly 86 miles nhca.d of
On the following day, thc
the ATDA during the astronaut r e s t p e r i o d .
crew will perform maneuvers which w i l l put t h e spacecraft i n a circular
o r b i t approximately eight miles above the ATDA. The rendezvous l'rom
above will begin from this position. The sequence of maneuvcrs is:
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Closing maneuver --
Also called the height adjustment maneuver, per-
f'ormed at 47:05 GET in the 3 0 t h revolution over Africa. It is a 13.2 fps
psigrade maneuver which raises t h e apogee of t h e Gemini spacecrar't to
i93 miles.
SEPARATION
MANEUVER
P-193
- AzAPOGEE
P=PERIGEE
(LUNAR ABORT)
Gemini Intermediate Corrections - -- Two omll b u r n s w i l l b c mdc
similar to the intermediate corrections applicd for earlicr rcndezvous.
They will occur at 12 minute intervals ater the TPT burn.
FINAL SEPAMTION
RETROFIRE
Retrofire will occur at 70:lLe' GET during the spacecraft's 44th rev-
olution. Splashdown will occur in the west Atlantic recovery area
(27N75W) at 7055, GET.
ORBITS - REVOLUTIONS
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CTCMTNT 3A CRTM TRATNTNG
(For o r i c i n a l trainin[: ccc Comirii. 3 p r e s s k i t )
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MANNED SPACE FLIGHT T R A C K I N G NETWORK
G E M I N I 9A MISSION REQUIREMENTS
Defense f o r m i s s i o n i n f o r m a t b n and c o n t r o l .
spacecraft.
( 2 ) V e r i f i c a t i o n of t h e p r o p e r o p e r a t i o n o f t h e s y s t e m s
The network a l s o w i l l u p d a t e v i a t h e c o n t r o l c e n t e r ,
t h e s p a c e c r a f t computer t o p r o v i d e e p h e m e r i s (computed s p a c e
p o s i t i o n ) and r e e n t r y d i s p l a y s f o r t h e a s t r o n a u t s .
I m m e d i a t e computing s u p p o r t w i l l be p r o v i d e d from l a u n c h
r e c e i v e l a u n c h t r a j e c t o r y d a t a from t h e A i r Force E a s t e r n T e s t
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TRACKING
The Gemini m i s s i o n w i l l r c q i r e s e p a r a t e t r a c k i n g of
t w o C-band b e a c o n s . S k i n t r a c k i n g ( r a d a r s i g n a l b o u n c e ) of
a s s i g n m e n t s w i l l be c a r r i e d o u t a c c o r d i n g t o i n d i v i d u a l s t a t i o n
of p r o v i d i n g s p a c e p o s i t i o n i n f o r m a t h on e i t h e r t h e Gemini o r
have o n l y a s i n g l e s y s t e m c a p a b i l i t y , t h e r e f o r e , p r i o r i t y w i l l
be e s t a b l i s h e d b y t h e M i s s i o n D i r e c t o r or F l i g h t Dynamics
O f f i c e r according t o t h e i r needs.
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Other C o m p u t e r S u p p o r t
p o r t for Gemini 9A i n c l u d e s t h e p r o c e s s i n g of r e a l t i m e t r a c k i n g
i n f o r m a t i o n o b t a i n e d from t h e T i t a n I1 and A t l a s .
s y s t e m , s t a t i o n - b y - s t a t i o n , computer-programmed checkout .
q u i s i t i o n r a n g e or t h e t e s t is completed.
C o n t r o l of t h e e n t i r e Gemini % m i s s i o n w i l l be e x e r c i s e d
b y t h e M i s s i o n C o n t r o l C e n t e r i n Houston, Texas. As it d i d on
w i l l s e r v e as t h e p r i m e computer c e n t e r .
Gemini S p a c e c r a f t
beacon ( s p a c e c r a f t ) w i l l be i n s t a l l e d i n t h e r e e n t r y module
* C o n t r a c t or nomenc l a b i'e
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During and a f t e r T i t a n I1 l a u n c h , t h e spacecraft w i l l be
Atlas.
M e r r itt Is l a n d White S a n d s , N. M.
Carnarvon, A u s t r a l i a Kauai, H a w a i i
Bermuda I s l a n d , B.W.I.
P r e t o r i a , South A f r i c a
S t a t i o n s Capable of S k i n ( r a d a r s i q n a l b o u n c e ) T r a c k i n q t h e
P a t r i c k AFB White S a n d s , N. M.
Grand Bahama I s l a n d -
Antigua I s l a n d Eglin, Fla.
m i s s i o n p r i o r i t i e s permit.
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-
ATDA
b e a c o n s u t i l i z e d i f f e r e n t p u l s e s p a c i n g s t h a n t h o s e used
b y t h e s p a c e c r a f t C-band b e a c o n s w h i c h a s s u r e s p o s i t i v e
v e h i c l e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n b y t h e ground t r a c k i n g r a d a r ,
A C Q U I S I T I O N SYSTEMS
S i t e s w i t h a c q u i s i t i o n a i d s y s t e m s c a p a b l e of a c q u i r i n g
r e c e i v e r s and p o i n t i n g d a t a t o s e l e c t e d steerable a n t e n n a s .
S i t e s which d o n o t h a v e s i m u l t a n e o u s a c q u i s i t i o n c a p a b i l i t y
i n s e r t i o n of t h e Gemini s p a c e c r a f t .
M I S S I O N MESSAGE REQUIREMENTS
Low s p e e d t e l e m e t r y d a t a ( o n - s i t e t e l e t y p e summaries)
w i l l be s e n t t o t h e Houston M i s s i o n C o n t r o l C e n t e r f r o m f l i g h t
c o n t r o l l e r manned s t a t i o n s .
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Turk I s l a n d , and A n t i g u a w i l l remote Gemini s p a c e c r a t wide-
Control Center.
from l a u n c h t h r o u g h r e c o v e r y w i l l as a l w a y s be p r o v i d e d by
t h e F l i g h t D i r e c t o r a t Houston M i s s i o n C o n t r o l C e n t e r . Max-
imum command c o v e r a g e i s r e q u i r e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e m i s s i o n .
able f o r t r a n s m i s s i o n t o t h e v e h i c l e s are l i s t e d on t h e n e x t
Page
d a t e commands, t h e f o l l o w i n g d i g i t a l i n s t r u c t i o n s may be s e n t :
a. Gemini s p a c e c r a f t b. ATDA
1. P r e r e t r o w i t h maneuver 1. R e a l t i m e commands o n l y
2. P r e r e t r o w i t h o u t maneuver
3. O r b i t a l navigation
4. Maneuver
5. Rendezvous
6. Accelerometer e r r o r
correcti o n s
SPACECRAFT COMMUNICATIONS
m u n i c a t i o n s c a n be c o n t r o l l e d e i t h e r b y t h e s t a t i o n or by re-
m o t e ( t o n e ) k e y i n g f r o m Houston M i s s i o n C o n t r o l C e n t e r .
Control Center:
b e a c o n s , v o i c e communications, t e l e m e t r y t r a n s m i t t e r s , re-
c o v e r y l i g h t , and d i g i t a l command s y s t e m ) a l l o w s r a d a r t r a c k -
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ground command of t h e s p a c e c r a f t , i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n s y s t e m s
d a t a t r a n s m i s s i o n , and p o s t l a n d i n g and r e c o v e r y d a t a t r a n s -
m e t r y t r a n s m i t t e r s , r e n d e z v o u s r a d a r , and d i g i t a l command
s y s t e m ) allows r a d a r t r a c k i n g of t h e v e h i c l e from b o t h t h e
t h e s e systems.
R e e n t r y Module C-Band T r a n s p o n d e r
GROUND COMMUNICATIONS
s u p p o r t w i l l be b a s e d upon t h e m i s s i o n - d e s i g n a t e d s h i p p o s i t i o n s
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and p r e d i c a t e d H F r a d i o p r o p a g a t i o n c o n d i t i o n s .
NETWORK R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y
d u r i n g a m i s s i o n s i m u l a t i o n or an a c t u a l m i s s i o n i s r e s p o n s i -
b i l i t y of t h e MSC.
and Data A c q u i s i t i o n h a s c e n t r a l i z e d t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r
t h e p l a n n i n g , i m p l e m e n t a t i o n , and t e c h n i c a l o p e r a t i o n s of
Goddard Space F l i g h t C e n t e r . T e c h n i c a l o p e r a t i o n is d e f i n e d
as t h e o p e r a t i o n , m a i n t e n a n c e , m o d i f i c a t i o n , and a u g m e n t a t i o n
of t r a c k i n g and d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n f a c i l i t i e s t o f u n c t i o n a s a n
i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n network i n r e s p o n s e t o m i s s i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s .
c o n t r a c t o r p e r s o n n e l b r i n g t h e t o t a l network l e v e l t o some
1500.
Commonwealth of A u s t r a l i a , i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e m a i n t e n a n c e
and o p e r a t i o n of t h e NASA s t a t i o n a t C a r n a r v o n , A u s t r a l i a .
C o n t r a c t u a l a r r a n g e m e n t s and a g r e e m e n t s d e f i n e t h i s c o o p e r a t i v e
effort .
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Components ( i n O r b i t )
The ATDA has been ftt'urica1,ed mainly rom C e i n i n i u l ' i ' - t h c - . ~ r ~ ci i' I d q u i perit
Tne s t r u c t u r e of t h e vehicle i s hardwarc s;i)eci,Llly t)u i l t t'or Llit A!'llA.
The docking equipment i s a standard targc.1, doclrini: adaptilr. l'lic? C-1) ] f l u 1 CL-