Spacecraft of the Week #11

Gemini XII was launched with astronauts Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin on November 11 (Veterans Day) in 1966. The spacecraft in question was home to the astronauts for 4 days, during which Buzz Aldrin conducted three spacewalks. After an almost disastrous EVA on Gemini XI, Buzz helped engineer handholds and foot restraints and barely broke a sweat on his walk, indicating astronauts would be able to work outside the spacecraft landing on the moon. As the finale of the Gemini program it was a resounding success.

The spacecraft was checked out after recovery at Johnson Space Center, and transported for display at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Aukland, New Zealand. After many years it returned to the states and was then placed for display at the Goddard Space Flight Center. It was paired at the Visitor Center there nose to nose with a sit-in model. Looking out the window while sitting in the model always reminded me of the Gemini VII - Gemini VI rendezvous in space. In 2005, the Smithsonian was asked to relocate the spacecraft.

The Adler Planetarium in Chicago had undergone a major renovation and wanted a 'capstone' to highlight man's relationship with space. Chicago native Jim Lovell was instrumental in bringing his old spacecraft to his hometown. No longer enclosed in a plexiglas cocoon, the capsule was placed in climate controlled display case designed and built by the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. This new case is a prototype for future displays. Although it may somewhat restrict viewing and photography by boxing in the capsule, the importance of protecting the aging craft become paramount. Similar cases have been constructed for Gemini 3 , Gemini VI and Gemini X, Liberty Bell 7, and Apollo 13.

So to honor its history and for trailblazing a new way to preserve and display these important artificers, Gemini XII is our Spacecraft of the Week.

Spacecraft of the Week #6

Spacecraft of the Week is back after a short hiatus, and features an unflown spacecraft that would have given America's first astronaut a chance to orbit the earth. The Mercury program was to incrementally allow astronauts and NASA researchers experience into longer stays in space. After the first two suborbital flights would come a trio of three orbit flights, followed by three or four 22 orbit full day flights. This would take the program right to the start of the two seat Gemini flights. The first of these day trips was to be Mercury 10, piloted by Alan Shepard, who was launched on the first sub-orbital manned flight. Shepard's capsule would be outfitted with extra consumables for the longer mission. He christened his second Mercury Freedom 7 II, being the only spacecraft to my knowledge with a name that contains both Aramaic and Roman numbers. Due to budget constraints, the first day mission was reassigned to Gordon Cooper's Mercury 9 flight. After Cooper's successful flight, all remaining Mercury missions were canceled to free up talent for project Gemini, and Freedom 7 II was declared excess.

I originally saw Freedom 7 II at the visitor center for Ames Research Center in California. It was very accessible, displayed without a cover (only over the open hatch) and mounted on a McDonnell service rack. Previously, it was held in storage at Cape Canaveral after its mission was cancelled. For many years it wowed west coast Space Campers, but in 2003 was recalled by the Smithsonian and placed in the new Udvar-Hazy Center. There it sits under the protective wing of the orbiter Enterprise.

Spacecraft of the Week #5

This weeks spacecraft is actually a trainer, or rather a suite of trainers, that will soon be up for grabs to museums across the country. NASA has entered into an agreement with the General Accounting Office (GAO) to parcel out space shuttle artifacts to interested museums. A couple things to note about this, is that the agreement does not include the orbiters which is being covered under a separate solicitation (NASA has offered Discovery to the Smithsonian and will choose the location for the other two), and that the Smithsonian get first right of refusal under a longstanding agreement from the days of the Mercury program, and official NASA visitor centers get the second look before it opens to all comers on October 1.

Among the items are the shuttle trainers seen above at Building 9 of the Johnson Space Center. These trainers help accustom astronauts to the tasks that they will perform during their mission. The Full Fuselage Trainer (image left) is a complete mockup of an orbiter, minus the wings. Is is used to orient the astronauts with the locations of items and supplies they will find onboard. It is also used to train emergency egress training - if an orbiter's landing gear fails during landing, astronauts can blow a window and repel down from the cockpit. Located at top center in the image is the Crew Compartment Trainer. This is unique as it can be pitched up 90º to train astros on how to board the craft at the pad. The item seen at the bottom is the Manipulator Development Facility, used to train those astronauts using the Remote Manipulator System or robot arm.

While there is a chance that some or all of these items will remain where they are and be a more integrated part of Space Center Houston's tour of JSC, or parceled out to other museums or NASA visitor centers remains to be seen. Hopefully, it means these important artifacts of our space program will be preserved and cared for for years to come.

Spacecraft of the Week #2

This week's spacecraft is one of the reasons the Field Guide exists. As an education specialist at Kennedy Space Center I often conducted facility briefings (tours) of KSC and the neighboring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Cape is home to the Air Force Space and Missile Museum on the site where Explorer 1 was launched to orbit back in 1958. In the Exhibit Building there is found this week's entry. Gemini 2 was a favorite of those I toured, often stating, "I never knew about that". It made me wonder where other spacecraft were, and I began my list. That list ultimately grew into A Field Guide to American Spacecraft.

Gemini 2 is unique for several reasons. Although it's mission was not one that launched men into space, it is truly one of a kind. Originally launched by NASA in 1965, it flew a suborbital trajectory intended to test the heat shield and the spacecrafts recoverability. After tests, it was given to the Air Force for testing for the Manned Orbital Laboratory program. It was launched a second time in 1966, making it the first spacecraft launched twice to space (while the x-15s made multiple trips, they flew their missions, but let us not split hairs!). As part of a military launch, the standard American flag and "UNITED STATES" was removed to be replaced by the words "US AIR FORCE" and the star and bars representing that service. Again, it's mission was to test the heat shield, but this time the shield had a hatch cut into it. Ultimately, this hatch would allow Air Force astronauts to traverse from the capsule to the orbital lab behind them without donning a space suit. Though the hatch worked, the MOL program was cut due to budget constraints and the increasing capabilities of unmanned spy satellites.

These three things - the first relaunched man rated spacecraft, the first (and only) spacecraft launched with military markings, and the first (and only) launched with a hatch in the heat shield - make Gemini 2 a unique artifact of space history.

Spacecraft of the Week #1

This week's inaugural entry for Spacecraft of the Week is the Apollo 6 capsule on display at the Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta, GA. This Block 1 capsule was launched on the second Saturn V launch in April 1968. Its successful return to Earth paved the way for the men of Apollo 7 to journey to orbit in their Block 2 capsule.

But this blog is not just about spacecraft. It is also about the places that display them. And Fernbank was a very important part of my childhood. We moved to Atlanta suburb Decatur in 1967 after living a few years in the LA area. There, my dad and I had monthly dates to journey up the mountain to the Griffith Park Planetarium for their star show. I was depressed that Atlanta had no such facility where dad and I could resume our dates, me to learn more about the wonders of space, and he to nap after a hard days work (that's OK dad!).

Shortly after we moved, I discovered just 6 blocks

from home Fernbank, at the time an

excavated foundation for the coming science center. I learned it would house the largest public telescope in the southeast. And it would be home for the third largest planetarium in the country with a brand new Mark V Zeiss projector. I visited the construction site often, watching the walls and dome go up. I trespassed into the planetarium dome imagining what was to come. I wrote my name on the metal roof before the insulation was blown on. And after it opened, I no longer needed to wait for dad to come home (though we still had many visits together there), as I could go there after school. I knew the astronomers and the planetarium operators, and they knew me. It was my own little slice of heaven (figuratively and literally) for a year and a half. Then we moved to the Chicago suburbs, and the Adler became my and my dads monthly get together. I had, though, already been set on a course that would lead me back to Fernbank one day.

Years later, as a NASA education specialist, it was my joy to work in the Fernbank Science center, with its wonderful facilities and staff, teaching educators and students about the things that inspired me there long ago.