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  Coloring of Gemini's adapter section

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Author Topic:   Coloring of Gemini's adapter section
RocketmanRob
Member

Posts: 268
From: New York City USA
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 03-16-2008 08:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for RocketmanRob   Click Here to Email RocketmanRob     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have just started building a model of Gemini 6 and have been looking at some photos that I want to use as guide for painting. I was hoping someone might be able to shed some light on someting confusing that I am seeing. When you look at photos of Gemini 6 in orbit, the white adapter behind the spacecraft appears to have black or brown "ribs" every 1-2 feet that run front to back. This pattern appears all around the adapter. Photos of Gemini 6 on the pad, however, show an adapter that is nearly white with no ribs. Is this an effect that occurs during launch or did different Gemini spacecraft have different adapter paint schemes and I am actually looking at photos that might be mislabeled? In the end I would like to understand how Gemini 6 looked.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Rob

divemaster
Member

Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002

posted 03-17-2008 05:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for divemaster   Click Here to Email divemaster     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by RocketmanRob:
When you look at photos of Gemini 6 in orbit, the white adapter behind the spacecraft appears to have black or brown "ribs" every 1-2 feet that run front to back. This pattern appears all around the adapter.
It's black thermal tape.

space1
Member

Posts: 853
From: Danville, Ohio
Registered: Dec 2002

posted 03-17-2008 06:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for space1   Click Here to Email space1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The early Gemini adapters (before Gemini VIII) had stripes of 0.66" wide aluminum tape, painted black. The tape was applied over the location of radiator lines making up the adapter structure. The purpose was to reduce the solar reflectivity of the adapter because ground testing determined that the radiator was allowing too much heat to radiate from the Gemini.

Gemini VIII through XII replaced the tape with patches of black Velcro to aid astronauts in moving outside the Gemini during EVA (spacewalks).

------------------
John Fongheiser
President
Historic Space Systems,
http://www.space1.com

Lou Chinal
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Posts: 1306
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007

posted 03-18-2008 06:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Lou Chinal   Click Here to Email Lou Chinal     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I had asked Tom Stafford about this. As he remembered the tape was put on, "just a few days before the launch." He got the feeling the guys putting it on were not all that careful. I was told by one model builder, "if you study the photos of each spacecraft they are all a little bit different."

-Lou

RocketmanRob
Member

Posts: 268
From: New York City USA
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 03-31-2008 07:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for RocketmanRob   Click Here to Email RocketmanRob     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks for everyone's feedback on this. Very much appreciated.

Rob

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