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Author
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Topic: Gemini launch dates?
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John Charles
Member Posts: 342
From: Houston, Texas, USA
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 12-29-2005 07:10 PM
  
Reflecting back on the lore of the Gemini program, I recalled that at least one Gemini mission, Gemini 5, was delayed about two weeks to give the crew additional training time ("Deke!" p. 154-5). But looking at a chart of changes in Gemini launch dates used by Robert Seamans (former NASA Deputy Administrator)(see "Trend Chart" dated Oct. 31, 1966, at http://history.nasa.gov/monograph37.pdf, p. 113) shows no launch delay between Feb. 1965, when the crew was named, and launch in Aug. 1965. In fact, it was advanced by over a month! Overall, the frequency of Gemini launch date "advances" (vs. delays--not to be confused with brief slips caused by prelaunch technical issues) is quite striking: 9 of the 10 manned flights were advanced at least once. I would be interested in thoughts about this discrepancy. ------------------
John Charles
Houston, Texas |
dtemple
Member Posts: 730
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 12-31-2005 12:02 PM
Could the delay Slayton made reference to have been a reduction in the amount of the advancement of the launch date? In other words, perhaps there was discussion of advancing the launch seven weeks, but instead it was advanced about five weeks to give the crew more time for training. Another possibility... Slayton had brain cancer when "Deke" was being written and may not have remembered everything accurately. |
Michael Cassutt
Member Posts: 358
From: Studio City CA USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 12-31-2005 12:28 PM
John is correct about the apparent lack of movement in the GT-5 launch date. I noticed that myself when finalizing the book.Nevertheless, Slayton was quite clear that he had to "beg" a slip out of George Mueller because the crew was not going to be ready. (He was still sort of irked at Gordo thirty-six years later, when we had this conversation.) So I assume there was a plan to bring the launch forward -- not uncommon under Mueller -- which Deke prevented. Michael Cassutt |
John Charles
Member Posts: 342
From: Houston, Texas, USA
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 01-01-2006 02:12 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Michael Cassutt:
...So I assume there was a plan to bring the launch forward -- not uncommon under Mueller -- which Deke prevented.
Yet again, I have spent hours discovering what Mike Cassutt already knew and even published! But, the exercise was still edifying. Based on dates deduced from the chart in Seama's book ("digitized" using Microsoft Photo Editor!), Gemini 5 indeed had the smallest "advance" in launch date of all the post-June 1965 missions: 2 weeks vs. 7-11 for Geminis 6-12. (This is the difference between the most far-term planned launch date and the most mear-term subsequent planned launch date). At the time of their public crew announcements, most crews expected to have 7-8 months to train before launch (shortest: Gemini 4--before EVA was added--5 months; longest: Gemini 6--first planned docking--9 months). Considering only changes in planned launch date after the crew announcement, Gemini 5's launch date was advanced "only" 6 weeks, less than the 7-11 weeks advance of 6 of the remaining 7 Gemini launches (only Gemini 9 was advanced "only" 6 weeks, before the loss of the prime crew). Mueller's ambitious, even aggressive, vision of the manned space program must have been difficult for Slayton (and others) to implement. John Charles
Houston, Texas [This message has been edited by John Charles (edited January 01, 2006).] | |
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