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  Gemini 5 and Scott Carpenter on Sealab II

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Author Topic:   Gemini 5 and Scott Carpenter on Sealab II
Hawkman
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Posts: 400
From: Union, New Jersey
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 03-30-2005 10:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Hawkman   Click Here to Email Hawkman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I was just reading Apogee Books' "How NASA Learned To Fly In Space" and in the chapter about Gemini 5, I found something that I had never heard about before (or forgot).

At the beginning of Gordon Cooper and Pete Conrad's 117th orbit aboard Gemini 5, Scott Carpenter — 200 feet down on the ocean floor in Sealab II — was patched through and they exchanged pleasantries.

I thought that was pretty cool. Maybe a little sentimental, but very cool none the less. I think it goes again to the heart of the Mercury 7 "brotherhood."

KC Stoever
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From: Denver, CO USA
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posted 04-05-2005 11:03 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KC Stoever   Click Here to Email KC Stoever     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Scott Carpenter and President Johnson had another historic conversation during Sealab II, taped by the White House and the U.S. Navy, I believe, which National Public Radio sometimes plays on air as part of its historic series on "American Sounds" or "Sounds of America."

It is comical in part because of Carpenter's helium-inflected voice, and because President Johnson appears not to understand a word the astronaut/aquanaut is saying!

Hawkman
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From: Union, New Jersey
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posted 04-05-2005 08:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Hawkman   Click Here to Email Hawkman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
They said the same thing about Carpenter's conversation with Cooper. They said that the helium made his voice a few pitches higher. It must have been a surreal conversation!

They also said that there were communication difficulties between Sealab and Gemini 5, which added to the oddity of the conversation.

heng44
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From: Netherlands
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posted 04-05-2005 11:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for heng44   Click Here to Email heng44     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This reminds me of a similar event. In 1985 there was a conversation between two shuttle crews, from one orbiter to the other. They were the crews of STS-51D and STS-51B (from memory, so I may be wrong).

One crew was in space, while the other was aboard their orbiter on the launch pad for the countdown demonstration test. Commanders Bo Bobko and Bob Overmyer exchanged a few words.

I don't think this ever happened again.

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-21-2006 02:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by KC Stoever:
It is comical in part because of Carpenter's helium-inflected voice...
For those who have never heard the complete segment, its definitely worth the listen. From NPR's Lost and Found Sound, LBJ and the Helium Filled Astronaut.
The idea is to have President Lyndon Johnson offer Commander Carpenter a formal congratulation. This is a purely ceremonial call. It should be cut-and-dried. But there's a bizarre problem.

ejectr
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From: Killingly, CT
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posted 03-21-2006 03:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ejectr   Click Here to Email ejectr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Incredibly funny... and Scott Carpenter remained the consummate professional through it all.

KC Stoever
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From: Denver, CO USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 03-21-2006 04:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KC Stoever   Click Here to Email KC Stoever     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Oh the ignominy...

Surviving audio of Carpenter reveals — take your pick — Alvin the Chipmunk or Mickey Mouse!

Scott
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From: Houston, TX
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posted 03-21-2006 05:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott   Click Here to Email Scott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That is too much! You can almost hear LBJ chewing the inside of his cheek.

Larry McGlynn
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From: Boston, MA
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posted 03-22-2006 01:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Larry McGlynn   Click Here to Email Larry McGlynn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Personally, I think it is great. An explorer in his element.

Do you know that you can actually get an approximate idea of how much helium in your air tanks by breathing through your regulator and speaking? Although we do gas checks via helium analyzers, it is fun to guess the mixture. It is like sampling a fine wine and knowing the vintage.

If we are using a 15/48 tri-mix for deep dives, then you can really heard the high-pitched squeak. We like to put the reg in take a couple of deep breaths to do a reg check and then yell Geronimo! Then we switch back to our travel gas and exit the boat.

The cry Geronimo takes on a whole new meaning when it sounds like a chipmunk.

John Charles
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From: Houston, Texas, USA
Registered: Jun 2004

posted 03-22-2006 09:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for John Charles     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Note that the NPR website says this clip is from 1964. But, Carpenter's 30-day sojourn aboard Sealab II started on Aug. 28, 1965, so his telephone exchange with LBJ must have occurred no earlier than Sep. 27, 1965.

KC Stoever
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From: Denver, CO USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 03-22-2006 10:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KC Stoever   Click Here to Email KC Stoever     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes. Absolutely right. Fall of 1965.

Carpenter sustained painful bone necrosis during this decompression period. And before that, during his 30-day stay underwater, in addition to sustaining a painful sting from a scorpion fish, he sang "Waltzing Matilda" or "Goodnight Irene" to his Sealab SEAL crewmates, in his finest Mickey Mouse persona, playing the uke as accompaniment. I have seen and heard this film footage, which is precious. Whereabouts unknown.

Scott
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From: Houston, TX
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posted 03-24-2006 10:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott   Click Here to Email Scott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The dying of bone. Sounds pretty darn painful.

KC Stoever
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Posts: 1012
From: Denver, CO USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 03-24-2006 11:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KC Stoever   Click Here to Email KC Stoever     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Underwater workers, like aquanauts or even laborers digging out riverbeds for bridge building (beneath the surface, inside caissons), get what's called the bends or decompression sickness or caisson disease, named after the laborers who first suffered or died from the affliction.

The nitrogen in your body is stored as an inert gas in your joints and tissues, and it can come out of solution too quickly if you are subjected to decreased atmospheric pressure. The nitrogen actually bubbles (think of opening a bottle of soda), creating the painful symptoms of the bends, felt especially in the joints.

The idea is to decompress slowly. I guess this wasn't done on the ascent from Sealab II.

mjanovec
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From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 03-24-2006 12:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
For me, the funniest part of the audio isn't the LBJ part, as he sounds as if he really isn't even listening to Carpenter (or perhaps can't understand him). He just mentions how "proud" everyone is about five different times.

The hilarious part is listening to the switchboard operators discussing that something is wrong with the connection. Then when they try to explain the helium atmosphere to operators, it only gets funnier.

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