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Author
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Topic: Blue Gemini egress hatch
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alanh_7
Member Posts: 1252
From: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 10-10-2011 08:07 PM
   
Awhile ago I was looking through some photos of the Blue Gemini that I took at the National Museum of U.S. Air Force in Dayton.I was wondering, the aft heat shield docking hatch was pretty tiny. Was that egress hatch and tunnel pressurized? It seems to me it would have been very difficult to egress with a spacesuit through that hatch and there was little room to remove a spacesuit in the Gemini spacecraft. I have to assume the Air Force and McDonnell did some sort of studies. I sure looked like a tight squeeze. |
John Charles
Member Posts: 342
From: Houston, Texas, USA
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 10-10-2011 08:44 PM
Alan, all good points.The Gemini-B you saw was the modified Gemini re-entry vehicle which would have flown with even more modified retro and equipment adapter modules for the MOL mission, unlike the Blue Gemini, which was an earlier Air Force proposal to use surplus standard Gemini vehicles for Air Force missions. (Dwayne Day can correct me if I have mis-remembered.) The hatchway and connecting tunnel were normally to be pressurized, for the reason you noted. But transfers were also practiced during zero-g airplane flights by test subjects wearing pressurized Gemini suits. It was just as difficult as you imagine. Check out the video footage on Spacecraft Films' "Man In Space: U.S. Air Force Manned Space Projects." The pilots would have transferred in their unpressurized space suits, then doffed and stowed those suits in the MOL and worn lightweight garments for the duration of the 30-day mission. |
328KF
Member Posts: 1251
From:
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 10-10-2011 08:48 PM
Yes, the tunnel was pressurized and the crew was able to transfer between the spacecraft and the lab while wearing their suits. Spacecraft Films' disc contains a lot of footage of tests done in zero-G, as did the PBS production Astrospies, which you can view here. |
alanh_7
Member Posts: 1252
From: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 10-10-2011 09:11 PM
I have always wondered also about the integrity of the heat shield with that hatch cut in it. I wonder if there was any thought of using the soft pressure suit like those worn on Gemini 7. I imagine it would have made it easier and less bulky going through that small tunnel hatch through the aft adaptor. |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1332
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 10-13-2011 12:59 PM
I recall a similar discussion about the Gemini on display at the Air Force Museum. Some consideration was given to using an X-20 style helmet. Yes, the tunnel would be pressurized.I believe Mike Collins can be seen in some of those photos. |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 10-13-2011 09:17 PM
The hatch integrity didn't turn out to be a problem at all for reentry as it essentially fused to the inside of the heat shield as the heat built up. The test of that was the primary reason for the Titan III MOL mockup test. It was only one flight, but it answered a few questions.Chelomei's design bureau went with a similar concept for the manned VA reentry capsule for the TKS spacecraft (and the original Almaz station configuration) as it also had a hatch in the heat shield base. While TKS was never flown manned, VA capsules reentered successfully at the conclusion of a couple TKS docking missions to Salyuts 6 and 7 I believe. In both cases, hatch integrity was good with no sign of a breach. By the way, as I recall, elements of the pressurized MOL tunnel design formed the basis for the tunnel used with the ESA Spacelab. |
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