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Gemini 8 reentry
It is well-known that Gemini 8 fired their retros to get control of
the spacecraft, and then reentered. Was there only one firing that got control of the ship, or was there a second one that actually brought it down? If there were two, approximately how much time elapsed in between? http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/...mini-viii.html " The crew regained control of their spacecraft by using the reentry control system, which prompted an early landing in a secondary landing area in the Pacific. " |
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Gemini 8 reentry
Jan Philips ) writes:
It is well-known that Gemini 8 fired their retros to get control of the spacecraft, and then reentered. Was there only one firing that got control of the ship, or was there a second one that actually brought it down? If there were two, approximately how much time elapsed in between? http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/...mini-viii.html " The crew regained control of their spacecraft by using the reentry control system, which prompted an early landing in a secondary landing area in the Pacific. " Note that the Reentry *Control* System is not limited to the four retros. It also includes other hardware and software, including thrusters that Armstrong used to get out of the spin that the on orbit thrusters' ( A different system ) malfunction had put them into. Mission rules stated that the first use of the Renetry Control System mandated a near immediate return to Earth. Which they then did. Andre -- " I'm a man... But, I can change... If I have to... I guess. " The Man Prayer, Red Green. |
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Gemini 8 reentry
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Gemini 8 reentry
Jan Philips ) writes:
On 21 Aug 2003 14:44:07 GMT, (Andre Lieven) wrote: Mission rules stated that the first use of the Renetry Control System mandated a near immediate return to Earth. Which they then did. Did they have to do it as soon as possible, or did they have time to wait a while until they could reenter near the recovery force? (They were not too far from the recovery forces.) Non sequitur. Orbital mechanics make it clear that any spaecraft in LEO is only " not too far from the recovery forces " for very brief parts of a given day. As it was, there was a delay of over an hour to deorbit Gemini 8, and it still came down near only a small ship, not the planned carrier, or, for that matter, any carrier, even though the US then had more of them then it does now. Consider what the Earth rotating under an LEO orbiting spacecraft does to what parts of the Earth that said spacecraft will pass over, in successive orbits. Andre -- " I'm a man... But, I can change... If I have to... I guess. " The Man Prayer, Red Green. |
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Gemini 8 reentry
In article ,
Jan Philips wrote: It is well-known that Gemini 8 fired their retros to get control of the spacecraft, and then reentered. Not precisely. They fired the reentry *RCS* system to get control back. That was a secondary RCS system used for attitude control during retrofire and reentry; it had no relation to the retrorockets themselves (which were one-shot solid-fuel rockets). The main Gemini RCS system was in a section of the spacecraft that was jettisoned before retrofire, hence the need for a separate system. The immediate reentry was due to mission rules: using the reentry RCS system meant breaking its valve seals, after which any valve leakage could endanger the RCS fuel supply needed for control during retrofire, so mission rules said that when the reentry RCS was used, retrofire and reentry must follow as soon as reasonably possible (i.e., before anything else went wrong). I don't seem to have exact times, but I think they did wait an hour or two before retrofire, which allowed proper preparations and the use of a predesignated abort site which had a recovery ship handy. This wasn't a "land at once, no matter where" emergency. -- MOST launched 1015 EDT 30 June, separated 1046, | Henry Spencer first ground-station pass 1651, all nominal! | |
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Gemini 8 reentry
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