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L'antenna impossibile della capsula Gemini

di Paolo Attivissimo. L'articolo è stato aggiornato dopo la pubblicazione iniziale.

In una conferenza sulle missioni lunari che ho tenuto a Brescia qualche tempo fa ho commesso un errore tecnico di cui vorrei scusarmi pubblicamente. Ho dato una risposta inesatta a una domanda di una persona del pubblico, che had raised the question of the apparent absurdity of some photographs taken of the Gemini capsule after landing. In these photographs the capsules showed very long rod protruding from the nose of the vehicle and stood a mo 'for boat tree.

My partner pointed out that that auction would not have been able to survive the heat and aerodynamic drag of the atmosphere and return to its view that the photographs were taken during training at sea and then passed off as pictures of the return U.S. astronauts to Earth.

A thesis in some ways similar and is supported by more detailed in his book Ralph Rene NASA Mooned America! (1994) on page 4. René writes, showing a grainy black and white copies of color photography in the beginning of this article:

Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford are being recovered after splashdown in the Gemini 6A mission. Claim to have made a rendezvous in space with Borman and Lovell, who was the driver of the Gemini 7. From the nose of the capsule we see the basis of a long whip antenna in fiberglass. It is completely intact, and it is retractable, as the cabin of the capsule contains a hole for antennas. The capsule came from the factory's shiny silver film (charred to temperatures over 2700 ° C during re-entry). Anything that is not protected by plastic ablative incenerirà front. None of the other Gemini capsules showed whip antennas on return. This antenna responds to frequencies not used in space and it would be useful only in locating the capsule after landing. Once you have found the capsule would have no further use. Why are the defenders of NASA argue that the divers have recovered after it was installed in the water? The only logical conclusion is that this has never made a capsule returning from space but was parachuted from an aircraft carrier of the CIA.

Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford are about to be rescued after splash-down on Gemini 6A. They claim to haves made a rendezvous in space with Borman and Lovell, who were flying Gemini 7. From the front of the capsule we see the base of a long fiberglass whip antenna. It is completely undamaged, and it is not retractable, as the capsule cabin contains no antenna well. The capsules came from the factory gleaming with a silver film (which is charred by temperatures over 5000 degrees during re-entry). Anything not shielded by the forward ablative coating will burn up. None of the other Gemini capsules showed whip antennas after splash-down. This antenna responds to frequencies not used in space and would only be of value in locating the capsule after it landed. Once the capsule was found it would have no further value. Why do NASA apologists argue that the rescue divers installed it after it was in the water? The only logical conclusion left is That this never capsule re-entered from space But Was CIA parachuted from a cargo plane.

Interestingly, according to René and the simplest explanation makes sense (it is a device placed on return) is unacceptable and "the only logical conclusion" is a complicated operation ultra-secret launch from a CIA plane , of which René offers no documentation or evidence. Besides the auction or antenna would be an obstacle fragile and bulky even when launched from an aircraft, so the conjecture of Rene really does not solve anything and does not justify.

René fails to specify the catalog number of the photograph in question, unnecessarily complicating the checks, but a search in public archives of NASA determines that it photo S65-61886, dated December 16, 1965 and related to ditching the Gemini 6 mission. A high-resolution version is available at Archive.org and at NasaImages .

In the description of this photograph, there is no mention of the auction, but states that it is an image taken after the landing, not during training ( "Navy divers assist Gemini 6 crew to open hatches after Landing - A water level view of Navy divers Assisting Gemini 6 Schirra and Stafford crewmembers to open hatches after landing in the Atlantic "). Indeed, the images of the training of other missions Gemini no way this antenna (S65-39907 , Gemini 5, S65-55562 , Gemini 8). NASA, in fact, explicitly states that it is a photograph on the return and landing at the end of the mission.

The rod or antenna is also visible in the photo S340/118 the same mission, that the show entirely and is presented here next. It can also see in the picture S340/100, S65-18645 S65-19229 and concerning the return of Gemini 3. In all these pictures he appreciates the length considerevole. Altre immagini del recupero della missione Gemini 6, come la S65-61824 , mostrano invece la capsula senza antenna; lo stesso vale per immagini del recupero di altre missioni ( S340/045 , Gemini 8; S340/111 , Gemini 10).

Durante la conferenza ho recuperato dal mio archivio portatile una delle fotografie citate dallo spettatore e ho risposto che l'asta era un'antenna radio retrattile, che veniva estratta dopo l'ammaraggio, e che sulla superficie esterna della capsula Gemini c'era infatti un solco conforme nel quale l'asta si inseriva a misura. Ma la mia risposta è stata imprecisa, per cui la correggo qui.

L'asta era sì un'antenna retrattile, and therefore did not need to withstand the thermal and aerodynamic re-entry, but not followed in the path accordingly. This is because the antenna for communications in high-frequency (HF whip antenna ), which was used as a radio beacon at sea ( recovery beacon ) and placed in a tubular casing, separated and offset from the groove. Its operation is described at the Case Western Reserve University (section of Gemini Reentry Program ) at Skyrocket.de and in detail in Project Gemini Familiarization Manual (section HF Whip Antennas ).

from these sources is che quest'antenna era composta da sei elementi retrattili che, quando erano estesi completamente, formavano un'asta lunga circa 13 piedi e 3 pollici (circa 4 metri) che pesava circa 9 libbre (4 kg). L'antenna veniva estratta dopo l'ammaraggio mediante un comando presente nella cabina.

Fonte: Project Gemini Familiarization Manual , SEDR 300, agosto 1966 (via Sven Grahn ).

La tesi di René è quindi sbagliata: l'antenna era retrattile eccome e rispondeva a frequenze non utilizzate nello spazio per la semplice ragione che non veniva utilizzata nello spazio. Inoltre the "defenders of the NASA" does not say at all that was installed by divers, for the simple reason that the same was already in the vehicle. The documentation is clear.

A copy of this antenna is kept at the Smithsonian Museum, which published a photo in the retracted configuration, shown below, and outlined the measures: 5 inches in diameter and 62 cm in length.

In the wake were instead housed in accordance with other antennas, for example shown here (S65-13244), along with other components: in particular, in this vein was placed in the rear bridle ( aft bridle strap ) of the main parachute.

Unlike the Mercury and Apollo capsules, in fact, the Gemini and Ammar down upright with the astronauts placed on their backs, but assumes a nearly horizontal attitude (inclined at about 35 °) with the astronauts in a sitting position, much like an aircraft configuration, due to the fact that the parachute was attached to two dams located at two points spaced along the axis of the vehicle. In the figure below, the front and rear bridle are designated by bridle strap forward and aft bridle strap .

Figure 31

of Project Gemini Technology and Operations - A Chronology , NASA SP-4002 (Part 1B).

This solution "aviation" is not the only feature that makes the vehicle more sophisticated Gemini, in some respects than the Apollo: in the original plans had envisaged the use of a 'wing Rogallo instead the parachute, so as to allow a controlled glide and even a landing on a runway, like the Shuttle, with a retractable undercarriage with wheels or skids. These plans came to the stage of a 1:1 scale prototype, shown in the picture below, but the idea was abandoned to reduce costs and simplify the vehicle.

Figure 57 of Project Gemini Technology and Operations - A Chronology , NASA SP-4002 (Part 2A).

There were also proposals to circumnavigate the Moon and even landing with a Gemini capsule and extend the vehicle to enable astronauts to carry nine together with 2,500 kg load in high orbit at 480 km (project "Big G" ). But these are other extraordinary stories that deserve to be told separately.