Daily Archives: September 12, 2024

12 September 1966, 14:42:26.546 UTC

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Gemini XI lifts off from Launch Complex 19 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, (Great Images of NASA, GPN-2000-001020)

12 September 1966: At 14:42:26.546 UTC (9:42:26 a.m., Eastern Standard Time), Gemini XI was launched by a Titan II GLV from Launch Complex 19, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. On board were NASA astronauts Charles (“Pete”) Conrad, Jr., Command pilot, on his second space flight; and Richard Francis Gordon, Jr., Pilot.

Richard Francis Gordon, Jr., Pilot, and Charles (“Pete”) Conrad Jr., Command Pilot, Gemini XI. (NASA S65-58504)

Earlier that morning, at 13:05:01.725 UTC (8:05:01 EST), a Gemini Agena Target Vehicle, GATV 5006, had been launched by an Atlas Agena D rocket from Launch Complex 14 and placed in a near circular orbit. Its perigee was 156.43 nautical miles (289.70 kilometers) and apogee, 165.82 nautical miles (307.10 kilometers). It completed an orbit in 1 hour, 30 minutes, 33.6 seconds.

Agena Target Vehicle 11 is launched by an Atlas Agena D from Launch Complex 14, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. (NASA S66-50784)

Gemini XI made a direct first orbit rendezvous with the Agena Target Vehicle. Five maneuvers were required to match orbits, and rendezvous occurred at 11:07 a.m., and docking at 11:16 a.m. Each astronaut practiced two docking exercises. At 2:14:14 p.m., a maneuver placed the combined spacecraft into a 178.02 mile (154.70 nautical mile/286.50 kilometer) × 189.08 mile (164.31 nautical mile/304.30 kilometer)  orbit with a period of 1 hour, 30 minutes, 25.2 seconds.

At 9:51 a.m.,13 September, Gordon exited the Gemini capsule to begin a Extra Vehicluar Activity (“EVA”). He recovered a micrometeorite detector and was to detach one end of a 30 meter (98.43 feet) tether from the Agena and attach it to the Gemini. The effort proved exhausting and Gordon’s space suit life support system was unable to control the heat. Perspiration fogged Gordon’s faceplate and obscured his vision. He stopped to rest. Conrad ordered him to return to the Gemini, which he did at 10:12 a.m.

On 14 September at 2:12:41 EST, the Agena engine was fired to raise the combined vehicles into a 853.8 mile (741.9 nautical mile/1,374.10 kilometer) × 180.01 mile (156.43 nautical mile/289.70 kilometer) elliptical orbit. The orbital period increased to 101.52 minutes. After two orbits, the Agena engine was fired again to lower the spacecraft back down to a 178.02 mile × 178.02 mile (154.70 nautical mile/286.50 kilometer) × 189.08 (164.31 nautical mile/304.30 kilometer) orbit.

Dick Gordon standing in the open hatch of Gemini XI. (NASA S66-54653)

Gordon opened his hatch to begin a “standup” EVA at 7:49 a.m., 14 September. He took photographs and conducted various experiments. This EVA period lasted 2 hours, 8 minutes.

The Gemini Agena Target Vehicle photographed by Dick Gordon from Gemini XI. The tether connecting the two spacecraft is visible. (NASA)

The two spacecraft separated and Gemini XI moved to the end of the tether. Conrad began a slow rotation around the Agena, keeping the tether taut. The circular motion created “artificial gravity.” After about three hours, the tether was released. The spacecraft moved apart, and another rendezvous was performed.

Gemini XI’s retrorockets were fired at 8:24:03 a.m. EST, 15 September, and reentry began. It splashed down in the western Atlantic Ocean at N. 24.25, W. 70.00, at 8:59:35 EST, just 3.04 miles (4.9 kilometers) from the target point. Gemini XI had completed 44 orbits. Total duration of the mission was 2 days, 23 hours, 17 minutes, 9 seconds. The recovery vessel was the Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship USS Guam (LPH-9).

USS Guam (LPH-9), February 1965. (U.S. Navy)

GATV 11 decayed 30 September 1966.

Artist’s concept of Gemini spacecraft, 3 January 1962. (NASA-S-65-893)

The two-man Gemini spacecraft was built by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri, the same company that built the earlier Mercury space capsule. The spacecraft consisted of a reentry module and an adapter section. It had an overall length of 19 feet (5.791 meters) and a diameter of 10 feet (3.048 meters) at the base of the adapter section. The reentry module was 11 feet (3.353 meters) long with a diameter of 7.5 feet (2.347 meters). The weight of the Gemini varied from ship to ship.

Titan II GLV, (NASA Gemini V Mission Report, Figure 3.1-1, at Page 3–11)

The Titan II GLV was a “man-rated” variant of the Martin SM-68B intercontinental ballistic missile. It was assembled at Martin’s Middle River, Maryland plant so as not to interfere with the production of the ICBM at Denver, Colorado. Twelve GLVs were ordered by the Air Force for the Gemini Program.

The Titan II GLV was a two-stage, liquid-fueled rocket. The first stage was 63 feet (19.202 meters) long with a diameter of 10 feet (3.048 meters). The second stage was 27 feet (8.230 meters) long, with the same diameter. The 1st stage was powered by an Aerojet Engineering Corporation LR-87-7 engine which combined two combustion chambers and exhaust nozzles with a single turbopump unit. The engine was fueled by a hypergolic combination of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide. Ignition occurred spontaneously as the two components were combined in the combustion chambers. The LR-87-7 produced 430,000 pounds of thrust. It was not throttled and could not be shut down and restarted. The 2nd stage used an Aerojet LR-91 engine which produced 100,000 pounds of thrust.

© 2024, Bryan R. Swopes

12 September 1962

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President John F. Kennedy at Rice University Stadium, Houston, Texas, 12 September 1962. (Cecil Stoughton, White House/John F. Kennedy Library)

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. . . .”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Thirty-Fifth President of the United States of America, in a speech at Rice University, Houston, Texas, 12 September 1962.

And so, 2,500 days later. . .

Apollo 11/Saturn V launches from Pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 13:32:00.06 UTC, 16 July 1969. Destination: Mare Tranquillitatis, The Moon. (NASA)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

12 September 1934

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Gloster SS.37 G7, prototype Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster G.37, prototype of the Gloster Gladiator Mk.I (Gloster Aircraft Co., Ltd.)

12 September 1934: Hawker Aircraft Company test pilot Flying Officer Phillip Edward Gerald Sayer made the first flight of the Gloster G.37, a prototype fighter for the Royal Air Force, designed to reach a speed of 250 miles per hour (402 kilometers per hour) while armed with four machine guns. The flight took place at Gloster’s private airfield at Brockworth, Gloucestershire.

The Gladiator was designed by Gloster’s chief designer, Henry Philip Folland.

The Gladiator was a single-place, single-engine, single-bay biplane, with fixed landing gear. The airplane was primarily of metal construction, though the aft fuselage, wings and control surfaces were fabric covered.

The production Gladiator Mk.I was 27 feet, 5 inches (8.357 meters) long with a wingspan of 32 feet, 3 inches (9.830 meters) and overall height of 11 feet, 9 inches (3.581 meters). It had an empty weight of 3,217 pounds (1,459 kilograms) and gross weight of 4,594 pounds (2,084 kilograms).

Gloster SS.37 prototype, right profile
Gloster G.37 prototype, right profile

The G.37 was equipped with a left-hand tractor, air-cooled, supercharged, 1,519.083 cubic-inch-displacement (24.893 liters) Bristol Mercury IV-S2 nine cylinder radial engine. With a compression ratio of 5.3:1, the IV-S2 was rated at  505 horsepower at 2,250 r.p.m., and 540 h.p. at 2,600 r.p.m., both at 13,000 feet (3,962 meters). It developed a maximum 560 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at 16,000 feet (4,877 meters). The engine had a take-off power rating of 530 horsepower at 2,250 r.p.m., at Sea Level (3-minute limit). The IV-S2 drove a two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller through a 0.655:1 gear reduction. This engine weighed 920 pounds (417 kilograms).

The G.37 was repowered with a Bristol Mercury VI-S engine, which had a 6:0:1 compression ratio and a 0.5:1 gear reduction ratio. This engine produced a maximum of 636 horsepower at 2,750 r.p.m. at 15,500 feet.

The prototype was armed with two synchronized, air-cooled Vickers .303-caliber machine guns, firing forward through the propeller arc, and two .303-caliber Lewis guns mounted under the bottom wing.

With the upgraded engine and armament, the G.37 reached 242 miles per hour (389 kilometers per hour).

The Gloster Gladiator Mk.I with an enclosed cockpit and a Bristol Mercury IX engine had a maximum speed of 257 miles per hour (414 kilometers) per hour) at 14,600 feet (4,450 meters).

This production Gloster Gladiator Mk.I, K6131, shows the cockpit enclosure. (This airplane, the second production Gladiator Mk.I, was damaged beyond repair when it ran out of fuel near RAF Church Fenton, 26 March 1938.) (Royal Air Force)
Gloster Gladiator Mk.I L8032. (SDASM)

The Gladiator Mk.I entered service with the Royal Air Force in February 1937. It was the last biplane fighter to do so, and was the first fighter with an enclosed cockpit. Beginning with No. 72 Squadron, eight fighter squadrons were equipped with the type, though by the beginning of World War II, these were being phased out by more modern airplanes like the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire.

A total of 737 Gloster Gladiators, Mk.I and Mk.II, were built. In addition to the Royal Air Force, there were operated by several other countries in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Prototype Gloster Gladiator in flight, now marked K5200.
Prototype Gloster Gladiator G.37 in flight, now marked K5200. A .303-caliber Lewis machine gun is visible under the right wing. (Royal Air Force)
Phillip E.G. Sayer, O.B.E. (Flight)

Phillip Edward Gerald Sayer was born at Colchester, England, 2 February 1905. He was the second of three children of Edward James Sayer, a retired British Army officer and Ethel Jane Hellyar Sayer.

Sayer was granted a short service commission in the Royal Air Force as a Pilot Officer on probation, 30 June 1924. His rank was confirmed 23 May 1925. He was promoted to Flying Officer 30 March 1926. Flying Officer Sayer was transferred to the R.A.F. Reserve, 2 March 1929.

In 1930, Gerry Sayer joined Hawker Aircraft Company as a test pilot. When Hawker took over Gloster Aircraft Co., Ltd. in November 1934, he was appointed Chief Test Pilot of Gloster.

Flight Lieutenant Sayer completed his service and relinquished his commission, 2 March 1937. He was permitted to retain his rank.

On 15 May 1941, Sayer made the first flight of the Gloster-Whittle E.28/39, a prototype jet fighter.

Chief Test Pilot Phillip Edward Gerald Sayer, Esq., was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Years Honours list, 30 December 1941.

Gerry Sayer was flying a Hawker Typhoon from RAF Acklington, 22 October 1942, to the Druridge Bay gunnery range. He never returned.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes