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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0223.PDF
LIGHT International, 8 February 1962 22 ndicators and controls for the ASCS automatic pilot, environmental ontrol and landing systems. There are altogether over 100 lights, "uses, switches and miscellaneous controls and displays. A 16mm camera is installed to the left of the astronaut's head to ihotograph the instrument-panel display throughout the flight. v pilot-observer camera is mounted in the main instrument panel md is also operated from launch until recovery. An Earth periscope is located approximately 2ft in front of the nilot and will provide a 360° view of the horizon. The pilot .an manually adjust for low or high magnification. On "low" he will have a view of the Earth of about 1,900 miles in diameter, while on "high" the field of view will be reduced to about 80 miles. \ltitude can be measured within ±10 n.m. Designed to support the astronaut pilot's body loads during all phases of flight and to protect him from the acceleration forces of iaunchand re-entry, the astronaut's couch is constructed of a crushable honeycomb material bonded to a glass-fibre shell and lined with rubber padding. Each of the seven Mercury astronauts has an individually contoured couch. The pilot restraint system consists of a shoulder and chest strap, same time transmitting a telemetered signal to the ground The Mercury barometric altimeter has a single-revolution indica tor with a range from sea level to 100,000ft. Its dial carries refer ence marks at 21,000ft and 10,000ft to indicate the deployment altitudes of the drogue and main parachutes. At the top right corner of the main panel are located environ mental displays, providing the astronaut with indications of cabin pressure, temperature, humidity, and quantity of oxygen remaining. Approximately 3,000 calories of food will be carried aboard the capsule, in the form of two tubes of a beef-and-vegetable paste. About 61b of water will be carried in two bottles each fitted with tubes, and in addition there will be a supply of quick-energy sugar tablets. A comprehensive survival package is carried, consisting of a life-raft, de-salting kit, shark repellent, dye markers, first-aid kit, distress signals, a signal mirror, portable radio, survival rations, matches, whistle and 10ft of nylon cord. The raft, made of Mylar and nylon and coloured international orange, is radar reflective and has three water-ballast buckets for flotation stability. LOCK PIN ATTITUDE REFERENCE ^BE W|ND0W |gpjj RATE AND ATTITUDE INDICATOR PERISCOPE TRIGGER CONTROL LOGIC <£,, VPITCH CONTROL ROLL LINKAGE YAW CONTROL LINKAGE ROLL CONTROL LINKAGE CONTROL TORQUE 8S>RATE GYROS rpRATE DAMPER BOX YAW II MANUAL RCS n, HORIZON a SCANNERS ^ATTITUDE GYROS AMPLIFIER - CALIBRATOR . ACCELERATION SWITCH AUTOMATIC RCS The Mercury astronaut uses this three-axis hand controller to roll, pitch or yaw his spacecraft Schematic diagram of the attitude control system arrangement in the Mercury spacecraft. As described in the text, any one of four systems can be used to control the hydrogen peroxide jets leg strap, crotch strap, lap belt and toe guards, and is designed to keep the astronaut in his couch during maximum deceleration. Cabin and astronaut are provided with a 100 per cent oxygen environment by the environmental control system for breathing, ventilation and pressurization during flight. This system is com pletely automatic but, in case of failure, emergency controls can be used. The system consists of two individual control circuits, for cabin and suit respectively, which will normally operate simultaneously for about 28 hours. Isolating the suit circuit from the cabin circuit is accomplished by the astronaut closing the faceplate on his helmet. Unless there is a failure in the cabin circuit causing loss of pressure, the pilot's pressure-suit will not be inflated. Throughout the flight the pilot's physical condition will be monitored. Respiration rate and depth, electrocardiogram and body temperature will be telemetered to flight surgeons on the ground. The astronaut can keep in touch with the ground stations by high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency radio, radar recovery beacons and, if necessary, a command receiver or a morse key. Three 3,000 watt-hour batteries and one 1,500 watt-hour battery are connected in parallel to provide power for the complete mission and a post-landing period of about 12 hours, and a standby back-up system of 1,500 watt-hour capacity is also provided. The spacecraft carries a timing device which has three major components: (1) a standard aircraft elapsed-time clock; (2) a "seconds from launch" digital indicator with a manual re-set; and (3) a re-settable timer and time-delay relay which will initiate the retro-rocket firing sequence. When the preset time has passed, the relay closes and actuates the retro-rocket fire signal, at the A small cardboard diagram of the MA-6 flight path showing position of recovery forces is contained within a bag suspended beneath the periscope in the spacecraft. On the reverse side of the map the pilot's view through the periscope from maximum altitude is shown. Last-minute information on cloud formations and other weather data will be inserted prior to launch. The spacecraft is equipped with a hatch secured by explosive bolts. The astronaut can jettison the hatch by pushing a plunger button inside the spacecraft or by pulling a cable, and the hatch may also be removed from outside by recovery teams. Above the astronaut's cabin, the cylindrical section contains the main and reserve parachute system which is based on three para chutes. The drogue parachute has a 6ft diameter conical ribbon-ty pe canopy, and is stowed in a protective bag in the drogue mortar tube on top of a lightweight sabot. The sabot functions as a piston to eject the parachute pack when a pyrotechnic charge is fired. Function of the drogue is to provide a backup stabilization device for the spacecraft, and to decelerate it to approximately 250ft/sec at the 10,000ft altitude at which the main parachute is deployed. After the main landing parachute is deployed the spacecraft's heat shield is released, extending the landing impact bag to form a pneumatic cushion. The air cushion is formed by a 4ft skirt of rubberized glass-fibre which connects the heat shield to the space craft body. Aids to location include radar chaff which is released together with the drogue parachute, an underwater charge which is dropped when the main parachute is deployed, a Sarah UHF beacon and sea-marker dye.
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