Word: aldrin
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Window-Washer Technology. Careful preparation made the difference. Fitted out in a" Gemini pressure suit that made him neutrally buoyant in water and thus simulated weightlessness, Aldrin spent a total of a dozen hours underwater in a research pool in Baltimore (TIME, Sept. 30). Maneuvering around a submerged mock-up of Gemini 12, he rehearsed his assign ments, learning to pace himself properly...
...avoid a major problem of previous space walkers-the exhausting effort required to position and steady themselves in space-NASA scientists provided Aldrin with a number of new body restraints. Borrowing from window-washer technology, they fitted him with two harnesses that could be hooked to rings strategically placed around the spacecraft. In addition, he carried two flatiron-shaped handholds that had their bottoms covered with Velcro, an adhesive-like nylon material. When Aldrin slapped his handholds against patches of Velcro plastered on the skin of both Gemini and Agena, they stuck until he pulled them free, providing additional anchors...
With such aids, and by installing an 8-ft. telescoping handrail between Gemini and Agena while the crafts were docked, Aldrin was able to maintain his equilibrium. With frequent two-minute rests, he first moved forward to the Agena and secured its 100-ft. tether to Gemini's docking bar, an assignment that had proved exasperating and difficult for unanchored Gemini 11 Astronaut Richard Gordon...
...Aldrin's next assignment took him back to Gemini's adapter section, where NASA scientists had installed a small work panel used by astronauts to practice typical space repair jobs. Aldrin fastened and unfastened fluid connectors, tightened and loosened bolts, disconnected electrical wiring, and tested and discarded patches of Velcro. After moving forward again to work on a similar but smaller panel, he returned to Gemini's cabin, barely winded...
Better Photography. Though Aldrin had fewer troubles than earlier space walkers, Gemini 12 itself had more than its share of minor problems. One by one, during the flight, four of Gemini's 16 thrusters failed. Two of the craft's six fuel-cell stacks went dead, and excess water produced by the others threatened to flood the entire power system. To make room for the excess fuel-cell water, which is impure, the astronauts were asked to consume more than their planned ration of drinking water and ran short on the last day of the flight...