Word: astronautics
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...tether during a space walk, the astronaut suddenly seems to be in trouble. His command pilot orders him back aboard the spacecraft, but he does not respond. Something has happened to him, and obviously he must be recovered...
...problem could arise during any extravehicular activity, and the answer seems simple: haul in the tether. But in frictionless space, the free-floating astronaut is orbiting the spaceship as it circles the earth, and any attempt to pull him in would make him rotate around it so fast that he would be ultimately subjected to fatal G forces. He would also be moving at an uncontrollable speed when he finally reached-and crashed into-the spacecraft...
...capsule. Then well-publicized goofs marred the early phases of the program; it was almost more than Perfectionist Mac could bear when NASA cameras detected a loose nut and a crumpled cigarette package during a zero-gravity test of an early capsule. The problems were overcome so completely that Astronaut John Glenn, America's first man in orbit, popped from his Friendship 7 Mercury capsule and sent his regards to the manufacturer as "a very satisfied customer." Later, at the plant, Glenn told the teammates: "Your hearts were in this...
...missions precisely as planned and McDonnell collected a $25 million bonus. "McDonnell's engineers always seemed to be on top of the problem," says NASA Flight Director Chris Kraft. As often as not, Mr. Mac himself would turn up at Cape Kennedy for a 3 a.m. breakfast with departing astronaut crews. To help him recall who was who, he invariably carried a small black notebook crammed with the names of wives, children?and even their dogs. "Mr. Mac is an anachronism," says NASA's Paul Haney. "There's a measured cadence in working with him that's refreshing?the same...
...astronaut stranded in orbit could transfer to a small lifting body stowed aboard his disabled spacecraft. Detaching the space lifeboat (TIME, March 10), he could fire its retrorocket to drop out of orbit, then glide through the atmosphere to a convenient airport. Larger lifting bodies could ferry men and supplies to space stations and perform orbital missions themselves. The craft's ability to maneuver to an airport and land safely would eliminate the need for the costly 10,000-man recovery force that now must be deployed for each space mission...