Commentary: The most crucial objective of Gemini XII was to crack the code of Extravehicular Activity (E.V.A.)—spacewalking. Ed White had floated around with ease during Gemini IV, but efforts at accomplishing useful work had been futile & lead to dangerously overheated astronauts on Gemini IX-A, Gemini X, & Gemini XI. Gemini XII Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin pioneered neutral buoyancy simulation, training in a swimming pool ahead of the flight: The resistance of the water simulated closely the resistance astronauts encountered not from the vacuum of space but from the pressurized air of their own life-sustaining spacesuits. In the five & a half decades since Gemini XII, neutral buoyancy simulation has remained a staple of E.V.A. training.
No comments:
Post a Comment