Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in ... - The Black Vault

24 First Steps into Space: Projects Mercury and Gemini
and missile, of astronaut and capsule. Technology, or hardware, and
techniques, or procedures—sometimes called “software” by hardware
engineers—both had to be developed. But because they were equally
novel, reliability had to be built into the new tools before dexterity could
be acquired in their use. 76
From the beginning, therefore, Project Mercury managers accepted the integral
role of astronauts in controlling the spacecraft.
Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., Chief Flight Director for Mercury, made the case
that many in NASA wanted a “go slow” approach to astronaut integration because
“at the beginning, the capabilities of Man were not known, so the systems had
to be designed to function automatically. But with the addition of Man to the
loop, this philosophy changed 180 degrees since primary success of the mission
depended on man backing up automatic equipment that could fail.” 77 Kraft and
his colleagues came to realize that the astronauts served an exceptionally useful
purpose for enhancing the chances of success with Project Mercury. As an
example, when the astronauts first visited the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
facilities in May 1959 they reviewed progress of the capsule they would fly with
a sense for the human factors that would be necessary to make it work. They
came up with several requests for alterations—including an observation window,
manual reentry thruster controls, and an escape hatch with explosive bolts—and
based on their recommendations NASA and McDonnell engineers went to work
to overcome their concerns. 78
One incident concerning the astronauts’ desire for changes to the Mercury
capsule has entered the public consciousness as a representation of conflicts
between the fliers and the engineers. One key alteration the astronauts pressed
for was the addition of an observation window for navigational purposes. In the
feature film, The Right Stuff, this incident is depicted as a nasty confrontation that
required the astronauts to threaten to appeal directly to the public through the
media for their changes to be adopted. Only in the face of perceived embarrassment
would the NASA and McDonnell engineers back down. 79 This adversarial
approach to astronaut involvement made for sparks on the screen, but it bore little
resemblance to what actually took place. The design engineers working on the
spacecraft were exceptionally concerned about weight, and glass thick enough to
76. Swenson et al., This New Ocean, p. 167.
77. Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., “A Review of Knowledge Acquired from the first Manned Satellite
Program,” MSC fact sheet No. 206, p. 1, Mercury Files, Special Collections, University of Houston-
Clear Lake, Texas.
78. Minutes, “Mock-Up Review,” 12–14 May 1959, with enclosure addressed to C. H. Zimmerman
and George M. Low, 23 June 1959. Folder 18674, NASA Historical Reference Collection, NASA History
Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.
79. The Right Stuff (Los Angeles: Warner Bros., 1983). Feature film directed by Philip Kaufman
and produced by Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, screenplay by Chartoff. A cast of unknown
actors at the time depicted the develop ment of aeronautics and astronautics from 1947 through the
time of the Mercury program. Scott Glenn, cast as Alan Shepard, played the astronaut perfectly, and
Ed Harris as John Glenn captured the essence of being an astronaut. A box office hit, the film also
won an Academy Award for special effects.