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

326
First Steps into Space: Projects Mercury and Gemini
White
Both of the muscles in the back of my thighs balled up in a ball, and I thought,
“Well, I have to go back out and let them straighten up.” So I straightened my
legs out.
McDivitt
We had that problem before in the zero-g airplane.
White
This is the time Jim said, “Hey while you’re up, why don’t you throw the visor out?”
I hesitated a minute because I thought, “Well, you son-of-a-buck, you might have
problems here. You might have to be spending an orbit or so trying to get in.”
McDivitt
No, as a matter of fact, I don’t think that is when you did throw it out. I think you
threw it out when you came back down and you started to close the hatch. You
were having trouble. It wouldn’t close, and you said, “I’m going to have to take
this visor off so that I can see these things.” And I said, “Listen, if we get this thing
closed we’re not going to open it again. Throw the visor away.”
White
That’s right. That was when I got the cramps, went back up again, and then I came
back down again, and said, “Hey, I can’t see them. I’m going to have to take the
visor off.”
McDivitt
No, it was a little bit later than that. You had already started to try to close it, and
you were having difficulty closing it.
White
Okay. Let’s get the sequence out. We came down in. I got up to straighten my legs
a little but, went back up, then I came back down --.
McDivitt
--with all your equipment on --.
White
I hadn’t held the handle yet, had I?
McDivitt
No. You hadn’t done a thing with it.
White
So I got back down into position --.
McDivitt
--with all your equipment on and pulled the hatch down.
White
The hatch was down far enough to close at this time.