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

328
First Steps into Space: Projects Mercury and Gemini
the past has Jim had to help me with the hatch-closing device. This wasn’t the case
this time. As soon as I had gotten up there to operate the gain lever, I couldn’t
operate the canvas handle anymore. I couldn’t apply any torque or pull there
because --.
[4-49]
McDivitt
Not only that, but you were actually pushing yourself up off the seat. And I’m not
sure that even the first time that we had the hatch closed far enough. It looked
like it was closed far enough. As a matter of fact, later on when we got it down to
that position it looked like it was closed fine. It really wasn’t closed far enough
because you never did get those dogs out until we - .
White
No, the dogs came out, Jim, the first time I got torque on it. Those dogs started
out, then it closed.
McDivitt
Did they? Okay.
White
Yes. I think we had it down far enough.
McDivitt
It looked to me like we did, and I couldn’t understand why they weren’t coming
out. I knew that the ratchet wasn’t en gaged, but I got the impression that it was
from watching your hand when you came down one time. You had the ratchet
engaged and the little tit pin that sticks in the door that doesn’t allow things to
come closed wasn’t there.
White
No, the ratchet wasn’t engaged. There was nothing on the handle at all, It was
free, completely free. The situation hadn’t changed at all. Another thing I’d
like to point out now, too, was the chest pack was in the way of bringing the
handle down to a full-crank position. And I wanted definitely to do this because
you can interrupt the sequence of the dogs if you don’t fully stroke the handle
each time.
White
We went back up so that I could actually see and observe the levers. This was
the time Jim said to throw the visor out because we probably wouldn’t open the
hatch again, once we get it closed. And this seemed like very good sound advice
to me. The only thing I was a little questionable about was that at this time I had
the inkling in my mind that we might spend quite a bit of time getting this hatch
closed, and I might want the visor when I was back out again. But I thought the
judgment to throw the visor out was best, and I threw it out -- opened the door
about a foot and a half and threw the visor out. The next time we came back
down, I was still having the little bit of problem with the cramps, but not nearly
the problem I was having with the gain lever.