Spacelog Mercury 7

Roger, Indian Com Tech. Aurora Seven reading you weak but readable. Go ahead.

Aurora Seven, Aurora Seven. This is I.O.S. Com Tech on HF and UHF. How do you read? Over.

Hello, Indian Ship Cap Com. Aurora Seven. Loud and clear. How me?

Hello, Indian Cap Com, Indian Cap Com, Aurora Seven. How do you read?

Hello, Indian Cap Com, Indian Cap Com, Aurora Seven. How do you read?

At 00 34 28, I'm increasing the cabin water valve and the suit valve to 6 [degrees]. Steam vent temperature now reads 65 and 75 [degrees].

Mark African coastal passage, about 20 seconds ago.

I'm using the airglow filter at this time. Visor is coming open for a better look at that. Hello, Indian Cap Com, Aurora Seven. Do you read?

Station calling Aurora Seven. Say again.

Okay. That took me some time to aline my attitudes properly. Three more pictures with MIT film: 2, 3, directly into the sun at an elapsed time of 00 39 42.

The big back is going on the camera at this time. There was a period there when nothing was recorded because I was in VOX power off, instead of record. The big …

At 00 43 02, I think my gyros are properly alined.

What in the world happened to the periscope?

Oh, its' dark, that's what happened. It's facing a dark earth. Sunset F16 to F, okay; we'll start with F16. Up north, coming south. Try some at 250.

It's getting darker. Let me see. Muchea contact, sometime. Oh, look at that sun.

F11.

F5.6 That was those last four, were F3.8. It's quite dark. I didn't begin to get time to dark-adapt.

Photo lights are off. Cabin lights are going to red at this time. Oh, man, a wide, a beautiful, beautiful red like in John's pictures. Going to fly-by-wire.

It is a reflection. It is a reflection in the window. That's too bad.

I see at this point; I'm not sure I am recording on VOX record. I will go to transmit. I have Venus, now approaching the horizon.

It's about 30 degrees up. It's just coming into view. Bright and unblinking. I cannot—I can see some other stars down below Venus. Going back to ASCS than at this time.

Bright, bright blue horizon band as the sun gets lower and lower—the horizon band still glows. It looks like five times the width of the—the diameter of the sun. I'm at—now at 00 47 34 elapsed.

It's now nearly dark, and I can't believe I'm where I am.

Oh, dear, I've used too much fuel.

Well, I'm going to have to increase. Let's see, going to ASCS at this time.

My fuel reads 75-100 [percent] at this time. The window—is Venus occlude. No, that—that is not correct. Venus did not occlude. I'm getting out the equipment to measure Venus occlusion.

There is too much red light in the cockpit from the time correlation. Venus at above the—horizon.

Aurora Seven. This is Muchea Cap Com. How do you read?