CAPCOM

Very good. Are you going to start your balloon test?

Scott Carpenter

The balloon is out. I don't see any reason for not leaving it on through the dark side, and I just saw a particle going by at about 2 or 3 feet per second.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand. According to flight plan, you're supposed to go to FBW about now, and he says you're on auto mode and I wondered if you plan to go through with this. Over.

Scott Carpenter

That is negative. I think that the fact that I'm low on fuel dictates that I stay on auto as long as the fuel consumption on automatic is not excessive. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, Aurora Seven. Congratulations on your trip so far and I'm glad everything has gone …

Scott Carpenter

Thank you very much.

Scott Carpenter

I now have the wide, blue horizon band. It looks to be, at this time Capsule elapsed 02 0700, to be about the diameter underneath the sun. It seems to be the same thickness underneath the sun as the sun's diameter. North and south it becomes less distinct and lighter. It extends up farther from the horizon.

CAPCOM

Roger, Aurora Seven. That's a hard one to pronounce, anything that we can do for you …

Scott Carpenter

Negative. I think everything is going quite well.

CAPCOM

Roger, We'll be waiting. Out.

Scott Carpenter

Roger. See you next time.

CAPCOM

Aurora Seven, this is Indian Ocean Ship. Over.

Scott Carpenter

Roger, Indian Cap Com. Loud and clear. How me?

CAPCOM

Roger. Loud and clear. We have had transmitter trouble on your previous run. We just got a message from the Cape . . . to conserve fuel. I monitored part of your transmission to Zanzibar and understand . . . the situation.

CAPCOM

Do you have retrosequence times for 2 Delta, 2 Echo and Golf?

Scott Carpenter

That is negative. I have the nominals.

CAPCOM

Roger. 2 Delta and 2 Echo are still nominal. Area Golf is 03 00 29, 03 00 29.

CAPCOM

Roger, Aurora Seven, I read you loud and clear. Do you have any comments for the . . . Ocean?

Scott Carpenter

That is Roger. I believe we may have some automatic mode difficulty. Let me cheek fly-by-wire a minute.

Scott Carpenter

All thrusters are okay.

Scott Carpenter

However, the gyros do not seem to be indicating properly.

Scott Carpenter

And that is not correct either. The gyros are . . . are okay; but on ASCS standby. It may be an orientation problem. I'll orient visually and . . . see if that will help out the ASCS problem.

CAPCOM

Aurora Seven from Indian Cap Com. Your blood pressure on your . . . fairly high and you are supposed to, if possible, give a blood pressure over Indian Ocean Ship.

Scott Carpenter

Roger. I've put blood pressure up on the air already. Over.

CAPCOM

Say again, Aurora.

Scott Carpenter

Blood pressure is on the air now.

Flight Surgeon

Blood pressure is coming through fine.

CAPCOM

Your blood pressure is coming through fine.

CAPCOM

Aurora Seven, this is Indian Cap Com. We have lost telemetry contact. How do you read me? Over.

Scott Carpenter

Roger. Still reading you okay.

CAPCOM

. . . report to Cape you have checked fly-by-wire and all thrusters are okay. Is there anything else?

Scott Carpenter

That is negative. Except this problem with steam vent temperature. I'm going—I'll open the visor a minute; that'll cool—it seems cooler with the visor open.

CAPCOM

Roger. Did you take xylose?

Scott Carpenter

That is negative. I will do so now.

CAPCOM

Aurora Seven, confirm you've checked fly-by-wire and all thrusters okay.

Scott Carpenter

Roger. Fly-by-wire is checked; all thrusters are okay.

CAPCOM

Aurora Seven, Indian Ocean Cap Com. I do not read your transmission.

Scott Carpenter

Roger. Indian Cap Com, Aurora Seven.

Scott Carpenter

Well, I have—I am in record only, and I am getting warm now.

Scott Carpenter

I'll turn it up and see what happens.

Scott Carpenter

I have gotten badly behind in the flight plan now.

Scott Carpenter

Okay, evaluating capsule stability at this time. The capsule is most stable.

Scott Carpenter

I seem able to put it at zero rates. All right, I will do that now. At capsule elapsed 02 17 32, I will zero out all rates.

Scott Carpenter

That's as close to zero as I can make it. At 02 17 49, my rates are zero and attitudes are zero plus, or at zero, minus 3, minus 48. Let those rest awhile, and I'll see what we can do about suit temperature.

Scott Carpenter

Cabin is rising. Suit temperature seems to be rising too. I'm going to let it go out until 02 25 00 to see if this is going to bring it down some.

Scott Carpenter

I don't need to exercise. I really don't feel I need the exercise. I would get too warm.

Scott Carpenter

We'll be getting to Muchea shortly.

Scott Carpenter

Have a slight pitch up rate at this time, at 02 19 13. I'll zero that out, now. Fly-by-wire—have a slight yaw left rate—I'll zero out now. Attitudes at this time are minus 30.

Scott Carpenter

Both busses are okay. All—let's see—number two battery is down to 22. One, is 24; three, is 24; standby one and two, are 24; isolated, is 27; main, is 23; main IBU, is 27. Two—two is now up. Main battery number two is up.

Scott Carpenter

I am over the dark side now. The moonrise has not occurred and although I still see the lighted area from the setting sun behind us.

Expand selection down Contract selection up

Spoken on May 24, 1962, 3 p.m. UTC (62 years, 5 months ago). Link to this transcript range is: Tweet

Scott Carpenter

Now, I do have the haze layer at this time. It seems to be brighter than—it's good to open the cabin, open the visor.

Scott Carpenter

The reticle now extincts at about 5.6.

Scott Carpenter

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

CAPCOM

Read you loud and clear also. What's your status?

Scott Carpenter

Roger. My status is good; control mode is fly-by-wire; gyros normal; maneuver off. Fuel is 45-6-70 [percent], that's 45-70 [percent], and oxygen is 84-100 [percent]. I have only one minor problem, and that is my inability to get the suit steam vent temperature down, Deke.

CAPCOM

Roger What's it running now?

Scott Carpenter

Well, I'm reading 70 [degrees]. I'm really a little at a loss as to how to get it down, my suit—-water valve is set now past the marks. This doesn't seem to being it down, and neither does putting it . . . negative. That's wrong. The cabin was past the marks. The suit temperature is at prelaunch value of about four. I'm going to go to a setting of plus 6 at this time and see if that will bring it down below 70 [degrees]. Over.

CAPCOM

Okay. Fine. We're indicating 84 [degrees] suit which is a bit high.

Scott Carpenter

Roger My gage shows 7, 76 [degrees] on the suit.

CAPCOM

Okay. Let me give you a couple of retrotimes here. You have a 2 Dog nominal; Gold is 03 . . . 29; Hotel 04 32 26.

Scott Carpenter

Roger Understand 26.

CAPCOM

We're including your clock is still one second slow.

CAPCOM

G.m.t. hack of 15 10 42—-mark.

Note

Editor's note: this is 02 25 25 in Capsule Elapsed Time

Scott Carpenter

Roger. I'm right on and so is the backup.

CAPCOM

Roger. Would you send us a blood pressure, please?

Scott Carpenter

Starting. Roger. Starting now.

CAPCOM

What mode of communications are you using at this time?

Scott Carpenter

I am on UHF high, Deke.

CAPCOM

Fine. Roger. Would you try using your mike button once instead of your VOX. See how this comes in.

Scott Carpenter

Roger Soon as I get through the blood pressure. I can do it now.

Scott Carpenter

This is using the push to talk. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. How now?

CAPCOM

I see no difference. They're identical.

Scott Carpenter

Roger: is the modulation pretty good?

Scott Carpenter

Capsule stability, Deke, is very, very, good. I've noticed that I can put in a 1-degree-per-second rate on the needle just by moving heads and arms,—my head and arms. Over.

CAPCOM

Very good, excellent. For your information, there will be no flares at Woomera on this pass, since the cloud cover won't allow you to see them anyway.

Scott Carpenter

Roger. I was unsuccessful last pass.

CAPCOM

Okay, I'm going to send you a Z cal at this time.

CAPCOM

Z cal is coming off.

CAPCOM

On with R cal.

Scott Carpenter

Blood pressure stop.

CAPCOM

Blood pressure stop. Okay, we're going to oscillate R cal a couple of times here in attempt to reset our temperature problem.