Spacelog Mercury 7

My control mode is now manual; gyros are caged, and I will allow the capsule to drift for a little while.

Roger, and John suggests you try to look back, towards the darkness, at sunrise to see those particles.

Toward the darkness.

Roger. At sunrise, try to look toward the darkness.

Okay, I have done that, and—and—tell him no joy.

Roger.

Aurora Seven, are you in drifting flight?

That is Roger.

Roger.

I am looking down almost vertically. It's possible to distinguish, I believe, four separate cloud layers.

Understand.

Balloon—I'll maneuver enough to get the balloon out in trail so I can photograph its departure.

Roger.

I, incidently, have those little particles visible in the periscope at this time.

Roger. Understand the periscope.

Aurora Seven, Cap Com.

Roger. Go ahead.

We're still fairly happy with your fuel state now. Don't let—we'd like for you not to let either get down below 40 percent.

Roger. I'll try. I have balloon jettison on and off, and I can't get rid of it.

Understand that you can't get rid of the balloon.

That's right. It will not jettison.

Okay.

Aurora seven, Cap Com.

Go ahead, Cap Com.

Roger, I have these particles drifting aft again, but they do not parallel the line to the balloon exactly. They drift aft within an arc of maybe 120 to 130 degrees.

Roger.

Aurora Seven, Cap Com. Can you give us a comment on the zero g experiment?

Roger. At this moment, the fluid is all gathered around the standpipe; the standpipe appears to be full and the fluid outside the standpipe is about halfway up. There is a rather large meniscus. I'd say about 60° meniscus.

Aurora Seven, Cap Com. Repeat as much of your last message as you can.

Aurora Seven, Aurora Seven, this is Canary Cap Com on HF. Do you read? Over.

Hello, hello, Canary Cap Com, Aurora Seven. Reading you loud and clear; HF. Transmitting HF. How do you read? Over.

Aurora Seven, this is Canary Cap Com on HF. Do you read? Over.

Roger, Canary Cap Com. Reading you loud and clear; HF. How me? Over.

These pictures of the—small groups of closely knit clouds are south of Canary, third orbit.

This must be crossing [Intertropical Convergence Zone] (ITCZ). I have never seen weather quite like this.

This is Canary Cap Com on HF. Do you receive? Over.

Aurora Seven, this is Canary Cap Com. We had no transmissions from you. This is Canary Islands, signing out.

I have the Voasmeter out at this time.

Hello.

Hello, Canary Cap Com, Aurora Seven. Reading you loud and clear. How me?

Aurora Seven, this is Canary Cap Com. Do you read? Over.

Go ahead, Canary. Reading you loud and clear.

I am going—I am in the record only position now. I think the best answer to the autokinesis—is that there is none. I noticed none—and I tend to aline the horizontal with my head—it—a horizontal line under zero g is a line parallel to the line drawn between your eyes. I don't get autokinesis. I don't get—now wait a minute, maybe I'm beginning to.

I should remark that at 3 26 33, I have.in the sky, at any time, 10 particles. They no doubt appear to glow to me. They appeared to be little pieces of frost. However. some appear to be way, way far away. There are two—that look like they might be a 100 yards away. I haven't operated the thruster not for some time. Here are two in closer. Now a densiometer reading on these that are in close. Extinct at 5.5, the elapsed time is 3 27 39. I am unable to see any stars in the black sky at this time. However, these little snowflakes are clearly visible.