How Did Gemini 6A Survive a Launch Abort?

[@walterstarkey5980]

Ami, I was a Gemini mechanical tech, and for that launch, I was one of five Martin Company emergency crew members who went out to safe the systems on that abort. When we arrived at the launch pad, I, as the mechanical rep, verified that the area was clear to raise the erector. However, we had two problems that had to be cleared up before we could raise the erector. One was two fires from the two engine sub-assembly fuel actuation valve overboard drain lines which when installed were too long and were hanging below the engine thrust chambers. When the engines ignited, the blast tore the drain lines away. The other problem was the real shut-down device. It really wasn't Mary-1 the so called (the tail plug), it was the Oxidizer Gas Generator. Somehow a plastic cap-plug got into the Gas Generator and restricted the flow of oxidizer through the pump discharge line which excited the Pressure Oxidizer Discharge sensor to send a signal for engine shut-down. Shirra and Stafford had to sit up there for almost 90 minutes until the area was safe.

[@thebonesaw..4634]

Walter, I'm glad you're here. I had a question specific to this incident and you may be able to answer it more quickly than anyone. Did the launch clock start? As much as I like the story of the astronauts avoiding an ejection because of Wally Schirra's butt, I have a strong suspicion that the real reason they didn't eject is because the launch clock never started. That clock only starts once liftoff is achieved and, if it didn't in this instance, both astronauts would use that as a better indicator that they weren't falling back towards the pad after the engine shutdown.

[@timothybrummer8476]

Look on You tube, Schirra stated that the onboard clock HAD started. Apparently the umbilical disconnect is what starts the clock. Normally that would be right after liftoff, but in this case the umbilical plug was loose and fell out from engine vibration.

[@honeydew5022]

Walter Starkey why doesn't Amy reply to you?

[@Shell1850gb]

Were right. Found this - Engineers spent all night combing through the first stage, but failed to find any cause for the thrust decay. Eventually however, one technician identified the problem, which was a plastic dust cover inside the gas generator that had been carelessly left inside when the booster was assembled months earlier at the Martin-Marietta plant, blocking the flow of oxidizer.

[@joesgarage618]

She doesn't really exist. Its a fembot.

[@markpierce5811]

John Young described the Gemini ejection seats as " possible death to escape certain death". He also witnessed an ejection seat test where the hatch didn't open first and the seat plowed right through it. His verdict? " One hell of a headache; but a short one!" John Young is a funny guy....

[@benjamins5571]

RIP John Young

[@StringerNews1]

To this day ejection seats are exceedingly dangerous, and far from a guarantee of complete safety. I can understand why the astronauts, whose ranks included lots of former test pilots and military aviators, would be shy about using something that could kill them. Much better to wait until some other thing is certainly trying to kill you!

[@twistedyogert]

Good thing they wore helmets. :P

[@farpointgamingdirect]

Could you imagine Young with Schirra on the same flight? Both were big jokers!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

That's why those guys were chosen, they had the right stuff.

[@3seven5seven1nine9]

#Planet51

[@Mars-l9b]

They should make a movie about it and call it The Right Stuff! ;)

[@ComputerLearning0]

...and THEN some.

[@kerbal1851]

No That Was The Mercury Program Astronauts

[@PatrickNelsonMusic]

An ejection on the pad was always considered extremely dangerous, they likely would have suffered some serious injuries...not to mention destroying the spacecraft in the process. Amazing in retrospect that the Mercury and Apollo escape towers, nor the Gemini ejection seats were ever actually necessary. Another fascinating escape system incident (that I'm sure you're familiar with) is when they were testing the Apollo Launch Escape System on a Little Joe booster and the booster accidentally disintegrated. Before the command from the ground was given for the tower jet to ignite, the system sensed the booster breaking apart, triggering the system to rescue the test article command module. It all worked perfectly in an actual failure. Best case scenario!

[@Shell1850gb]

The atmosphere in the Gemini capsule was 100% oxygen. This could have been bad.

[@mcwolfus8824]

+Ron samson It was 'bad', for Apollo 1.

[@MrCrystalcranium]

There was lots of concern among the astronaut corps about the Gemini abort system. Yes, the 100% oxygen atmosphere soaking into their spacesuits for hours prior to launch would have made an interesting display when the rocket motors in the ejection seats ignited. Many thought it was akin to committing suicide to avoid being killed. There were serious questions as to whether the ejection seats, as designed, would have cleared the predicted hypergolic fireball expected in a vehicle failure on the pad. And what about aborting into the slipstream of a rocket going 4000 mph at an altitude not quite sufficient to provide adequate time to utilize the capsule as the abort vehicle? Yes...there were a lot of fingers crossed during Gemini.

[@calliarcale]

Fast fact: there is only one time in the entire history of human spaceflight when a launch escape system fired and saved a crew. What would have become Soyuz T-10 ended in a pad abort when the launch vehicle caught fire before launch. The umbilicals to the spacecraft quickly burned through, and ground controllers could not send the abort command, even as they watched the rocket burning and dreaded the moment when the propellant tanks would explode. The crew on board did not have the ability to command a pad abort. So they used a telephone to call the ground tracking station downrange, and asked them to radio the abort command. The escape tower rocket ("SAS" in Russian lingo) fired, pulling the capsule and crew to safety, moments before the Soyuz rocket exploded. The crew experienced a peak load of somewhere between 14 and 17 Gs, but survived and went on to fly multiple missions afterwards.

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Yep, Ho Lam Yiu! That snippet is from a six part series called "Moon Machines", which can be watched here on KZbin. It is probably the best documentary series ever made on the Apollo missions. It is broken up into 6 parts: - The Command Module - The Saturn V - The Lunar Module - The Navigation Computer - The Lunar Rover - The Space Suit All of them are extremely well done.

[@theJellyjoker]

"It would have been a painful ride" Better painful than dead.

[@k1productions87]

Jeffery Liggett That depends, because the Gemini capsule is a mere 10 stories from the ground. The chances of a safe parachute deployment are very slim, and there is a good chance that if they ejected, they would have been horribly injured or even killed.

[@wahoo236]

Jeffery Liggett I remember reading a story about John Young after watching a test of the Gemini ejection seats fail spectacularly. The seats drilled themselves into the hatches because the hatches failed to release. "A hell of a headache, but a short one." he said. The idea of the ejection seats were to risk possible death to escape certain death.

[@MrBioniclefan1]

+Jeffery Liggett Yeah I know right.

[@markpierce5811]

+K1productions Actually, they were designed primarily for a pad-abort. They would send the pilot outward AND upward - to gain a bit of altitude for chute deployment. That actually was the least of the problems with those seats.

[@k1productions87]

Mark Pierce Well, as far as I am aware, there isn't any visual record of Gemini's ejection seats tested. If there is though, I would love a link.

[@GGE47]

I was lucky enough to have seen all of this as it happened.That shutdown really shook me up.I had never seen that before and was wondering if maybe they set Gemini 6 back up too soon.Three days later I nervously watched the Gemini 6 launch as it continually rose higher and higher.What a relief when it finally was in orbit.Then I kept waiting for the rendezvous with Gemini 7 for nearly 6 hours and both flights were a complete success. "We did it" as one of the guys at the Hawaii tracking station said.

[@riphaven]

Goose pulled the D-ring and look what happened to him, good call guys.

[@tpsu129]

riphaven Goose saved Maverick. Had he not pulled it then they'd both be dead.

[@riphaven]

i think at that moment goose wasn't thinking about saving maverick but maybe his own skin, and if he knew the out come im sure he would of wait a few more seconds to see if that had better results. RIP goose, your not forgotten:-(

[@maxwellmondo4857]

Indeed. Goose was always one of my favorites.

[@davidsoom6383]

Goose was innocent, if it wasn't for Goose, Maverick would have gone in too. Now Maverick will be back fighting with the drones. Topgun, Maverick (the movie)

[@timothybarney7257]

I prefer to call him Gilbert...

[@curtc4918]

Wow Amy. Excellent. You have to be the only person of your generation that even knows what Gemini was. I'm impressed!

[@pirobot668beta]

Any pilot worth his salt is going to 'feel' everything his craft is doing. Or in this case, feel something that didn't happen! Rocket-pogo is a very bad thing.

[@MrMike77471]

As a lifelong space buff who grew up in the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo era, I do feel the need to point out one small, but significant error. The flights of Gemini 7 & 6A occurred in December of 1965, NOT 1966 as stated in the narration.

[@gregg4164]

That has been addressed in other comments

[@richardroddenberry2079]

I was there. We had drove up from Patrick AFB in our Air Force pick up truck. We parked as close as posible, way too close. Anyway, we were perched on our truck when with a loud boom it shut down. At the time we thought it was exploding. We baled off the truck and was in the ditch beside the road faster thank you could blink your eye. After our heart rate came back to normal we could see VI was still there. Days Later, after they got it ready we went back out and saw it lift off so it went up to fly with Gemini VII.

[@GGE47]

I believe it still would have shut down on October 25th had the Agena successfully reached orbit.They found another problem as they were fixing the electrical plug.A cap covering something that should have been removed at the plant in Maryland would have shut down the engines when the computer detected it possibly after liftoff. That would have really been a dangerous situation.This made for a much more interesting flight. We did what the Russians did twice without planning it that way originally.We had two manned spacecraft in orbit at the same time only they came much closer than the Russians could.Three miles was as close as they could get and that was when they launched the second spacecraft as close as they could to the first one.It could not be maneuvered once it was launched and they drifted apart. Schirra saved the mission by not pulling that D ring.Those astronauts had nerves of steel as Neil Armstrong and David Scott showed on Gemini 8 after docking.

[@GGE47]

+Garland English Space Documentary Lost in Space, not to be confused with the tv series or the movie "Lost in Space."

[@DanSchlossberg1]

I believe that actual reason for the shut down was that a dust cover was left in place and not removed as it should have been. The cable that shook loose is supposed to separate at launch which was why the mission clock started which would have called for Schirra to pull the abort ring.

[@benjamins5571]

I think I read somewhere that Frank Borman always took his hand off the abort device, indicating he'd rather die than risk a false abort. I wouldn't be surprised if they all felt that way, so it didn't seem too unbelievable to me that they didn't abort. Thanks for the great vids!

[@rickd248]

When the program first began all the Astronauts were selected from well seasoned pilots or test pilots. They had the "instinct" to make a call like this one and ride it out. There are still people like that flying. One of the most recent managed to do the impossible and set an Airbus A320 down in the Hudson River with no loss of life.

[@brennencox516]

I think 2009 is rather recent :( To a 3 year old, 1 year is 33% of their life, while to a 100 year old, 1 year is but 1% of their life

[@daveh3997]

Geologically speaking, it is just the blink of an eye

[@Dan-ql6cc]

surprising hes made it this far really

[@twiff3rino28]

@@JohnDoe-zw6to and the A320 is from 1988.

[@WizzRacing]

As I remember it, Wally Schirra being his second flight told it like it was. He said I didn't pull it because I had a 1-3 chance of making it out alive. He ended up saving the mission as it was refueled on the pad and the problem fixed. Had he pulled that handle they would have to take the rocket back and replace the capsule and lost all that data needed. As the Gemini program proof tested all the concepts of earth orbit rendezvous.

[@Zoomer30]

The loose plug probably saved the flight. One of the engines in it's short 1 second burn showed an odd thrust build up issue. A dust cover had been left inside the engine and caused poor propellant flow. Had the rocket lifted off, the faltering engine would have ended the mission with an ejection.

[@edfou5]

"A rendezvous without docking, the first of its kind..." Is it possible that for the first and only time I've caught you in a small inaccuracy? Didn't Vostok 3 and 4 rendezvous in 1962? There, I got ya... NO WAIT! I'M WRONG! Nikolayev and Popovich only came within four miles of each other. Ah well, I'm happy to be mistaken and bow down to your quite exceptional knowledge and skills! Oh if only I'd met a young woman in my very long life who'd shared my passion and addiction to both the US and Soviet programs! Ah well, another time, another place as they say. Greetings from Thailand and by the way I just ordered your book, can't wait. Keep up the good work!

[@dsny7333]

Vostoks 3 & 4 obtained their "rendezvous" though pre-launch positioning and not by in-flight maneuvering as Geminis 6 & 7 did,only no one knew that back then and the USSR got credit for achieving the first space rendezvous

[@GGE47]

@@dsny7333 When Wally Schirra heard that at a press conference after the Gemini 6 flight, it nearly sent him back into orbit. He laughed and said how much they had to do to achieve a real rendezvous at 3 miles apart. I believe they set the record straight and was given credit for the first rendezvous in space. Not even Vostoks 5 and 6 could do that in June of 1963 launched two days apart..

[@knobdikker]

As you correctly stated, they did not rendezvous and dock. Gemini 6 altered its orbit to rendezvous with Gemini 7. By the way this is some very complicated physics. Guess who figured that physics out??? None other than the second man who walked on the moon--Buzz Aldrin!!! It was his doctorial dissertation at MIT!!! A lot of people don't realize that to catch another space craft, you have to slow down i.e shed energy from the orbit, drop into a lower orbit, and that cuts the distance you have to make up considerably!!! Then you fire the rocket, add energy to the orbit and rise up under the space craft you are trying to catch. It's like racing on an oval track. Two cars one on the inside apron and one one the outside wall. The car on the apron will catch up to the one on the outside because it has less distance to go!

[@joeyskunk]

The astronauts were steely-eyed missile men, indeed!

[@johnsciara9418]

Are you a Turtle?

[@stevefowler1787]

I remember that as a kid (my Dad was a Radar Guidance Engineer with GE out at the cape)...the technicians and engineers were very impressed that Wally didn't screw the pooch....those early astronauts truly had the right stuff.

[@erictaylor5462]

I likely would have pulled the eject lever, but then I am not a highly skilled and super cool test pilot. I can't say what I would have done if I had their level of training.

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

Is it just me or is her microphone peaking?

[@Cydonia2020]

As I have heard, Gemini VI A did get off the pad on the first launch attempt. It was calculated to have traveled about 5/8” upward. Now, this was not enough distance to separate the umbilicals or cause the ship to become unstable and fall over, but it can safely be said (l think) that it was certainly was one of the shortest manned space missions ever, in terms of distance traveled. Fortunately, the rocket was found to be undamaged and flew three days later.

[@RocKiteman]

Thanks for posting this, Amy. I was 'wondering' why the Gemini's DID NOT have "launch escape towers" installed. I had previously read about the ejection seats, but DID NOT realize those were the PRIMARY escape system on all the Gemini missions....

[@jpsned]

Just think, if the Agena for Gemini 6 had been successful, we would not have had the Gemini 6 and 7 rendezvous, and not have those beautiful photos and movies of the two craft looking at each other. We take them for granted now, but otherwise we would not know what a Gemini craft looks like in space.

[@8311XHT]

Weren't there release mechanisms that would let the rocket lift off when full power was reached ? Maybe with explosive bolts? With indicator light? Seems to me this would be a better way to determine that launch has happened other than the seat of the pants way.

[@Danny-dr3gn]

Out of all the Apollo astronauts Jim lovell is my favourite If you have Apollo 13 on DVD or blu-Ray I recommend you watch the DVD commentary with Jim and his wife it so good

[@ATINKERER]

I remember the day that happened. The news guy said that an employee working on the rocket forgot to take a pipe cap off something before he left work. Yeah. Even then, at eight years old, I found the explanation hard to swallow. Bye the way, the Gemini/Titan launches were, for me, the best looking of all the launches that NASA has ever made. It was like watching a perfect marble column rising into the sky on two pillars of fire.

[@stan.rarick8556]

"The news guy said...". First reason to distrust (Not in the 'fake news' way, but because they rarely understand or research real reasons. I always suspend belief until I can verify with official sources)

[@bloggerpillai]

Schirra's steely nerve became the stuff of the legends. If it were me, my copilot probably would have pulled the D ring soon afterwards because of the smell of shit inside the cabin.

[@MattHamiltonFilms]

Wow I love your hair Amy! Your very beautiful!

[@RCAvhstape]

I'm pretty sure that had they ejected as the vehicle fell back to the pad they wouldn't have been able to clear the fireball of a loaded launch vehicle explosion. The first few space shuttle flights also had ejection seats and it was later determined that had the seats ever been used the astronauts would've been killed by the plume of the SRBs. Ejections seats just don't provide enough protection in launch vehicle accidents. At least a capsule gives you a fighting chance to avoid being barbecued.

[@ghostbirdofprey]

It should also be noted that it was unfeasible to put ejection seats on the middeck where most of the astronauts sat during launch, so it was decided to deactivate them once there were actually more than just the crew in the cockpit since being whisked away to safety while your comrades are left to die would be rather shitty.

[@kornami8678]

I know what I would have felt in the seat of my pants if I was there.

[@martin_in_the_alps]

When the pilot asks Mission Control if they started, he's not actually asking them. These are/were pilots in command. They felt it and said: "Hey, we didn't lift, did you get that?" Just in a more polite way. No need to eject.

[@pauulthefair]

Well Gemini 6a was sorta snafu. Oh and can you do something on the Black Arrow rockets????

[@ricardohectorgrumberg9807]

Buenas tardes. Le quería solicitar algo para que lo explica pueda ser entendido por todos y no sólo por personas de habla inglesa. Y es que por ejemplo, en mi caso, yo hablo sólo en español. Por eso le quería pedir por favor si es tan amable, un pie en inglés de lo que dice, como si fuera para sordos, y luego uno (el que quiere) lo transcribe en un traductor y lo convierte al español. A parte, por lo menos en mi caso, puedo entender el inglés escrito pero muy poco del hablado. Good afternoon. We wanted to ask for something that explains it can be understood by all and not just for English speakers. And it is that for example, in my case, I speak only Spanish. That's why I wanted to ask please if you please, one foot in English what he says, as if he were deaf, and then one (who wants to) transcribes a translator and converts it into Spanish. Besides, at least in my case, I can understand written English but very little spoken.

[@donwood9410]

I know the Space Shuttle was not as "vintage" as Mercury, Gemini or Apollo, but there were were several (four?) launch pad aborts where the Space Shuttle Main Engines started and subsequently shutdown before the solid rocket motors were ignited.

[@jaydavis9005]

Wally's coolness under pressure at that point really demonstrated the advantage of having man in the cockpit rather than everything being automatic. Can't replace a pilot's instincts and gut.

[@PRR5406]

A major concern of the Gemini abort was whether the Gemini doors would blow away at all, or in time to allow the ejection seats to pass unobstructed. John Young, who rode with Gus Grissom on Gemini 3, said of such a failure, "It would be a bad headache, but a quick one".

[@sce2aux464]

Wally Schirra being Wally.

[@thunderloong]

I'd have known. There wouldn't have been vomit in my helmet.

[@don312000]

Actually, Gemini 6 isn't the only launch to be called off with crew on-board--Gemini 9 had the same type of an Atlas/Agena failure, and also had a scrub the day the "MacGyver"-ed second docking target was launched!

[@normanwhite6677]

I've not seen your complete list, so you might have already covered this; how about a story on the first space walk and the difficulty of getting back into the capsule? Also, I'd love to see something on each of the Mercury flights, the objectives and experiments planned and how well each astronaut did against them. Thanks for these great videos! I loved the Mercury and Gemini programs.

[@PaulAtreidesMuadDib]

That demonstrates how Cool under pressure those early Astronauts were because the rest of us would have pulled the ring. LOL

[@lilee45]

Apollo 12 almost had to abort due to a lightning strike.

[@MichaelClark-uw7ex]

No kick in the pants, no launch, good call by Lovell. Armstrong may have had nerves of steel but in an emergency I would rather have been with Lovell.

[@knobdikker]

Uh...Lovell wasn't on Gemini 6..he was already in orbit on Gemini 7....

[@johnc4876]

Amy, Future episode suggestion. I know that Armstrong and Aldrin slept on the floor of the Eagle on the moon but were there hammocks on later LM's?

[@jpsned]

Yes, there were. I know that Apollo 14 had them.

[@MELawrence]

Lol I would have pull more than the D-ring hell I would have jumped for it.

[@millicentdogrago6072]

you do a great job. I watched many of these launches when i was a very young kid. Used to build a Gemini 'capsule' in the basement with my friend and we went through many launches. Brings back a lot of memories. I dont' think a lot of kids these days really realize what happened with the early space program.

[@kornami8678]

Amy, you do a fantastic job especially for someone who wasn't around when it all happened.

[@StuReedy]

I never could have ridden that out. I am NOT a steely-eyed missile-man!

[@NarinSoft]

เข้า Orbit ดวงจันทร์ ใครเป็นคนเขียนโปรแกรม

[@alexabadi7458]

Do you want to test your English ?If you're able to follow all the interesting things she is talking about, then your English is good ! (I'm French, and she does talk fast !):o)

[@millicentdogrago6072]

+Alex Abadi Yeah,, believe me,, she speaks fast enough that even if English is your native language, she's rapid fire.!!! Nice though. She does a good job.

[@StressKind]

.75 speed is a tad too slow :) but hey, that saves bandwidth

[@brennencox516]

It was just annoying to hear Jimminy instead of gem-in-eye

[@egdod3750]

Jimminy was the pronunciation that NASA used at the time

[@brennencox516]

I got that... but it was still annoying

[@MichaelRandazzophotoguy]

To me the amazing thing was neither one pulled the ring. I am sure they needed a change of underwear though.

[@apollosaturn5]

The ejection seats were tested with a capsule full of nitrogen. However, on a actual launch the capsule, as well as the astronaut's pressure suits, were soaked with pure oxygen. I can't imagine how it would had ended if they had ejected. They would have had a rocket engine firing in a pure oxygen environment and probably their suits would had caught fire.

[@davidcaldwell4586]

Is the exhaust from the Titan II rocket poisonous?

[@billinct860]

Yes.

[@NarwahlGaming]

Only if you inhale it, touch it, ingest it, look at it funny or say it's name in the mirror three times.

[@brennencox516]

but not as deadly as an exploding rocket

[@danielkorladis7869]

Yes, very.

[@daveh3997]

Yep. www.airgas.com/msds/001041.pdf www.fishersci.com/shop/msdsproxy?productName=AC116320100&productDescription=UNSYM-DIMETHYLHYDRAZINE%252C+10ML&catNo=AC116320100&vendorId=VN00032119&storeId=10652

[@Oldag75]

Excellent narrative. It's uncertain that folks today understand how iffy -- how dangerous -- the US space program was. I was fortunate to be a kid in the 1960s and follow our unfolding space program, watching all of the launches on TV (black-and-white). Consider, for example, getting into your Honda CRV to go to work today, and knowing that just a few model editions ago, Honda CRVs had exploded when drivers turned the ignition keys.

[@nashpeleuses]

Gemini also used Pure Oxygen. Oxygen and Ejection seats that had a flame coming out? As Wally Schirra put it: "Had they used the ejection seats, you wouldn't have seen two astronauts, rather two roman candles."

[@michaeldrago6999]

Wally Schirra NJIT New Jersey astronaut with balls of steel He knew not to pull the eject handle Only astronaut to fly Mercury Gemini and Apollo He also saved Gus Grissom’s reputation by proving that Gus did not prematurely blow the hatch on his Mercury flight A true American hero Stafford was eternally grateful

[@dmoore7519]

On a NASA produced video about the Gemini 6 & 7, it showed a bright yellow liquid pouring out of the top of the capsule when pulled out of the water. The capsule was being placed on a floating dock next to the rescue ship. Was this a dye design to make the capsule visible from the air?

[@rthefish]

Balls of Steel. All of the early astronauts had them. Training, discipline, but most of all, balls of steel. C'mon America, do it again. Put a man on the moon, then onto Mars. Greetings from Down Under.

[@dingo8babym20]

My brother and I walked down to WBAP( they had color TVs there) whenever there was a launch - Gemini AND Mercury. I remember this one especially

[@bookemdanno5596]

Apollo era? It was the Gemini era. It’s literally called Gemini 6. As opposed to all those Apollo missions. It’s not a difficult concept. Nobody calls the entire time from Mercury to Apollo “the Apollo era”. Nobody but you.

[@USWaterRockets]

Hi Amy, what about the April 25, 1961 unmanned test flight that was terminated by the RSO after 43.3 seconds due to failure of the launch vehicle? The Escape Tower pulled the Mercury capsule away and it parachuted safely down.

[@AmyShiraTeitel]

USWaterRockets Are you referring to the unmanned MA-3 flight? The roll program failed to start and the range safety office did shut it down, which sent the spacecraft flying and it was recovered. I think there's something to be said for the development of the first generation abort system!

[@don312000]

Amy Shira Teitel And let's not forget the (also-unmanned) Mercury-Redstone 1, which had the exact same malfunction that Gemini 6A had--NASA had deliberately deactivated the launch abort system, so when the onboard computer sensed engine shutdown, it jettisoned the escape tower and deployed the parachutes, inspiring Alan Shepard to sarcastically say "Gee, the only thing we launched today was the escape tower."

[@outblastt]

Ejecting would have wrecked there bodys and ruined there carers as astronauts until they fully recovered. They knew this and thats why they didnt eject.

[@PelenTan]

Hal: We have lifted off. Dave: *looks out window at the un-moving tower stanchions* Um... Hal... I don't think we're moving... Hal: Trust me Dave. We're flying. Everything is ok...

[@michaelcox436]

I came late to your channel, I wish I had known about it years ago. Outstanding. BUT I finish every one wishing for more detail, for the full story. I think you should revisit these short ones and flesh them out a bit. And talk slower please. :)

[@skyprop]

But as you and I are closer in age, to me this is AN ENGINE SHUTDOWN...Also like in Gemini you can hear the fuel valves struggling to close! (I Still can't paste link) Reference: "NASA SPACE SHUTTLE EMERGENCY ON LAUNCH PAD"

[@lesnyk255]

I'm sure that if I had Schirra's balls of brass I would not have yanked that D-ring. However, with the balls I actually have I'd've been outta there in a heartbeat!

[@Ralphgtx280]

I like I am saying it right is how it was called on the radio

[@Raz.C]

I have a vitally important question, now that you bring it all up; Why do you pronounce it "gemmy-knee" instead of "jemma-nye"? Hearing it repeatedly mispronounced fills me with "enn-why" (that's possibly _too_ obscure. The reference for the end-joke is 'ennui')

[@MrJamesbowen]

Just ordered your book 'Breaking the Chains of Gravity'.

[@AmyShiraTeitel]

James Bowen Thanks! I'll be posting more about it soon, too, to (hopefully) get you and everyone excited!

[@Patriotgal1]

Nice video. As a pilot- I will say that NO pilot wants to eject! I can only assume it would be 1000X harder to eject (scrub) a space launch! As for me- If I dinna ha my family with me- hell, I'll take the chance. Not gonna live forever, anyway.

[@glenwoodriverresidentsgrou136]

I watched the GT6A launch attempt as a kid in real time and held my breath when the engines shut down wondering if we were going to have a vanguard moment. I remember hearing ground ask Gemini seven, which was overhead at the time, if they had seen the attempted launch. They replied that yes, they had seen it lite up and seen it shut down. Oddly, I read in Borman‘s book years later that he had not seen Gemini six light up and shut down, and I’ve never been able to reconcile these two different versions of events. I have since read that had the rocket lifted off with that thrust decay. it would not have had enough thrust to reach orbit And would’ve probably reentered somewhere over West Africa in the atlas mountains. The main chutes are set to deploy at 10,000 feet, which would not have worked very well in the atlas mountains, which are 12,000 14,000 feet high.

[@skyprop]

Amy As you have already talked about the titan launch noises.....How about the Engine shutdown noises: (Why can I not be able to post a youtube video?????) Well if you listen to those noises there are a lot more trying to stiop thing than there were to start things on that Gemini Launch (Gemini 6) It's harder to shut things off once you start them(Amy Remember that :) ) you can still hear the whimpers and squealing of the shutdown 10 seconds AFTER cuttoff.

[@Bill23799]

Houston.....the seat of my pants says we have a problem. Hi Amy, are you the cutie sitting on the Saturn V in the bottom right corner?

[@garymussell6543]

I was 18 when this happened and I remember Cronkite being confused for a few moments. Long silence. Then his astronaut sidekick said what had just happened and Walter picked it up from there. But he (and everyone else) was a deer in the headlights. Considering how many rockets had exploded on the launch pad over the years, all of our hearts stopped during that dead TV air, I tell you. Nice commentary but you didn't convey the momentary panic and drama enough.

[@mvglackin]

I've seen a video showing a test of the ejection seats from a Gemini capsule. That particular test did not go very well. The command pilot's door opened just fine and the seat and the dummy came out. The pilot (dummy) didn't fair so well. The door didn't open completely causing the dummy to hit his head on the door before being ejected. OUCH!!!

[@mikejhorn]

Met Wally Schirra in 1997. I mentioned that I was a 9-year-old boy watching that aborted launch in my, pajamas and that I believed he truly was a man with steel b*lls and ice water in his veins. He gave his characteristic wide grin and unrestrained laugh. Truly a Great Guy!

[@CaribSurfKing1]

Had the rocket gotten 1cm/any vertical movement off the ground, a whole different launch program becomes active and the auto shut off would not have kicked in ( because that as you said, that would be instant flop/topple death ) and they would have launched, probably just fine! So, there is safety built into the sequencing steps

[@8091pinewood]

I don't know if Wally Shirra had been a test pilot, but if he had been, it wouldn't have surprised me at all Those boys had a VERY well calibrated " Seat of the pants" gauge !!!

[@JohnMorley1]

Would they really have had any chance of being clear of the rocket exhaust if they had ejected after ignitiion? I honestly can't even guess either way. The steam at the bottom of the rockets does seem to cover a big area.

[@dawnzephyr]

Ok, interesting side question. Calling it Gemini 6A would imply there was a 6B. Was that a planned mission that was cancelled, or was the Agena target vehicle the 6B part of it?

[@justitas3392]

good video. i was wondering about why the launch was aborted. saw the video when i was nerding in the library as usual (one of my suggestions because i watch a lot of nasa videos haha).. but i was too busy/lazy to google it but thankfully today youtube suggested this video and now i know. and to answer your question, i'd have probably panicked and ejected hahahaha. but i think it would have been a reasonable decision. launch failure usually results in explosions, especially if there is partial lift off. the astronauts (me) may not be able to tell if there was lift off or not so it might be a good idea to eject. TLDR: thanks for the video haha.

[@kornami8678]

Neil Armstrong had to eject from the flying bedstead lunar lander practice contraption when it went haywire. He was lucky. He only bit his tongue.

[@spenner3529]

After soaking in a pure oxygen environment for a lengthy period, Schirra and Young would have burned like Roman candles in their ejection seats. Both astronauts were fully aware of this.

[@pfrenczliable]

Was the Ejection Seat System a 0/0 on the Gemini Capsule??? I don't think so because If the had ejected on the pad on the ground they would have been pushed out horizontally away and would the stacked rocket's hight and it would not be enough for parachutes to deploy?

[@wrightmf]

I know the history of this launch abort, I think your presentation is great because it adds perspective from a 20-something rather than decades old footage or lecture by some old guy. However, I didn't specifically know about the connector and potential of it becoming loose seconds after a liftoff. Shudder to think of a manned Gemini/Titan ending like first launch of Vanguard. Also good mention about ejection seats. They will save your life but the ride will be painful (Schirra and Stafford could have ended up with bad backs preventing future spaceflights which both commanded notable Apollo missions). I remember watching the abort where engines fire up then shutdown (my first impression is something is getting backed up like a clogged drain pipe and the whole thing is about to explode). Which this is why only ***certain*** people can become astronauts, those who are smart but not impulsive, have fast reactions but think things through. And most of all not freak out when things go bad.

[@hazor777]

IT'S PRONOUNCED "GEMIN EYE" !!!!!! Tha fuck...?

[@tedball3138]

It is valued opinion from many space nerds a Gemini ejection would have been fatal for both astronauts. A successful ejection was never accomplished.

[@angelogubiani9966]

You're a wonderful woman talking about wonderful machines, but please talk a little bit more slowly, so even foreign people like me can understand better. :)

[@MajesticSkywhale]

I can't tell which one of us is saying Gemini wrong I've always said Gem-in-eye

[@v12tommy]

That was probably one of the reasons NASA went with test pilots rather than scientists for most of the early missions. They would be very analytical for things like that. Think outside the box, rather than do everything directly by the book.

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

Actually, it was 3.2 seconds, not a split second, and one of the Titan's engines was already failing before the cables came undone - even if they had remained attached, the thrust decay would have triggered an automatic shutdown anyway within a second or so, and it still would have aborted before the launch clamps came undone at 3.2 seconds.

[@thomasr.bartonjd7815]

I can't remember if you have covered this but I recall one Apollo mission where I think Alan Bean remarked in an understated fashion that he was concerned about the vibration in the capsule as they both vibrated and shook hard. Am I remembering wrong or did any Apollo crew in their candid moments ever admit or say they came close to a launch abort due to perceived and actual vibration? Was the Pogo effect ever experienced on a launch of a manned Apollo? and what ever happened to those space birdies or whatever one Apollo crew saw out the command module near the Moon or in orbit ? Thanks for all the many and varied videos. Cheers.

[@jayrod9979]

I do love how mission control said something like "Way to stay cool Wally" after the abort, as in glad you didn't eject.

[@NarinSoft]

จรวดทำจากอะไร ทำไมคน 20 คนดึงถึงขยับได้ Apollo

[@MrJamesbowen]

What was emergency exit strategy on the Space Shuttle? Was ejectors seats ever considered for the shuttle? Could the astronauts of Challenger ever survive if they were somehow ejected and parachuted back to earth? From what I know the explosion never killed the astronauts but knocking them unconscious. The Flight Deck of the shuttle broke away from the rest of the shuttle and fell back to earth killing the crew on impact.

[@Chris.Christophoros]

James Bowen I don't know about STS but Buran was planned to be equipped with К-36РБ ejection seats. The were funtional up to Mach 3,5 and altitude of 35km (114 000 feet). I think they also had a mockup of Buran-class space shuttle cockpit for testing: www.buran-energia.com/bourane-buran/bourane-secu-sieges.php

[@Chris.Christophoros]

James Bowen To quote Wikipedia article about Space Shuttle abort modes: " Modified Lockheed SR-71 ejection seats were installed on the first four shuttle flights (all two-man missions aboard Columbia) and removed afterwards. Ejection seats were not further developed for the shuttle for several reasons: Very difficult to eject seven crew members when three or four were on the middeck (roughly the center of the forward fuselage), surrounded by substantial vehicle structure.Limited ejection envelope. Ejection seats only work up to about 3,400 miles per hour (3,000 kn; 5,500 km/h) and 130,000 feet (39,624 m). That constituted a very limited portion of the shuttle's operating envelope, about the first 100 seconds of the 510 seconds powered ascent.No help during Columbia-type reentry accident. Ejecting during an atmospheric reentry accident would have been fatal due to the high temperatures and wind blast at high Mach speeds.Astronauts were skeptical of the ejector seats' usefulness. " en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_abort_modes#Ejection_escape_systems

[@mwidick]

Watch "Proud Conquest" on KZbin. It covers Gemini 6-7 in a vintage NASA Documentary. During the first launch sequence look at the man they are zooming in on. It was my proud DAD. Our last name "WIDICK" is easily read on his headband. Worked his entire career with NASA Mercury through the Shuttle. 1957-1995. Known as Fritz Widick he always talked about how amazing this mission became.

[@vrendus522]

Technical notes, if a closer to the ground or in atmospheric bailout would have had to be made, the propellant or explosive charge beneath the astronauts ejection seat would have had to throw the astronaut well clear of the spacecraft quickly.You do not want to be strapped to a chair as the rocket booster below you passes by venting very hot exhaust gases all over you, possibly cooking your body.

[@cripplingdepression8889]

Another reason not to trigger the ejection seats was Oxygen, since they were soaked in a 100% Oxygen atmosphere in the capsule, using the ejection seats would've most likely set the astronauts on fire upon ejection, although the air speed may just extinguish the fire and the space suits were fire retardant