Gene Kranz’s bracket-bound Mission Control flight controller’s handbook that he used during the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission and the historic flight of Gordon Cooper’s Faith 7 spacecraft on May 15, 1963. The handbook, 9 x 11.5, is signed and mission-certified in black ink on the first page (tabbed “FCH-1”) and reads: “Spacecraft schematics from my console in Mercury Control for Gordon Cooper’s mission in Faith 7 – 5/15/63, Eugene F. Kranz, Asst. Flight Director.” Kranz has added handwritten notations in ink, graphite, and colored pencil throughout the handbook and its array of fold-out schematics, adding clarifications, adjusted revisions, readings, and directives. The table of contents page, marked as “Page A, FCH-1, Rev. A” and dated March 15, 1963, lists the numerous categories found in the handbook’s seven main sections, which are tabbed: “Section I: Electrical,” “Section II: Sequential,” “Section III: Communications,” “Section IV: ASCS [Automatic Stabilization and Control System] & RCS [Reaction Control System],” “Section V: Environmental,” “Section VI: Instrumentation,” and “Section VII: Miscellaneous.”
“Section IV: ASCS & RCS,” which regards the Automatic Stabilization and Control System, is of considerable interest given that the system failed during the mission’s 19th, 20th, and 21st orbits. The Faith 7 capsule was designed for fully automatic control, but with the ASCS suddenly down, Cooper relied on his understanding of star patterns as he took manual control of the tiny capsule and successfully estimated the correct pitch for re-entry into the atmosphere.
The handbook’s seven sections include the following categories and schematics:
1: DC Power Notes; DC Power Schematic; AC Power Notes; AC Power Schematic; Bus Summary; and Electrical Loads
2: Launch and Escape Sequential Notes; Normal Launch Sequential Schematic; Abort Before Tower Separation Sequential Schematic; Abort After Tower Separation Sequential Schematic; Retrograde Sequential Notes; Retrograde Sequential Schematic; .05g Sequential Notes; .05g Sequential Schematic; Recovery Sequential Notes; Recovery Sequential Schematic; Post Impact Sequential Notes; and Post Impact Sequential Schematic
3: Communications Notes; and Communications Schematic
4: Automatic Stabilization and Control Systems; (ASCS and RCS) Notes; Automatic Stabilization and Control Systems; and (ASCS and RCS) Schematic
5: Environmental Notes; and Environmental Schematic
6: Instrumentation Notes; and Instrumentation Schematic
7: Clock Notes; Clock Schematic; Miscellaneous Systems Notes; and Miscellaneous Systems Schematics. In fine condition, with one schematic detached, and some toning and wear to page edges. A remarkable and important document from the dusk of Project Mercury, well-used with ample visual appeal and handwritten annotations made by a legend of Mission Control and space exploration overall.
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