Heading: -1963
Author:
Title: Emergency Procedures for Pad Area Rescue / Mercury-Atlas Spacecraft-20
Place Published: Cape Canaveral, Florida?
Publisher:National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Date Published: 23116
Description:

80 pp. Original stiff wrappers, loose leaf pages with later elastic ties. No. 80 of an unspecified edition.

Rare NASA internal handbook (no copy listed in WorldCat) to prepare for "general types of major failures that could exist for combined vehicle-complex conditions during countdown and launch operations...to promote maximum safety for the astronaut with minimum hazards for the personnel supporting the rescue operations…rescue procedures for every remotely possible malfunction...largely dependent upon the response, skills and adaptability of individuals effecting the operation." Written before the next to last Mercury Atlas launch, divided into sections based on the amount of time the emergency occurs before launch – from two hours to 10 seconds, the ultimate desperate procedure being “if the abort command is given and the abort fails.”  With a list of the types of Blockhouse, Pad and Rescue Personnel involved, a map of emergency vehicle locations, and a chart of the Spacecraft Radio Network.

Far down the list of possible emergencies was, most fatefully, internal spacecraft fire – written four years before the Apollo 1 disaster that resulted in the death of three astronauts.

Owner’s name on front cover and slight wear; very good.