Spacelog Mercury 6

This is Friendship Seven. That's a good question. I wish I knew, too. These errors have been off and on all during the flight. I have caged and recaged the gyros, caged and uncaged the gyros. I'm back in orbit attitude now but it is not, the attitude indicators are showing orbit attitude but it's not. By looking out at the horizon, I am about 20° right in roll and 20° too much on pitch down. I'm down to about probably 55° down in pitch by visual observation and about 20° right in roll. Yaw appears to be holding okay now. Over.

(ATS) Friendship Seven, ATS Cap Com.

Atlantic Ship, this is Friendship Seven. Over.

This is Friendship Seven, approaching sunset.

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Com Tech transmitting on HF UHF. Please acknowledge on HF. Over.

This is Friendship Seven recording. A lot of dirt on the windows from the retrofire and lot of stuff on here looks like, ah, we might have smashed some bugs even on the way up off the pad. Looks like blood on the outside of the window, maybe. It makes it real, very difficult to observe anything when they get around on the sun side.

Friendship Seven. The sun is going down again now. Coming off automatic in yaw, and yawing a little bit to the left to observe it.

Mark, the sun is down.

And can see little or nothing of zodiacal light at the moment.

This is Friendship Seven, flying with yaw handle pulled. Controlling on manual yaw.

The way the horizon looks is a very orange band. Just as the sun goes down and extends way off either side, probably 45° each side of the sun, comes up into a lighter yellow, then a very deep blue, then a very light blue, on up to the black of the sky.

Once again I can see lightning flashing under me, very clearly.

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Com Tech, transmitting on HF UHF. Please acknowledge on HF. Over.

Hello, Zanzibar Com Tech. Friendship Seven on HF. Do you receive me now. Over.

Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Cap Com reading you weak but garbled.

Roger. Understand reading me weak and garbled.

This is Friendship Seven. I took the capsule off of automatic in yaw only to go left to look at the sunset. It's back on automatic at present time in all three axes; I'm backing it up with manual. Over.

Roger, Friendship Seven, understand you're in automatic control in all three axes, backing up with manual. Is this affirmative. Over.

That is affirmative.

There's quite a big storm area under me. It must extend for, I see lightning flashes, as far, way off on the horizon to the right. I also have them almost directly under me here. They show up very brilliantly here on the dark side at night. They're just like firecrackers going off. Over.

Zanzibar, this is Friendship Seven. Did you get my fuels when I reported them? Over.

Repeat your last transmission. Over.

Roger. This is Friendship Seven. Fuel is 60-55 [percent], oxygen is 60-92 [percent], Amps are 22. Over.

This is Friendship Seven. All voltages are 25, or above. Over.

This is Friendship Seven at 3 plus 42. We should be just about over Johannesburg, I cannot see anything of southern Africa on this pass. Over.

Zanzibar Cap Com. Do you read? Over.

Roger, Zanzibar. I'm reading you weak but readable.

Zanzibar Cap Com, Friendship Seven on HF. Can see long streaky clouds down below as we, going off to my right up into sort of a general weather pattern. That's 3 plus 44.

This is Friendship Seven. An observation on control system operation: It appears that whenever I go off on manual, or fly-by-wire and maneuver for any lengthy period of time, that somehow we induce considerably, considerable errors into the gyro system. I come up with all kinds of attitudes. That time for instance, when I yawed around 180°, and held for a little while, and came back again, I had errors of 30° in roll, 35 [degrees] in yaw and plus 40 [degrees] in pitch.

This is Friendship Seven, going on manual pitch.

This is Friendship Seven. Several times I have felt that I had a partially stuck thruster or one that was just partly operating in pitch down and just then again I had a pitch up rate going and all at once I felt a down thrust and it pitched down on me. Again there, it repeated again that time, so I think I have a stuck pitch thruster occasionally.

Roger. Area 3 Echo is 04 plus 22 plus 12.

Roger. Area Hotel is 4 hours, 32 minutes, 37 seconds. Say it again; 4 hours, 32 minutes 37 seconds. Over.

Roger. 04 plus 32 plus 38. I have correction, plus 37; I have 38 set on my retrosequence because of error in my clock of 1 second. Over.

That is affirmative. We assume you have an error in your clock. Over.

One second error, that is affirm. Request you confirm with Cape that I have 04 plus 32 plus 38 as correct retrograde time. Over.

Roger. That's affirmative.

This is Friendship Seven. The ASCS is drifting again. I'm indicating 25° right in yaw. Over.

Roger, understand.

This is Friendship Seven. I have almost continuous cloud cover under me as far as I can see in every direction. Over.

Roger, understand.

Friendship Seven, this is Indian Cap Com. Surgeon would like to talk to you. Over.

Roger. This is Friendship Seven.

This is the surgeon here. Have you switched to secondary oxygen for any reason during this hop? Over.

Negative. I don't quite understand the decrease in secondary either unless it's the bottles are beginning to cool down, but they shouldn't cool that much.

We're reading 90 [percent] on the TM. How about you?

I am reading 90 [percent] also.

Somewhere about 65 [percent]. This is Indian Surgeon. Out.

Roger. This is Friendship Seven. This thing is slipping in and out of orientation mode and wasting fuel at present time. I'm just going to try and hold it on orbit attitude manually. Over. Or on fly-by-wire. Over.

Roger. Manually by fly-by-wire. Over.

Roger.

This is Friendship Seven. Checking different control modes on fly-by-wire. I have no low thrust to the right. Over.

Roger, understand no low thrust to the right.

Roger.

I do have low thrust in all other axes. Over.

Roger, understand.

This is Friendship Seven. Pitching up for star observation.

Roger. Report anything you see. Over.

Roger.

Friendship Seven, this is Indian Cap Com. Are you able to see anything? Over.

This is Friendship Seven. Affirmative. I have Orion right in the middle of the window at present time and makes a good one to hold attitude on. I have, I am using it as horizon reference at the moment.

Friendship Seven, this is Muchea Com Tech. How do you read? Over.

Hello, Muchea Com Tech. Loud and clear. Standby one. I'm right in the middle of operation here.

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, Muchea Com Tech. Do you read? Over.

Hello, Muchea Com Tech. Roger. Read you loud and clear. How me?

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, Muchea Com Tech. Do you read? Over.

Hello, Muchea Com Tech, Muchea Com Tech. Roger. Friendship Seven. Loud and clear. How me?

Over.

Roger. This is Friendship Seven.

Roger, Friendship Seven. I'm reading you 3 by 3 on HF. Over. Would you call again?

Roger, Friendship Seven, reading you loud and clear on HF. Over.

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, Muchea Com Tech, say again.

Roger, Muchea Com Tech. Friendship Seven. Loud and clear. How me?

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Muchea Com Tech. Do you read?

Roger, Muchea Com Tech, Friendship Seven. Read you loud and clear. How me?

Roger, Friendship Seven. You are 3 by 3. Go ahead to Cap Com.