BELOW FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT ARE FILES 1-7 OF ESCAPE from MERCURY.
“So with their high, thin cries the ghosts gathered now, and Hermes the Healer led them on, down the dank moldering paths, past the Ocean’s streams they went, past the White Rock and the Sun’s Western Gates, and past the Land of Dreams….”
The Odyssey 24:10-14
PART I: COUNTDOWN
FILE 1
FILE 2
FILE 3
FILE 4
FILE 5
FILE 6
FILE 7
September 9, 1966
DynaSoar Incident Report (1)
US Department of Defense, Division of Psychiatric Research
Alameda Naval Air Station, Alameda, California
[Audio transcript]
[….]
[Dr. Aristides:] Let me guess. You want to hear about Vandenberg.
[Interviewer:] Yes, please.
[Dr. Aristides:] Twenty-two people have already asked me that. What time is it, anyway?
[Interviewer:] I’m sorry, doctor. I know this is difficult—
[Dr. Aristides:] Twenty-two people before you. All asking the same question. All taking notes, like you. Why don’t you ask them?
[Interviewer:] Because I’d like to hear it from you.
[Dr. Aristides:] How’s he doing?
[Interviewer:] I’m not allowed to tell you that.
[Dr. Aristides:] And yet, you want me to tell you what happened. Again.
[Interviewer:] Yes, please.
[Dr. Aristides:] I suppose I don’t have much choice. Okay. I’ll tell you exactly what I’ve told your twenty-two colleagues. I was sent to Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg to make a special assessment of emergency medical readiness. I am often asked to perform time-sensitive tasks like this for the Pentagon, for reasons that rise above the concerns of my rank. I was nearing the end of my evaluation, which included a careful inspection of the medical equipment aboard the DynaSoar he used.
[Interviewer:] You were in the ship itself?
[Dr. Aristides:] Yes, for about twenty minutes. Other technicians and mechanics were also present, performing routine maintenance. To be honest, I prefer to do my work when things are calm and quiet. Nighttime is best, but that wasn’t an option here. I only had access to the craft for a brief window of time.
[Interviewer:] What time was that?
[Dr. Aristides:] 12:20 to 12:40.
[Interviewer:] And you noticed no problems, nothing missing, nothing out of the ordinary?
[Dr. Aristides:] I can only speak about the medical equipment, but I found all conditions in the ship to be nominal.
[Interviewer:] And then…
[Dr. Aristides:] And then, it isn’t calm and quiet anymore. Just as I finish my evaluation, the base receives notice of an unscheduled mission, due to launch at 13:00. The mechanics fly into action. They’re still going at it hard and fast when a caravan of military and civilian vehicles races up to the launch pad and skids to a stop. Out comes a group of men and women in various uniforms and combat outfits. Not typical military personnel, I see that kind all the time. This is a different breed. Something feral about them. Cocky as hell. One of them strides up to the DynaSoar like he owns it, climbs the launch tower, gets inside, and closes the hatch behind him. No one says a word the whole time. I assume he’s the leader, although several other people in the group look like him, so it’s hard to tell for sure. Now, I’ve been around a few high-security operations in my time, I know my best plan here is to turn around and mind my own business. So that’s what I do. I quietly walk away, and return to my trailer to make some phone calls.
[Interviewer:] You say the ship launched at 13:00?
[Dr. Aristides:] Exactly. The DynaSoar can land like a regular aircraft, but the take-off is vertical, using a Titan IIIC rocket for a disposable launch vehicle. Vandenberg has a squadron of DynaSoars, several of which are always kept at launch-on-warning status, ready to go when needed. The one he used was painted with distinctive red and yellow designs, I don’t know why. When it blasted off, the reverberations were so strong they knocked the clock off my desk. At 13:00 hours.
[Interviewer:] And then what happened?
[Dr. Aristides:] Like I said, I made some phone calls.
[Interviewer:] You’re sure about that?
[Dr. Aristides:] Yes.
[Interviewer:] The base operator says no calls came in or out of your trailer during that time.
[Dr. Aristides:] Okay. I must have done some paperwork, then.
[Interviewer:] Paperwork?
[Dr. Aristides:] (Indecipherable)
[Interviewer:] Doctor?
[Dr. Aristides:] What?
[Interviewer:] Do you know what year it is?
[Dr. Aristides:] 1969.
[Interviewer:] You’re sure.
[Dr. Aristides:] Of course I’m sure. What year do you think it is?
[Interviewer:] What happened next, doctor? After the DynaSoar took off?
[Dr. Aristides:] After the shock of the take-off—my trailer rattled like a snare drum—I had to pause and re-compose myself for a moment. I suppose…. Hmm. The next thing I remember clearly was a siren ringing across the base, and that was about an hour later. The pilot seemed to have lost control of the ship. The radar guys couldn’t keep up as he kept vanishing and reappearing in different positions, skipping in and out of the atmosphere. At some point I felt a deep vibration growing in my chest, like the heaviest bass note you’ve ever heard. Then the DynaSoar screamed in for a landing, fast and smart. I ran out to the strip and reached the craft as they were lifting him out. He was unconscious, but alive. Apparently, the landing was perfectly executed, despite having pushed the craft far beyond the hypersonic into…. I don’t know…. some kind of inter-metamorphic emergence….
[Interviewer:] Doctor? Excuse me, Doctor, I’m over here. Can you tell me what happened next?
[Dr. Aristides:] As the senior medical officer onsite, I rode with him to the ER at the base hospital.
[Interviewer:] That’s when he spoke to you.
[Dr. Aristides:] He suddenly opened his eyes, pulled me close, and whispered in my ear. Then he let go and closed his eyes again. He was unconscious and unresponsive for the remainder of the trip to the ER.
[Interviewer:] What did he say?
[Dr. Aristides:] He said I’ve won five bucks if I have his kind of dishwasher pack.
[Interviewer:] Seriously, Doctor. What did he say to you?
[Dr. Aristides:] As I’ve explained to your twenty-two colleagues, I can’t tell you that. Doctor-patient confidentiality.
[Interviewer:] You aren’t really his doctor, though.
[Dr. Aristides:] During those few minutes in the back of the ambulance, I was.
[Interviewer:] It would really help our investigation if you would let us know what he told you.
[Dr. Aristides:] It would really be much easier if you just asked him yourself.
[Interviewer:] That’s not possible.
[Dr. Aristides:] Then I guess you’re stuck. What time is it? They took my watch.
[Interviewer:] He’s fine, by the way.
[Dr. Aristides:] He is? Really?
[Interviewer:] Yes. He came out of it just before nightfall. Fully conscious and alert. All his vital signs checked out, so they released him. And away he went.
[Dr. Aristides:] Amazing.
[Interviewer:] You never met him before this, correct?
[Dr. Aristides:] No. But I will admit to feeling a very strong sense of déjà vu when he climbed up to the DynaSoar. Everyone else on the base was shocked, but I felt oddly calm, like I’d seen it all before. Like an old movie or something.
[Interviewer:] How about this, Doctor. We won’t talk about your conversation with him in the ambulance.
[Dr. Aristides:] Good.
[Interviewer:] Instead, let’s talk about your dreams.
[Dr. Aristides:] My dreams.
[Interviewer:] Nothing wrong with that, is there?
[Dr. Aristides:] I don’t have dreams. I have nightmares.
[Interviewer:] Okay. You have nightmares. Can you tell me about them?
[Dr. Aristides:] Other people have told you the same nightmares, haven’t they?
[Interviewer:] Other people aren’t here right now. It’s just you and me. Of all the nightmares you’ve had, Doctor, which one was the most vivid and intense?
[Dr. Aristides:] Everything is the same, yet everything is different….
[Interviewer:] Doctor?
[Dr. Aristides:] I don’t feel very good. What time is it?
[Interviewer:] Here, drink some water.
[Dr. Aristides:] Jesus, all of this is actually happening?
[Interviewer:] Doctor, we really need to know what you’ve been—
[Dr. Aristides:] My God…. Listen, I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you every damned one. But first: Do you know what this serpent symbolizes, here on my jacket? What it really symbolizes?
[Interviewer:] No.
[Dr. Aristides:] Hah. You’re about to find out.
[….]
[End of transcript]
November 23, 1979
Chere Hite (1)
ABC Television
“Morning in America, with Peter Kirkman and Francesca Du Alba”
[Audio transcript]
[….]
8:00 am – 8:13 am (Central Time)
[Peter Kirkman:] Time to wake up, America! Rise and shine! How are you feeling today, Francesca?
[Francesca Du Alba:] Oh my goodness, Peter, I’m still full from the family feast last night. How about you?
[Peter:] I am in football heaven! Pro games yesterday, college games today and tomorrow, and more pro games on Sunday. Talk about a feast!
[Francesca:] Turkey and football, a Thanksgiving tradition!
[Peter:] But America, something is about to happen that’s even more important than football.
[Francesca:] I don’t believe my ears. Peter Kirkman is saying there’s something more important than the sacred pigskin?
[Peter:] That’s right, Francesca. Even the greatest champions of the gridiron will salute in respect to the men we are about to hear from.
[Francesca:] Let’s get to it!
[Peter:] America, it is our pleasure to welcome ABC special correspondent Chere Hite, who recently had the honor of interviewing the four Senior Officers of NASA ‘s historic Mission to Mercury. Chere, welcome back to “Morning in America.”
[Chere Hite:] Hello Francesca, hello Peter, how are you?
[Peter:] We’re great, thanks! And we are so excited to hear your exclusive conversation with these heroic astronauts, who are getting ready for a sixteen-month round-trip to the planet Mercury, where they hope to find evidence of frozen water in the eternally shadowed craters of the North Pole, where the Sun never directly shines. How in the world did you manage it, Chere? No other journalist has been allowed to speak with them for weeks.
[Chere:] Actually, they reached out to me.
[Peter:] Really? They asked you to interview them?
[Chere:] You know, Peter, the astronauts are unbelievably busy right now, with the launch date in just nine days. Every hour of their time is devoted to vital preparations. But they are also Americans, and they know their fellow citizens are putting enormous trust in them, and of course spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money to support their Mission. They feel it’s their duty to take a few moments from the pre-launch schedule to share their thoughts with the public.
[Peter:] And our viewers will be the first to hear what they have to say. America, with no further ado, here is Chere Hite’s interview with the pioneering astronauts leading NASA’s latest and most ambitious journey into interplanetary space.
[….]
[Chere Hite:] Hello, I am here today with the Senior Officers of NASA’s historic Mission to Mercury: Commander Carl Kinsey and Lieutenant Thomas Eagleton of the Hermes I, and Captain Jorge Bush and Lieutenant Glen Cooper of the Hermes II. Thank you for your time, gentlemen. Commander Kinsey, tell me, are you excited?
[Commander Kinsey:] I feel braced and ready for whatever is to come.
[Chere:] “Braced.” An excellent word. How about you, Captain Bush? Are you feeling braced?
[Captain Bush:] Thanks for joining us, Chere, it’s great to see you. It sure makes the training day a lot more fun! The Commander is right, we are ready for anything and everything. I’m excited, that’s for sure. We have a great crew and the world’s best Commander, and we’re riding saddle on two of the biggest, most powerful rockets you’ve ever seen in your life.
[Chere:] Tell me about that. Why two ships rather than just one?
[Commander Kinsey:] Go ahead, Captain.
[Captain Bush:] We’re basically doubling our chances of success. It’s much more difficult to get to Mercury than to the Moon, or even to Mars or Venus. With two ships, we naturally double the amount of fuel, equipment, and personnel we can use on Mercury when we get there. With two ships we also lower our vulnerability and increase our resilience. If one ship is damaged or destroyed, the other ship can rescue the crew and continue the mission. As part of the Apollo Applications Program, NASA has already sent an unmanned ship to orbit Mercury with fuel and nuclear stages for our return trip, so that will help, too.
[Chere:] Your ships will blast off separately, and then connect at their front ends and slowly spin together for the duration of the flight, to provide artificial gravity for the crew quarters, yes?
[Captain Bush:] That’s right. We’ll stay connected until we reach orbit around Mercury. It’s safer and more efficient during the interplanetary part of the journey to travel as one spacecraft assembly.
[Chere:] Especially during the Venus flyby maneuver.
[Captain Bush:] Umm—
[Chere:] When you make a close pass around Venus to slow your final descent towards Mercury as you are pulled into the Sun’s gravitational field.
[Captain Bush:] Whoa there, girl, how do you know about our flight plan?
[Chere:] I’m full of surprises, Captain. Commander Kinsey, what happens when you reach Mercury, and the Hermes I and Hermes II separate?
[Commander Kinsey:] Each ship will enter orbit and then launch a Mercury Excursion Module, or MEM, for landing at two pre-selected sites in the Ovidian Crater, at the North Pole of the planet. Once there, we will execute a sixty-day regime of scientific experiments.
[Chere:] Can you tell us what you hope these experiments will find? Hidden reservoirs of frozen water, for example?
[Commander Kinsey:] I hope for nothing beyond successfully executing the Mission.
[Chere:] Commander, you were the most decorated fighter pilot of the Vietnam War, with an astonishing number of combat kills. Do you believe your battlefield experience will help you on this Mission?
[Commander Kinsey:] A civilization is only as great as its greatest warriors. When the time comes for a civilization to grow, its warriors should lead the way.
[Chere:] Boldly put, Commander. Now, if I can lighten the mood and ask a question on behalf of my younger viewers—what’s it like to serve with an Angel?
[Captain Bush:] Good one, Chere!
[Chere:] I mean, of course, Lieutenant Tommy “the Angel” Eagleton, navigator and pilot of Hermes I. Lieutenant, what do you have to say to all your fans?
[Lieutenant Eagleton:] Umm, thank you, I guess.
[Chere:] Just thank you? Anything else?
[Captain Bush:] Go on, Tommy, she’s not going to bite you.
[Chere:] It’s remarkable how many young people today are excited about NASA and space flight because of you, Lieutenant Eagleton.
[Lieutenant Eagleton:] Well, it means the world to me they feel like that. Even when we’re millions of miles away, I know they’ll be praying for us. That’s going to help, no doubt about it.
[Commander Kinsey:] Lieutenant Eagleton is a brilliant pilot. I am fortunate to have him as my second-in-command on the Hermes I.
[Chere:] I’m sure you are. And Lieutenant Cooper, you are navigator and pilot of the Hermes II.
[Lieutenant Cooper:] That’s correct.
[Chere:] And you once had a near-death experience?
[Lieutenant Cooper:] Umm, yes, I suppose I did.
[Chere:] Your heart stopped beating for more than four minutes.
[Lieutenant Cooper:] Umm...
[Captain Bush:] Damn, Cooper, I didn’t know that. I mean, I knew about the Forrestal, but not that you died!
[Chere:] And yet here you are, Lieutenant. Alive and ready to fly to the planet Mercury. Amazing, isn’t it?
[Lieutenant Cooper:] I’d have to agree.
[Chere:] Well, gentlemen, I’ve taken up enough of your time. Commander Kinsey, let’s give you the final word. What can you say to the American people about why they should be proud of supporting this Mission?
[Commander Kinsey:] We seek dominion over a new world. On their behalf. That should be enough.
[Chere:] Thank you, Commander Kinsey, and thanks to all of you. Farewell, and Godspeed.
[End of Broadcast Transcript]
[Chere:] Well done, guys! Commander, good luck. Commander…? Hmm. That was brusque.
[Captain Bush:] Yeah. Sorry.
[Chere:] Is he always like that?
[Captain Bush:] Nah, he’s usually worse! You can’t take it personally, though. He hates everybody. Umm, Chere, can I ask a small favor?
[Chere:] Of course, Captain. What’s on your mind?
[Captain Bush:] I was wondering—would you sign this?
[Lieutenant Eagleton:] Hey, is that a picture of her? Whoa, she’s not wearing any—
[Captain Bush:] Seriously, Tommy, you’ve never seen this? You don’t know who she is?
[Chere:] My pleasure, Captain. Anything to help the boys of NASA.
[Captain Bush:] Thanks, you’re the best! It’s a long voyage, if you know what I mean… So, I’m curious. Any truth to those rumors about you and “Charlie’s Angels”?
[Chere:] The world is full of rumors, Captain.
[….]
[End of Transcript]
November 24, 1979
NASA Press Release (1)
Committee on Symbolic Activities
Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tejas
[Transcript]
The Mercury Flag Assembly (MFA)
The planting of the American flag in Lunar soil by the crew of Apollo 11 on July 9, 1969, was a glorious symbolic act that memorialized the greatest achievement in our nation’s history—landing a man on the Moon. Unfortunately, this magnificent emblem of American pride was blown over a few days later by the exhaust plume of the Lunar landing craft when it left for the return journey to Earth. The flags from other early Apollo Missions also suffered problems soon after being planted in the Lunar soil, as they were inadequately designed for the conditions of space. Thanks to the efforts of US service members now stationed at Kennedy City Moon Base, all these flags have been restored to their original glory, in their original positions.
The challenge before this Committee has been to devise a fitting symbolic act for the Mercury Mission crew when they first set foot on a new planet, approximately seven months from now. In keeping with NASA tradition, the crew will plant an American flag, three feet long and five feet wide, using a telescoping assembly for the vertical and horizontal poles. These poles are made of a specially fabricated titanium alloy, designed for virtually eternal endurance. The bottom end of the 72-inch long vertical pole tapers into a diamond-tipped point, for maximal surface penetration. The flag itself is woven with a new polymer material that will preserve the red, white, and blue colors for ages to come.
The biggest innovation for the MFA will be the addition of a base unit to hold the flag in place, firmly and permanently. This new base unit is three feet by three feet in width and three inches thick. It has a round hole in the center, one inch in diameter, through which the flag’s vertical pole will be thrust into Mercury’s surface by the Mission Commander. The nature and source of the material used to fabricate this element of the MFA is highly unusual, and yet symbolically appropriate. The base unit for the flag shall be made of pure gold. As a gesture of support for the Mercury Mission and a special blessing for the crew, the gold used for the base was provided to NASA by the Vatican in Rome, from the Pope’s private collection. A gift of the most precious metal in human history, from the religious leader of more than half the planet’s population, is a fitting tribute to the bravery and heroism of the men who will carry it from Earth to the closest planet to the Sun.
Engineers at NASA molded this precious gift into the proper form and inscribed it with the clarion call of President Nixon’s First Inaugural Address, on January 20, 1969:
“We have battled the menace of godless communism within our country, and we have battled it around the world. How, then, can we stand by while it spreads beyond our world into space? We cannot. We will not. Faith and Freedom shall be our guides as America sails forth into the Cosmos.”
[….]
[End of transcript]
November 25, 1979
Mission Log (1)
Lieutenant Glen Cooper
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California
[Transcript]
All right, here we go. This is Lieutenant Glen Cooper, recording the first entry in my personal log for the Mercury Mission. I have been told that no one else in the crew has access to this log, it’s scrambled and protected with voice print identification, so not even the Commander or Mission Control can gain entry to what I record here. They want me to be completely honest and forthright, which makes sense. Fortunately, I know something about how devices like this work, so I was able to confirm the security provisions, and in a couple places improve them. As President Reagan says, trust but verify.
My orders are to report the significant events of the mission as they happen, along with observations about my mental state and the mental states of my crewmates. I am not a psychologist, so I may not be able to add much on that front, but I will do my best.
The most important thing to know about this mission is the professionalism of the crew. Every one of them is highly trained and deeply experienced. Each one knows exactly what his job is and knows how to do it in whatever circumstances we encounter. I have enormous confidence in these men, and I hope I can perform in my duties at the same level of excellence as they do with theirs.
Captain Bush likes to joke and have fun, but he is an outstanding pilot and a cool thinker under pressure. The rest of the Hermes II crew loves him. Like a big brother, I suppose. He has an impressive way of making each of them feel heard and appreciated, and making them want to give their very best effort. With him at the helm, we will get wherever we need to go.
Commander Kinsey is much more reserved, of course. His war exploits are known by every school child, but he never talks about any of that. He’s all Mercury, all the time. He has been a singular force in molding the other eleven of us into a cohesive unit. If the men of Hermes II love Captain Bush, I’d say the crew of Hermes I reveres Commander Kinsey. He seems like a figure from another era, like a Golden Age warrior who stepped out of the pages of a long-lost myth.
As for the Mission, well, I’m relieved to hear the resupply ship has successfully reached the halfway point in its journey to Mercury. NASA calls it an ‘unmanned’ vessel, but that’s actually not true. A single astronaut was sent in the ship to maintain its functionality for the time until we arrive. Without a human on board, the risk of possible malfunction was considered too high. That makes sense. But here's the catch: the resupply ship is not equipped to return to Earth. That means the astronaut, Pierce Johnson, is entirely dependent on us to pick him up when we leave Mercury. If we don’t get him, he’s stuck. I guess the NASA brass decided the public couldn’t handle the idea of another astronaut marooned forever in space. Not after what happened with the Venus mission.
In my view, retrieving Johnson will be among the simplest tasks we have to perform when we arrive at Mercury. Making an orbital rendezvous with another ship, we know how to do that. We have lots of practice with maneuvers of that kind. What we don’t know is what we will find on Mercury’s surface, within the Ovidian Crater, the deepest one on the planet, thousands of feet down to its base. We’re going to send our MEMs to two different sites in the crater that have promising features, according to the flyby mission last year—but that also, to be honest, have lots of potential problems, too. I can think of several other sites in the polar region that would have been safer and at least as promising for the research we’re going to do. It’s not my call, however, and I trust the expert judgment of those whose call it is. Just as I hope they trust my judgment when tough calls come my way, as I’m sure they will.
Seven days until the Star Clipper launch, taking us up to the orbital space station for final checkout of the Hermes I and Hermes II. Then away we go. I’m impatient, and I know the rest of the crew feels the same. We couldn’t be more ready. What did the Commander say during that interview? “Braced”? Yeah, that’s it, that’s how I feel, too. Braced.
[….]
[End of Transcript]
November 26, 1979
Reflections on the Admiral (1)
Private dinner in honor of the NASA Mercury Mission
Captain Carlyle R. Carrington, USN (ret.)
[Audio transcript]
[….]
[Captain Carrington]: Although he was merely thirteen years my senior, he had been exceedingly accomplished for as long as I can remember. First came his exploits at Pearl Harbor, just weeks after he enlisted in the Navy. Then more heroics on his PT boat in the Pacific, followed by combat service in Korea, Turkey, and of course Vietnam. Rising in rank every step of the way. It seemed like the sky was the limit. Then, suddenly came the miasma of what went down between his girls, Charlie’s girls, and the Fountain of the World cult. I was particularly affected by the romance of these tangled events because I was brought up among intelligence agents, and often saw my own parents’ plots and capers in those of the Admiral and his assets, and heard my own father’s stentorian tones in the Admiral’s accounts of his escapades. Listening to him speak during the first round of public hearings, I felt nostalgia and pathos for a world that was passing, and a simulacrum of forthright authenticity as convincing as any I ever felt in the cleverest of debriefs intended to fool the rubes.
[….]
End of transcript
November 27, 1979
NASA Press Release (2)
Johnson Space Center
Office of Public Affairs, Houston, Tejas
[Transcript]
The Mercury Mission Launch
The final stages of preparation have begun for the first human journey to the planet Mercury. At 6:00 am, Eastern time, on December 1, the Star Clipper USS Trenton will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, in Lompoc, California. Launch conditions appear to be ideal, with a forecast of clear skies, temperatures in the high 60’s, and light, variable winds.
The Trenton will lift the twelve crew members of the Mercury Mission into high Earth orbit, where they will rendezvous with the USS Defiance Space Station. There they will await final inspections of their ships, which has been assembled using components that have already been brought up from Earth and positioned in space. These components include 1) the two spacecraft, the Hermes I and Hermes II, for travel between the planets; 2) six nuclear shuttles, one in the centerline beneath each spacecraft and two on each of their sides, to power the journey; 3) two Mercury Excursion Modules (MEMs) or landers, one for each ship, for travel to and from the planet surface, and 4) two Earth Entry Modules (EEMs), one for each ship, for the return descent to Earth. Once these components have been assembled, fully fueled, and checked multiple times, the crews will be loaded onto the main ships, along with the scientific cargo and their expendables (air, food, water, personal belongings). Final departure from Earth orbit is expected to occur on December 3. The Trans-Mercury Injection (TMI) is the critical propulsive event, a maneuver requiring the utmost precision to ensure the ships enter the correct transfer orbit to successfully reach Mercury.
The Mercury Mission has several scientific objectives. Important experiments in physics, chemistry, and biology will be conducted in the relatively pristine conditions of space during the journeys to and from the planet. Close study will also be made of human health and behavior during interplanetary travel, with careful monitoring of the astronauts’ cognitive skills and physical fitness. Once on Mercury, the astronauts will make physical observations of the planet’s surface, collect soil and atmospheric samples, and search for water and other useful natural resources to support a permanent American base. Earlier probes have detected evidence of large stores of frozen water in the dark craters of Mercury’s northern pole. Special attention will be devoted to the exploration of these unusually deep craters, as they are the key to future colonization of the planet.
Crew Manifest for the Mercury Mission
Hermes I
Carl Kinsey – Hermes Mission Commander
Thomas Eagleton – Pilot/Navigator
Martin Zorn – Chief engineer
Peter Jordanson– Engine technician
Dominic Orlando– Science officer
Titus Blackmund– Medical officer
Hermes II
Jorge Bush – Captain
Glen Cooper – Pilot/Navigator
Tristan Rouget – Chief engineer
Ray Bourgand – Engine technician
Jack LePore– Science officer
James Redmond – Medical officer
[….]
[End of transcript]
November 28, 1979
“The Space Cowboy” (1)
KTIM Radio, FM 99.6
San Rafael, California
[Playlist and Audio Transcript]
[….]
1:26 am – 1:44 am (Pacific)
“Astronomy Domine (Live)”
“Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (Live)”
Pink Floyd, Ummagumma
1:44 am – 1:56 am
“A Saucerful of Secrets”
Pink Floyd, A Saucerful of Secrets
1:56 am – 2:01 am
“Several Small Species of Furry Animals Gathered Together and Grooving with a Pict”
Pink Floyd, Ummagumma
2:01 am – 2:25 am
“Atom Heart Mother”
Pink Floyd, Atom Heart Mother
2:25 am – 2:48 am
[Space Cowboy:] Ahh, that is sublime. What a finale. How many singers do you think they had for those choral parts? And that’s a whole symphony orchestra, right? Unbelievable. Heavier than heavy, man. Darker than dark. Sir Floyd, you took us places we never even knew existed. Wherever you are now, jamming with the Angels or dancing with the Demons, we miss you.
OK, time to refresh and reorient. All you cowboys and cowgirls out there, take a deep breath. Hold it in… and let it out. Deep exhale. You feel good, right? Inspired? Grooving in the circular groove? That’s a set I play when I really want to fly. Through inner space, through outer space, through all the spaces in between… Set the controls for the heart of the Sun, man—that is exactly what I want to do!
And guess what? I’m not the only one. The astronauts on the Mercury Mission, blasting off on a Star Clipper in a couple days, that’s where they’re going, too. Towards the heart of the Sun. Those cowboys are leaving the Earth and going in, man, way in, deeper and deeper into the gravitational vortex at the center of our Solar system. Closer to the Sun than any humans have ever been.
Of course, I know what you’re wondering. How are they not going to fry? How are they going to survive the furnace blasts of solar radiation and coronal mass ejections when they get that close to a freakin’ star? Usually, I’d just say be cool, man, be cool. They got a plan, right, NASA always has a plan. But this Mission to Mercury, well, it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever tried to do. Ever. The Space Cowboy is generally in favor of all things cosmic and extraterrestrial, but pushing on to Mercury before we really know what happened with the Venus Mission—wait, don’t spin your dial! I promise, I won’t go off on that tangent right now. Just stay right here and keep listening to KTIM 96.9 FM, broadcasting from downtown San Rafael. Oh, and make sure to buy whatever our sponsors are selling. That would be very cool.
So, what was I talking about? Not Venus, but… Mercury. Right. The Mercury Mission. And the reason why I’m actually feeling pretty good about it. We denizens of the North Bay have a local connection to the crew. Did you know this? Maybe, maybe not. Your mind is pretty full these days, you’ve got a lot going on, there’s only so much you can process at any one moment… Well, make room for this! One of the Mercury Mission astronauts has serious Mariner roots. This dude’s a hometown hero of Homeric proportions. I’m not even tripping when I say that, although I could be! If you’re like the Space Cowboy and others who have lived in this Archangelic realm for many a moon, who have kept their eyes and ears open, and who every now and then peruse the pages of the Independent-Journal and the Pacific Sun, you’ll know his story.
Lieutenant Glen Cooper, pilot and navigator of the Hermes II, was born in 1945, an orphan from the war, parents unknown. He was taken in as a baby by the Sisters of the Dominican Convent. You know them, the nuns in that huge Gothic mansion on the east side of 101? They took care of him, gave him a home, raised him as their own. All those hills and forests over there—that’s a sweet place to grow up, even if you don’t have a mom or dad.
The convent has a school for the kids at the orphanage, and young Cooper stays there until high school. Then he goes to Marin Catholic, over on Miwok Boulevard in Greenbrae, with that beautiful vista of Mount Tamalpais, the Sleeping Lady, looming up in the West. We all first hear about him when he starts running for the MC cross-country team. He’s fast, man, real fast. Best runner in the county. The I-J sports page loved him. You know the Dipsea Race, the one that goes up and over Tam, starting in Mill Valley and ending at Stinson Beach? He won it not once, not twice, but three times. In high school! So he’s freakin’ fast. You get that.
For college, he goes to Santa Clara University, about an hour and a half south of here, at the other end of the Bay. He could have gone other places, bigger schools, definitely could have gotten a sports scholarship somewhere. But he chooses to stay here, close to his adopted home. San Rafael, baby! And he does really well at SCU. It turns out to be a perfect place for him. He’s cool with the Jesuits, and they’re cool with him. He starts in 1963, double majoring in electrical engineering and theology. When he graduates three years later in 1966, he’s earned not just a Bachelor’s degree, but a Master’s degree in both fields. Two Master’s degrees. In three years. So he’s freakin’ smart, too.
He keeps running to stay in shape, but he’s done with competitive sports. No more time for childish things, man. He has to learn as much as he can, as quick as he can, ‘cause war is breaking out everywhere, and he feels the call to duty. After graduating from SCU he enlists in the Navy, where he’s immediately trained to work in signals intelligence. What’s signals intelligence, you ask? It’s basically the highest technical levels of military surveillance and analysis. The part of the military that creates your battlefield awareness, your overall perspective on what’s happening during an armed conflict. You can have the world’s greatest rifle, but if you can’t see what you’re aiming at, the rifle is useless, right? Signals intelligence helps you aim your weapons. It’s like a primo Starlight scope on your rifle, helping you see whatever’s out there, before it sees you. That’s how they trained Cooper. To be a really excellent Starlight scope.
His first posting was as a junior analyst on the USS Forrestal, in early 1967. Bad timing, man. Very bad timing. To be clear, he’s nowhere near Southeast Asia. Thousands of miles from Vietnam. You’d think he’s out of harm’s way. But no. The Forrestal is patrolling the international waters of the eastern Mediterranean, just when tensions in the Holy Land explode into the Nine-Days War in early June of ’67. In the fog of whatever, the Forrestal comes under sudden attack from Russian jets. Fire breaks out in the lower decks. Ordnance starts exploding, it’s total chaos. Dozens of U.S. sailors are killed or severely wounded, and the ship nearly sinks. As Cooper tries to repair the navigation systems, an exploding shell causes a circuit overload, and he’s electrocuted, flat-lining for a few minutes before they can bring him back.
That’s strange enough, but the story gets stranger still. Within a few days he’s airlifted to the Alameda Naval Base, here in the Bay Area. They don’t just patch him up and send him back into the fray, like they do with everyone else. No, suddenly there’s a new plan for him. No more frontline action for Cooper. They send him to graduate school at UC Berkeley, the best university in the world. With that massive grove of Redwoods, the arboreal Overlords of the East Bay, rising up in the heart of campus. Cooper lives at the Dominican Friar’s house on Holy Hill, a couple blocks from the Northern Gate. I had a friend who worked as a cook there, he said they were very calm dudes. And tidy, too. Cooper stays with the Friars from 1967 till 1971. At Cal he gets a Master’s degree in nuclear engineering. He gets a Ph.D. in astrophysics. And, in his spare time, he learns to fly. He goes up to Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato, and they train him to pilot various kinds of planes. Not fighter jets, though. He won’t be a combat pilot, he’s not Snoopy and the Red Baron. Cooper is learning how to fly surveillance planes. Doing what he did on the Forrestal, but in the air rather than on the sea.
Now they send him back into active duty. Vietnam. 1971. Just when the fighting starts getting most intense. All our Cold War enemies, they know this is their last chance to stop us. We already rule the skies, and now we rule the heavens. We’ve got the Kennedy City Moon Base under construction. There’s no more Space Race, man, it’s over. We’re on the Moon and they aren’t. Bad trip for them! So they throw everything at us in Vietnam. Cooper serves in Naval Aviation for four years, till the end in ’75. He wasn’t part of the Easter Surprise that won the war, but you can be sure the attacking forces were guided by information he gathered.
And then what did he do? Lay back and groove? Tune in, turn on, and drop out? Not our Cooper. He goes straight to Houston for astronaut training at NASA. Four years later, he’s ready to serve as a pilot and navigator aboard a rocket ship blasting off on an interplanetary mission. In four days. To freakin’ Mercury.
Now that, my friends, is a true Space Cowboy. We all tip our hats, bow our heads, and offer a toke of our finest greenery in his honor.
2:48 am – 2:53 am
“The Great Gig in the Sky”
Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon
[….]
[End of Transcript]
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG…?
If you would like to read the next 89 files and find out, please buy the book from your local independent bookstore or from Amazon.
ESCAPE FROM MERCURY
The Apollo Project Volume I
Kelly Bulkeley & T.A. Reilly
The Apollo Project Press, 2022
ISBN-13: 979-8985934106
$9.99
COMING IN SEPTEMBER 2025