Documents / Official release
This NASA file of astronaut scientific debriefing papers from 1962 collects internal Office of Space Sciences material on the science observations made on early Mercury flights. A February 1962 memo from Maurice Dubin asks for more detail on John Glenn's report of luminous particles and the atmospheric horizon layer. A draft memo concludes that the particles were tied to the spacecraft and were not extraterrestrial. The file also holds a Los Alamos letter that attributes the high haze layer to nitrogen peroxide, and notes on Carpenter's airglow observations.
From the source:Release of 2026-06-12 This file contains memoranda, correspondence, reports, and other materials relating to contemporary scientific interest in investigating the nature of luminous phenomena reported by astronauts John Glenn and Walter Schirra during spaceflight. This collection includes transcripts from NASA interviews and debriefings with both astronauts regarding those observations. It also contains details relating to scientific observations of atmospheric phenomena, including brief descriptions of luminous particles, experiences while aboard spacecraft, and circa 1955 theoretical analysis of meteoric particles entering the atmosphere. Pages 34-35, 55-56, 57-63, 64-113, and 122-127 feature content relevant to the PURSUE initiative.
“Headquarters”6 pages
r SCIEN'.rinc DEBRIEFING , ... . •' Ji.me 1, 1963 (First Experiment • Flashing Light) John McKee: One of the first questions that I have regards some estimates you made of the beacon distance. Were those based ·entirely on the knowle of how bright it was tram p~vious aircraft training ·or do ·you feel there was some other distance cue somehow involved in the ·test. J Cooper: No. If I had no prev;ous experience on the light·, I don Vt believe I would have had any possibility of telling how far it was except· that on that second night pass after ejecting the light. Apparent'.cy the sun was shining on it as I saw this steady glow, up to about · my level on the orbital path. At that time I bad a little bit more depth perception on it ·and could ') . seem tp note the proper drift on it. That was the first time that I •saw it. and t o the experiments we _q;f,d on :the aircraft When we had radar measurement • I you notice the pitch rate.? -- or what was the sensation? . Cooper: · No, I ~idn't notice any 'rate as such. I cou1d really feel the spacecraft and to me it felt Jμst like there were doors banging ·open down there,.,as it departed and Just a li~tle bit .of a Jolt: through _~he : t' h .· • • \ I • ' ~. A~ ~ ... . ' . spacecraft. It was a good so~d thump when it 'took·oft. • ·' • • •• '. , '' ,r~·:/; ._, : ri-~
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Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 216 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.