Gemini 5 Technical Debriefing, Part II, 1965

This is a preliminary Part II transcript of the Gemini 5 (GT-5) flight crew debriefing, prepared by the Spacecraft Operations Branch of NASA's Flight Crew Support Division and dated September 2, 1965. It records astronauts Cooper and Conrad at the Crew Quarters, Cape Kennedy. They discuss how the spacecraft systems worked, including the platform and the OAMS thruster failures. The transcript also covers operational checks, visual sightings, experiments, training, premission planning, and medical aspects. It was originally classified Confidential.

From the source: Release of 2026-06-12 Incident: August 30 - September 2, 1965, Cape Kennedy, Florida. This document is a preliminary transcript (Part II) derived from voice recordings of the Gemini 5 flight crew technical debriefing. NASA conducted this debriefing between August 30, 1965, and September 2, 1965, at the Crew Quarters, Cape Kennedy, Florida. Astronauts L. Gordon Cooper and Charles “Pete” Conrad described observing debris and “snow” and “all sorts of glittering pieces of this, that and the other thing” in the “Visual Sightings” section of the document (pages 157-220).

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had less authority in the spacecraft than it does
in t he simulator. On the other hand, I felt the
RATE COMMAND system had a heck of a lot more
authority in the spacecraft than it does in the
simulator .
Cooper That RATE COMMAND just flat snaps you in. In the
simulator, when you come around in RATE COMMAND
and you let off it will go through 5 to 10 degrees.
You have to let off on it 5 to 10 degrees early.
By golly, in the spacecraft you didn't have to
let off even a degree early. When you let go,
it stopped right there jus t like you put on the
brakes.
Conrad Yeah. It was good and it was tight .
Cooper It was so tight that you almost had to - -
Conrad That was OAMS Rate Command.
Cooper You almost had the feeling that the OAMS Rate
Command was almost bending the Adapter Section .
I t had such high torquing rate .
Conrad On day 2 and 3, our OAMS system was working
completely correct. I was extremely impressed