Gemini 7 Technical Debriefing, 1965

This is a preliminary transcript of the Gemini 7 technical debriefing, dated December 23, 1965, from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It was made from tape recordings of the crew debriefing held December 19 to 21, 1965 at the Crew Quarters, Cape Kennedy, Florida. In it, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell go through countdown, powered flight, insertion, station keeping with the booster, systems, experiments and training. The table of contents also lists a section on visual sightings during orbital flight.

From the source:Release of 2026-06-12 Incident: December 19-21, 1965, Cape Kennedy, Florida. This document is a preliminary transcript derived from voice recordings of the Gemini 7 flight crew debriefing conducted December 19-21, 1965, at the Crew Quarters, Cape Kennedy, Florida. Lights and flashes are mentioned and there is discussion about having proper illumination for vehicle docking. Borman and Lovell discuss celestial and terrestrial observational anomalies and note sightings of Mercury, meteors, aurora, and lightning. They also discuss not being able to see any stars once the Sun comes up.

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any or hear any.
Lovell I did not see a:ny leaks.
Borman Electrical Power: We mentioned we had 1 and 2 main
batteries on, and when we evacuated the spacecraft, we
turned all four of them on per the checkl ist. Turned off
everything but the rescue beacon. F.lectrical power was
ampl e, very good. We were running both suit fans.
Lovell Oxygen: Went to repress valve open.
Borman We went through that swiftly, as a matter of fact , to
keep cool.
Lovell 'vie noticed before we got out that both the bottle pressures
were down to zero.
Borman Hatches: After one of the swimmers said we were clear to
open the hatches, I unlocked mine. It operated very
freely and easily. I could budge it about 2 i nches, but
I could not lift it. I probably could have if I had
exerted a l ot of effort, and gotten my Jegs up under me.
However, the swimmer was right outside, and I asked him
to he l p. Ile helped and it came right open, worked very
wel l . We had the suit on and left them on.
Lovell We were warm, undoubtedly. Getting out of the spacecraft
as quickly as we did helped us.
Borman That was the smart thing to do.