tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6566872643744871693.post2791926078614005399..comments2023-06-09T07:13:50.383-05:00Comments on AstroCryptoTriviology: A Jones for MOL #7: Hatches? We Don’t Need No Stinking Hatches!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849974229075027004noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6566872643744871693.post-81477471535664438352015-10-14T19:41:17.474-05:002015-10-14T19:41:17.474-05:00Publius, thanks for the ideas. I had not considere...Publius, thanks for the ideas. I had not considered that the heat shield hatch might suffice as a pressure hatch, because the Gemini-B design included a separate pressure bulkhead hatch. But maybe so.<br />Personally, I have come to the conclusion that there really was a hatch at the MOL end of the transfer tunnel, possibly removable (like the Apollo command module docking tunnel hatch). With it sealed, and with the Gemini-B open to the tunnel, it could have been possible to decompress the Gemini-B plus the tunnel using valves in the tunnel structure, controlled from inside the pressurized module.<br />I hope an upcoming declassification event will answer this question definitively. Or maybe one of my FOIAs will be answered..Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11849974229075027004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6566872643744871693.post-68170092440779734402015-10-13T23:02:54.206-05:002015-10-13T23:02:54.206-05:00What was the depressurization/repressurization mec...What was the depressurization/repressurization mechanism? I'm surmising valves in the Gemini which would be actuated by command from within the MOL, one set to open the capsule to space, another to admit atmosphere from reservoirs.<br />Now, looking at the diagramme, it appears that the heat-shield hatch itself would make a halfway decent airseal. It's facing the right way for pressure inside the MOL to hold it in place, & it could be manipulated using a suction-cup gadget as customarily used for plate glass. This would result in a small but continous seepage into the Gemini, but this could be viewed as an advantage : even if the valves to admit atmosphere back into the capsule failed, as long as those holding it open to space could be reclosed, the pressure inside the capsule would gradually rise to the point that the hatch could be moved. Conversely, if the vent valve closure mechanism were to fail, but those valves were made sufficiently small compared to the admission valves, the Gemini could be repressurized to the point that one of the crew could enter & close them manually.publiushttp://www.lunarcc.org/noreply@blogger.com