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Morehead History
Part 3 – Astronaut Training I
Astronaut Scott Carpenter prepares for his Project Mercury flight in 1962 as fellow Astronaut Walter Schirra and Planetarium instructor Dr. James Batten look on.
Ten years after opening, Morehead Planetarium was called to serve not only the people of North Carolina but also the nation’s burgeoning space program. Astronauts needed training in celestial navigation to ensure that they would be able to pilot their spacecraft if navigational systems failed.
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| Planetarium Instructor Jim Wadsworth and Astronauts John Glenn, Gordon Cooper, and Alan Shepard in the Star Theater in 1960. In 1962, Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. |
Constructing the special equipment for each mission’s training often tested the ingenuity of the Planetarium’s staff. One special projector for the Apollo trainings had to be put together from old car wax cans fitted with miniature light bulbs. The training device used for the Gemini missions was constructed from plywood, cloth, foam rubber and paper mounted on two barber’s chairs. Using this device, astronauts could control the movement of the star-field to simulate pitch and roll while technicians moved their chairs to simulate yaw (side-to-side movement).
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Part 3 – Astronaut Training I
