Summary
In this segment from the final Project Mercury flight, Faith 7 pilot Gordon Cooper describes the brilliant blue of sunrise beneath Earth's haze layer and small, luminous white particles drifting from the spacecraft. He notes observing "fireflies" after deploying beacons, which were spherical mission equipment fitted with xenon strobe lights.
Detail
During Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9), call sign Faith 7, the final and longest flight of Project Mercury, pilot L. Gordon Cooper Jr. described the brilliant blue of sunrise beneath the haze layer of Earth's atmosphere. As he approached sunrise, he described small, luminous, brilliant white particles drifting away from the spacecraft.
Cooper also reported observing "fireflies" after deploying beacons — spherical mission-related equipment fitted with xenon strobe lights.
This audio excerpt was released through the PURSUE declassification.
