[Gemini XII]

Directly from the Estate of Chuck Friedlander, NASA

Chuck Friedlander noted that the tension and incredible pressure faced by the astronauts and support crew at Cape Canaveral was often relieved by jokes, pranks, and other humorous moments (Quest). The present lot demonstrates a gag related to the Gemini XII, the crucial mission in which NASA Astronauts “mastered the spacewalk” (NASA). While Ed White, the first American to spacewalk, had made walking outside the spacecraft in the vacuum of space look easy on the Gemini IV mission, spacewalkers on later Gemini missions experienced several problems. Dr. Robert Gilruth, director of the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC, now Johnson Space Center), ordered a revamping of the Gemini EVA training, including more time in zero-g flights and underwater simulations incorporated into the training program.  

Chuck Friedlander served as Chief at the NASA Astronaut Support Office, KSC from 1963-1967. Dated January 3, 1966, this rope and blueprint explaining the technology may have been collected by Friedlander during the discussions of new training. An elaborate joke, the rope comes in a historic NASA parts bag, sealed as if it came from an official clean room and sealed for use. Its clean status is listed as “VERIFIED FILTHY.” The rope is helpfully diagrammed in an accompanying blueprint.  

Friedlander left the Astronaut Support Office shortly after the Apollo 1 tragedy for CBS where he was Walter Cronkite’s Space Technical Consultant from 1967-1969. Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders invited Friedlander to join him in Washington as his Executive Assistant when he served as Executive Secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council (NASC) at the White House, from 1969-1972. Friedlander also served as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the International Aerospace Hall of Fame, San Diego, CA from 1973-1980. 

LITERATURE 

Pealer, Donald D. “An Interview with Charles ‘Chuck’ Friedlander, Former Chief of the Astronaut Support Office, Cape Kennedy.” Quest Vol 21:1, 2014.  

NASA. “Gemini XII Crew Masters the Challenges of Spacewalks.” 14 November 2016. < https://www.nasa.gov/missions/gemini/gemini-xii-crew-masters-the-challenges-of-spacewalks/>