Falling to Earth by Al Worden

Author:Al Worden [Worden, Al]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Smithsonian Books
Published: 2011-07-26T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

LAUNCH

You never forget launch day. Finally, your mission is about to begin. You are in a special zone, like an athlete walking out for an Olympic event. Whatever happens, you know the day will be extreme and unforgettable.

It was Monday, July 26, 1971. Deke Slayton woke me up around 4:30 a.m. inside our windowless crew quarters at the Cape. I’d slept well and was ready to go. It was only a short walk to the medical room, where a flight surgeon gave me a brief physical. I’d had a physical every five days for the last three weeks and—once again—the doctors found nothing wrong with me.

I was not keen on the doctors and their tests. I remembered when Wally Schirra told me a story about the urine sample he’d given just before his Gemini flight. He asked the doctor why they needed another sample and was told it would be carefully analyzed and compared to a postflight sample to see if any changes took place in the flight. When Wally visited that same flight surgeon’s office six months later, just for kicks he walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. His sample still sat in there, untouched.

But I was delighted to see Dee O’Hara, our astronaut nurse. Dee came to the program long before I arrived. She started at the same time as the Mercury astronauts and quickly became good friends with them. While our flight surgeons came and went, Dee was always there for us. Officially, she checked each astronaut just before every single manned launch. Unofficially, we also went to her with any minor ailments because we knew we could trust her. She was kind enough to look out for our wives and kids too.

Since my divorce, I had come to know Dee even better. We palled around together; there was quite a bond there. I cared for her like you care for a close sibling. I was very pleased to see her that morning for my final medical checks.

I was behind a stall providing a urine sample and figured it was time for a bit of good-natured fun.

“Hey, Dee,” I called out from behind the partition, “I’m stuck. Can you come and give me a little help?”

“Dream on, Al!” Dee replied with a laugh. “By the way, I know where I plan to watch the launch from today, but how about you?”

“Gee, I have no idea,” I quipped back. “Maybe I’ll head down in the direction of the beach.”

Dee had a comeback for everything. “I know this is your first launch, rookie,” she added, “so you might want to try and find a spot that is up high. You’ll get a better view.”

Dee was exactly what I needed that morning to make me laugh, but our time together was all too brief. I headed to the room next door, where a barber gave me a quick haircut. Who knows why—it was part of the pre-launch protocol, and I just went along with it. Perhaps we would see some strange aliens up there and we had to look our best.

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