Flying to the Moon: Chapters 6–9

by Michael Collins
Astronaut Michael Collins was part of Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing. In this autobiography, he recounts his early days as an Air Force pilot and his journey into space.

Here are links to our lists for the book:Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–9, Chapters 10–12
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. adjoin
    lie next to another or share a boundary
    I also knew Frank Borman well, because he and I had sat at adjoining desks at the Test Pilot School.
  2. drowsy
    half asleep
    After ten minutes or so at 170°, I would be red as a boiled lobster, but feeling good—relaxed, drowsy, and healthy.
  3. aboard
    on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
    He had already flown in space once, aboard Gemini 4, and was our nation’s first space walker.
  4. artery
    a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body
    In space, with no gravity, there is no “up” or “down” for the heart, and when it pumps, it has an easier job, having only to overcome the resistance of the veins and arteries.
  5. atrophy
    undergo weakening or degeneration as through lack of use
    When parts of the body aren’t used, they tend to weaken, or shrink, or atrophy.
  6. endurance
    the power to withstand hardship or stress
    There are various ways of increasing your body’s endurance, and they all involve putting a steady and sustained load on the heart muscle.
  7. eject
    leave an aircraft rapidly, using a seat or capsule
    During descent, for example, if the Gemini’s parachute did not come out when scheduled, the astronauts really had to hurry to try other ways to get the chute out or, failing that, to eject themselves.
  8. prospect
    the possibility of future success
    Most of all, I was excited at the prospect of flying in space.
  9. rendezvous
    meet at an appointed place
    John Young and I were to rendezvous and dock with the first Agena, fitting the Gemini’s nose into the hole, and locking the two vehicles together.
  10. altitude
    elevation above sea level or above the earth's surface
    In the process of catching the second Agena, we were expected to set a world’s altitude record of 475 miles.
  11. exert
    put to use
    By pointing the gun in the right direction, and by squeezing the correct trigger, I could cause the nitrogen gas to exert a force that would move my body either forward or backward.
  12. enable
    provide the means to perform some task
    The arm motions required to prevent twisting were complicated enough, but would mastering them enable me to prevent twisting, rolling, and tumbling all at once?
  13. hydraulic
    moved or operated or effected by liquid
    Hydraulic flight controls, like power steering in a car, prefer a light touch, and women should do as good a job as men.
  14. adhesive
    a substance that unites or bonds surfaces together
    These are thin disks about the size of a quarter which are stuck on your chest with a special kind of glue and then covered by adhesive tape.
  15. barely
    in a sparse or scanty way
    If you have managed to push your arms and legs as far as they can go, then you will be able to stand up, just barely, and get someone to zip the back closed.
  16. swivel
    turn on a pivot
    They were also swiveling back and forth, keeping us pointed straight up, and it was this motion we felt, as we jiggled slightly in our seats.
  17. serene
    completely clear and calm
    However, as quickly as it had disappeared, the serene black sky reappeared, and I stopped worrying and began to enjoy the ride.
  18. crevice
    a long narrow opening
    There was no doubt that we were weightless, however, as the cockpit was suddenly filled with tiny bits of debris that had come out of their crevices.
  19. discernible
    perceptible by the senses or intellect
    The moon was not in view, and the surface of the earth was barely discernible.
  20. illuminate
    make lighter or brighter
    Occasionally there was a flash of lightning below us which illuminated a string of thunderstorms.
  21. absorb
    take in a liquid
    Lithium hydroxide was used to absorb the carbon dioxide in our exhaled breath.
  22. align
    arrange so as to be parallel or straight
    The trouble was that if the two halves were not aligned exactly, it would snap forward but would not lock, and then it would have to be recocked—a two-handed operation.
  23. apparatus
    equipment designed to serve a specific function
    When I did, I noticed that part of the docking apparatus, a metal ring, had come free and was dangling loosely.
  24. taper
    the property of a shape that narrows toward a point
    I grabbed the end of the Agena with both hands, but it was hard to hold on, because the end of the docking collar was tapered and slippery, and my pressurized gloves were awkward.
  25. preoccupied
    having excessive or compulsive concern with something
    I hadn’t even noticed it during the time I had been outside, having been completely preoccupied with the Gemini and the Agena.
  26. distressing
    causing distress or worry or anxiety
    In addition to its bulk was the distressing awareness that several loops of it were wound around my body.
  27. persistent
    stubbornly unyielding
    With John pulling, and me backing out of the cockpit a couple of times, we got rid of all but one last persistent loop.
  28. dissolve
    pass into a solution
    Now I mushed up the soup by squeezing the tube until all the water was dissolved, and cut off the end of the tube with a pair of scissors.
  29. opal
    a translucent mineral consisting of hydrated silica
    The Indian Ocean flashed incredible colors of emerald jade and opal in the shallow water surrounding the Maldive Islands, then on to the Burma coast and lush green jungle, followed by mountains and coastline.
  30. accustom
    familiarize psychologically or physically
    I slept well, being by now much more accustomed to my surroundings, and, besides, I was tired and pleased from my day of space walking.
  31. gradual
    proceeding in small stages
    We were scheduled to fire our retro-rockets over the Pacific Ocean, west of Hawaii, whereupon we would begin a gradual descent and finally splash into the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida thirty minutes later.
  32. sear
    make very hot and dry
    This was caused by little pieces of our heat shield burning up and coming off, as it was supposed to do, to protect us from the searing frictional heat.
  33. keel
    one of the main longitudinal beams of the hull of a vessel
    A spacecraft does not have a keel or a deep hull like a boat, and it bobs and weaves with even the slightest wind or waves.
  34. lunar
    of or relating to or associated with the moon
    There were two Apollo spacecraft—the command module and the lunar module.
  35. flammable
    easily ignited
    This, in turn, caused a spark, which caused some flammable material to burst into flames.
  36. fragile
    easily broken or damaged or destroyed
    The only trouble with this change was that Beta cloth is also very fragile, and if your knees or elbows got even a little bit worn, the glass fibers would come loose.
  37. complicate
    make more complex, intricate, or richer
    But if the lunar module had to take off early or late, or got into a lopsided or crooked orbit, then all kinds of trouble could easily develop, and the rendezvous process could become very complicated, indeed.
  38. sufficient
    of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement
    But if this was not of sufficient help, then a whole new game plan went into effect, and the command module and the lunar module switched roles.
  39. constellation
    a configuration of stars as seen from the earth
    It is in the constellation Orion, which is easy to locate.
  40. glamour
    alluring beauty or charm
    It had been more hard work than glamour.
Created on Sat Aug 02 21:29:36 EDT 2014 (updated Tue Sep 04 15:49:40 EDT 2018)

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