Project Gemini
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Project Gemini (IPA: /ˈdʒɛmɪni/) was the second United States human spaceflight program to fly. Conducted after the first American manned space program, Project Mercury, while the Apollo program was still in early development, Gemini was conceived in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual astronauts flew low Earth orbit (LEO) missions during 1965 and 1966.
Gemini's objective was the development of space travel techniques to support the Apollo mission to land astronauts on the Moon. In doing so, it allowed the United States to catch up and overcome the lead in human spaceflight capability the Soviet Union had obtained in the early years of the Space Race, by demonstrating mission endurance up to just under 14 days, longer than the eight days required for a round trip to the Moon; methods of performing extravehicular activity (EVA) without tiring; and the orbital maneuvers necessary to achieve rendezvous and docking with another spacecraft. This left Apollo free to pursue its prime mission without spending time developing these techniques.
All Gemini flights were
The astronaut corps that supported Project Gemini included the "Mercury Seven", "The New Nine", and "The Fourteen". During the program, three astronauts died in air crashes during training, including both members of the prime crew for Gemini 9. The backup crew flew this mission.
Gemini was robust enough that the United States Air Force planned to use it for the
Pronunciation
The constellation for which the project was named is commonly pronounced
Program origins and objectives
The
After Apollo was chartered to land men on the Moon by
- To demonstrate endurance of humans and equipment in spaceflight for extended periods, at least eight days required for a Moon landing, to a maximum of two weeks
- To effect rendezvous and docking with another vehicle, and to maneuver the combined spacecraft using the propulsion system of the target vehicle
- To demonstrate Extra-Vehicular Activity(EVA), or space-"walks" outside the protection of the spacecraft, and to evaluate the astronauts' ability to perform tasks there
- To perfect techniques of atmospheric reentry and touchdown at a pre-selected location on land[note 3]
Team
Chamberlin designed the Gemini capsule, which carried a crew of two. He was previously the chief
Astronaut
The Gemini program was managed by the
Spacecraft
NASA selected
The Gemini crew capsule (referred to as the Reentry Module) was essentially an enlarged version of the Mercury capsule. Unlike Mercury, the retrorockets, electrical power, propulsion systems, oxygen, and water were located in a detachable Adapter Module behind the Reentry Module which would burn up on reentry. A major design improvement in Gemini was to locate all internal spacecraft systems in modular components, which could be independently tested and replaced when necessary, without removing or disturbing other already tested components.
Reentry module
Many components in the capsule itself were reachable through their own small access doors. Unlike Mercury, Gemini used completely solid-state electronics, and its modular design made it easy to repair.[12]
Gemini's emergency
The main proponent of using ejection seats was Chamberlin, who had never liked the Mercury escape tower and wished to use a simpler alternative that would also reduce weight. He reviewed several films of Atlas and Titan II ICBM failures, which he used to estimate the approximate size of a fireball produced by an exploding launch vehicle and from this he gauged that the Titan II would produce a much smaller explosion, thus the spacecraft could get away with ejection seats.
Maxime Faget, the designer of the Mercury LES, was on the other hand less-than-enthusiastic about this setup. Aside from the possibility of the ejection seats seriously injuring the astronauts, they would also only be usable for about 40 seconds after liftoff, by which point the booster would be attaining Mach 1 speed and ejection would no longer be possible. He was also concerned about the astronauts being launched through the Titan's exhaust plume if they ejected in-flight and later added, "The best thing about Gemini was that they never had to make an escape."[14]
The Gemini ejection system was never tested with the Gemini cabin pressurized with pure oxygen, as it was prior to launch. In January 1967, the fatal
So it turns out what we would have seen, had we had to do that, would have been two Roman candles going out, because we were 15 or 16 psi, pure oxygen, soaking in that for an hour and a half. You remember the tragic fire we had at the Cape. (...) Jesus, with that fire going off and that, it would have burned the suits. Everything was soaked in oxygen. So thank God. That was another thing: NASA never tested it under the conditions that they would have had if they would have had to eject. They did have some tests at China Lake where they had a simulated mock-up of Gemini capsule, but what they did is fill it full of nitrogen. They didn't have it filled full of oxygen in the sled test they had.[16]
Gemini was the first astronaut-carrying spacecraft to include an onboard computer, the
Unlike Mercury, Gemini used in-flight
The original intention for Gemini was to land on solid ground instead of at sea, using a Rogallo wing rather than a parachute, with the crew seated upright controlling the forward motion of the craft. To facilitate this, the airfoil did not attach just to the nose of the craft, but to an additional attachment point for balance near the heat shield. This cord was covered by a strip of metal which ran between the twin hatches.[21] This design was ultimately dropped, and parachutes were used to make a sea landing as in Mercury. The capsule was suspended at an angle closer to horizontal, so that a side of the heat shield contacted the water first. This eliminated the need for the landing bag cushion used in the Mercury capsule.
Adapter module
The adapter module in turn was separated into a Retro module and an Equipment module.
Retro module
The Retro module contained four solid-fuel TE-M-385 Star-13E retrorockets, each spherical in shape except for its rocket nozzle, which were structurally attached to two beams that reached across the diameter of the retro module, crossing at right angles in the center.[22] Re-entry began with the retrorockets firing one at a time. Abort procedures at certain periods during lift-off would cause them to fire at the same time, thrusting the Descent module away from the Titan rocket.
Equipment module
Gemini was equipped with an
Early short-duration missions had their electrical power supplied by batteries; later endurance missions used the first fuel cells in crewed spacecraft.
Gemini was in some regards more advanced than Apollo because the latter program began almost a year earlier. It became known as a "pilot's spacecraft" due to its assortment of jet fighter-like features, in no small part due to Gus Grissom's influence over the design, and it was at this point where the US crewed space program clearly began showing its superiority over that of the Soviet Union with long duration flight, rendezvous, and extravehicular capability.[note 4] The Soviet Union during this period was developing the Soyuz spacecraft intended to take cosmonauts to the Moon, but political and technical problems began to get in the way, leading to the ultimate end of their crewed lunar program.
Launch vehicle
The
Astronauts
Titles used for the left-hand (command) and right-hand (pilot) seat crew positions were taken from the U.S. Air Force pilot ratings, Command Pilot and Pilot. Sixteen astronauts flew on 10 crewed Gemini missions:
Group | Astronaut | Service | Mission, prime crew position | Mission, backup crew position |
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Astronaut Group 1 | Gordon Cooper | USAF | Gemini 5 Command Pilot | Gemini 12 Command Pilot |
Virgil "Gus" Grissom | Gemini 3 Command Pilot | Gemini 6A Command Pilot | ||
Walter M. Schirra | USN | Gemini 6A Command Pilot | Gemini 3 Command Pilot | |
Astronaut Group 2
|
Neil Armstrong | Civilian[note 5] | Gemini 8 Command Pilot | Gemini 5 Command Pilot |
Gemini 11 Command Pilot | ||||
Frank Borman | USAF | Gemini 7 Command Pilot | Gemini 4 Command Pilot | |
Charles "Pete" Conrad | USN | Gemini 5 Pilot | Gemini 8 Command Pilot | |
Gemini 11 Command Pilot | ||||
Jim Lovell | USN | Gemini 7 Pilot | Gemini 4 Pilot | |
Gemini 12 Command Pilot | Gemini 9A Command Pilot | |||
James McDivitt | USAF | Gemini 4 Command Pilot | — | |
Thomas P. Stafford | Gemini 6A Pilot | Gemini 3 Pilot[note 6] | ||
Gemini 9A Command Pilot | ||||
Ed White | Gemini 4 Pilot | Gemini 7 Command Pilot | ||
John Young | USN | Gemini 3 Pilot | Gemini 6A Pilot | |
Gemini 10 Command Pilot | ||||
Astronaut Group 3
|
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin | USAF | Gemini 12 Pilot | Gemini 9A Pilot |
Eugene Cernan | USN | Gemini 9A Pilot | Gemini 12 Pilot | |
Michael Collins | USAF | Gemini 10 Pilot | Gemini 7 Pilot | |
Richard F. Gordon | USN | Gemini 11 Pilot | Gemini 8 Pilot | |
David Scott | USAF | Gemini 8 Pilot | — | |
Astronauts selected but did not fly | ||||
Astronaut Group 1 | Alan Shepard | USN | Gemini 3 Command Pilot[note 7] | — |
Astronaut Group 2 | Elliot See | Civilian[note 8] | Gemini 9 Command Pilot[note 9] | Gemini 5 Pilot |
Astronaut Group 3 | William Anders | USAF | — | Gemini 11 Pilot |
Charles Bassett | Gemini 9 Pilot[note 9] | — | ||
Alan Bean | USN | — | Gemini 10 Command Pilot | |
Clifton Williams | USMC | — | Gemini 10 Pilot |
Crew selection
In late 1963, Slayton selected Shepard and Stafford for Gemini 3, McDivitt and White for Gemini 4, and Schirra and Young for Gemini 5 (which was to be the first Agena rendezvous mission). The backup crew for Gemini 3 was Grissom and Borman, who were also slated for
Delays in the production of the Agena Target Vehicle caused the first rearrangement of the crew rotation. The Schirra and Young mission was bumped to Gemini 6 and they became the backup crew for Shepard and Stafford. Grissom and Borman then had their long-duration mission assigned to Gemini 5.
The second rearrangement occurred when Shepard developed Ménière's disease, an inner ear problem. Grissom was then moved to command Gemini 3. Slayton felt that Young was a better personality match with Grissom and switched Stafford and Young. Finally, Slayton tapped Cooper to command the long-duration Gemini 5. Again for reasons of compatibility, he moved Conrad from backup commander of Gemini 4 to pilot of Gemini 5, and Borman to backup command of Gemini 4. Finally he assigned Armstrong and Elliot See to be the backup crew for Gemini 5. The third rearrangement of crew assignment occurred when Slayton felt that See wasn't up to the physical demands of EVA on Gemini 8. He reassigned See to be the prime commander of Gemini 9 and put Scott as pilot of Gemini 8 and Charles Bassett as the pilot of Gemini 9.
The fourth and final rearrangement of the Gemini crew assignment occurred after the deaths of See and Bassett when their trainer jet crashed, coincidentally into a McDonnell building which held their Gemini 9 capsule in St. Louis. The backup crew of Stafford and Cernan was then moved up to the new prime crew of Gemini 9A. Lovell and Aldrin were moved from being the backup crew of Gemini 10 to be the backup crew of Gemini 9. This cleared the way through the crew rotation for Lovell and Aldrin to become the prime crew of Gemini 12.
Along with the deaths of Grissom, White, and
Missions
In April 1964 and January 1965, two Gemini missions were flown without crews to test systems and the heat shield. These were followed by 10 flights with crews in 1965 and 1966. All were launched by Titan II launch vehicles. Some highlights from the Gemini program:
- Gemini 3 (Grissom and Young) was the first crewed Gemini mission, first multi-crewed US mission, and the first crewed spacecraft to use thrusters to change its orbit.
- On Gemini 4, Ed White became the first American to make an extravehicular activity (EVA, or "spacewalk") on June 3, 1965.
- Gemini 5 (August 21–29, 1965) demonstrated the 8-day endurance necessary for an Apollo lunar mission with the first use of fuel cells to generate its electrical power.
- Gemini 6A accomplished the first space rendezvous with its sister craft Gemini 7 in December 1965, with Gemini 7 setting a 14-day endurance record for its flight.
- Gemini 8 achieved the first space docking with an uncrewed Agena target vehicle.
- Gemini 10 established that radiation at high altitude was not a problem, further demonstrated the ability to rendezvous with a passive object, and was the first Gemini mission to fire the Agena's own rocket. Michael Collins would be the first person to meet another spacecraft in orbit, during his second successful EVA.
- Gemini 11 first direct-ascent (first orbit) rendezvous with an Agena Target Vehicle, docking with it 1 hour 34 minutes after launch. Set a crewed Earth orbital altitude record of 739.2 nautical miles (1,369.0 km) in September 1966, using the Agena target vehicle's propulsion system. This record still stands as of 2022.[23]
- On Gemini 12, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first space traveler to prove that useful work (EVA) could be done outside a spacecraft without life-threatening exhaustion, due to newly implemented footholds, handholds, and scheduled rest periods.
Rendezvous in orbit is not a straightforward maneuver. Should a spacecraft increase its speed to catch up with another, the result is that it goes into a higher and slower orbit and the distance thereby increases. The right procedure is to go to a lower orbit first and which increases relative speed, and then approach the target spacecraft from below and decrease orbital speed to meet it.[24] To practice these maneuvers, special rendezvous and docking simulators were built for the astronauts.[25]
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Edward White during spacewalk, Gemini 4, June 1965
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Rendezvous of Gemini 6A and 7, December 1965
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First docking; Agena target is seen from Gemini 8, March 1966
Mission | LV serial No | Spacecraft Nº | Command Pilot | Pilot | Mission dates | Launch time | Duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gemini 1 | GLV-1 12556 | SC1 | Uncrewed | Uncrewed | 8–12 April 1964 | 16:00 UTC | 03d 23h1 |
First test flight of Gemini; spacecraft was intentionally destroyed during re-entry 1: The mission duration was 4h 50m, sufficient to achieve all of the mission aims in three orbits; the spacecraft remained in orbit for 3d 23h. | |||||||
Gemini 2 | GLV-2 12557 | SC2 | Uncrewed | Uncrewed | 19 January 1965 | 14:04 UTC | 00d 00h 18m 16s |
Suborbital flight to test heat shield | |||||||
Gemini 3 |
GLV-3 12558 | SC3 | Grissom | Young | 23 March 1965 | 14:24 UTC | 00d 04h 52m 31s |
First crewed Gemini flight, three orbits. | |||||||
Gemini IV |
GLV-4 12559 | SC4 | McDivitt | White | 3–7 June 1965 | 15:16 UTC | 04d 01h 56m 12s |
Included first extravehicular activity (EVA) by an American; White's "space walk" was a 22-minute EVA exercise.
| |||||||
Gemini V |
GLV-5 12560 | SC5 | Cooper | Conrad | 21–29 August 1965 | 14:00 UTC | 07d 22h 55m 14s |
First week-long flight; first use of fuel cells for electrical power; evaluated guidance and navigation system for future rendezvous missions. Completed 120 orbits. | |||||||
Gemini VII |
GLV-7 12562 | SC7 | Borman | Lovell | 4–18 December 1965 | 19:30 UTC | 13d 18h 35m 01s |
When the original Gemini VI mission was scrubbed because the launch of the Agena docking target failed, Gemini VII was used as the rendezvous target instead. Primary objective was to determine whether humans could live in space for 14 days. Completed 206 orbits. | |||||||
Gemini VI-A |
GLV-6 12561 | SC6 | Schirra | Stafford | 15–16 December 1965 | 13:37 UTC | 01d 01h 51m 24s |
Rescheduled from October to rendezvous with Gemini VII after the original Agena Target Vehicle launch failed. First space rendezvous accomplished, station-keeping for over five hours at distances from 1 to 300 feet (0.30 to 91 m). First musical instruments played in space; crew played "Jingle Bells" on a harmonica and a ring of small bells as part of a jocular Santa Claus sighting.[26][27] | |||||||
Gemini VIII |
GLV-8 12563 | SC8 | Armstrong | Scott | 16–17 March 1966 | 16:41 UTC | 00d 10h 41m 26s |
Accomplished first docking with another space vehicle, an uncrewed Agena Target Vehicle. While docked, a Gemini spacecraft thruster malfunction caused near-fatal tumbling of the craft, which, after undocking, Armstrong was able to overcome; the crew effected the first emergency landing of a crewed U.S. space mission. | |||||||
Gemini IX-A |
GLV-9 12564 | SC9 | Stafford | Cernan | 3–6 June 1966 | 13:39 UTC | 03d 00h 20m 50s |
Rescheduled from May to rendezvous and dock with the Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA) after the original Agena Target Vehicle launch failed. The ATDA shroud did not completely separate, making docking impossible (right). Three different types of rendezvous, two hours of EVA, and 44 orbits were completed. |
|||||||
Gemini X |
GLV-10 12565 | SC10 | Young | Collins | 18–21 July 1966 | 22:20 UTC | 02d 22h 46m 39s |
First use of the Agena Target Vehicle's propulsion systems. The spacecraft also rendezvoused with the Agena Target Vehicle from Gemini VIII. Collins had 49 minutes of EVA standing in the hatch and 39 minutes of EVA to retrieve experiments from the Agena. 43 orbits completed. | |||||||
Gemini XI |
GLV-11 12566 | SC11 | Conrad | Gordon | 12–15 September 1966 | 14:42 UTC | 02d 23h 17m 09s |
Gemini record altitude with apogee of 739.2 nautical miles (1,369.0 km)[23] reached using the Agena Target Vehicle propulsion system after first orbit rendezvous and docking. Gordon made a 33-minute EVA and two-hour standup EVA. 44 orbits.
| |||||||
Gemini XII |
GLV-12 12567 | SC12 | Lovell | Aldrin | 11–15 November 1966 | 20:46 UTC | 03d 22h 34m 31s |
Final Gemini flight. Rendezvoused and docked manually with the target Agena and kept station with it during EVA. Aldrin set an EVA record of 5 hours and 30 minutes for one space walk and two stand-up exercises, and demonstrated solutions to previous EVA problems. 59 orbits completed |
Gemini-Titan launches and serial numbers
The Gemini-Titan II launch vehicle was adapted by NASA from the U.S. Air Force Titan II ICBM. (Similarly, the Mercury-Atlas launch vehicle had been adapted from the USAF Atlas missile.) The Gemini-Titan II rockets were assigned Air Force serial numbers, which were painted in four places on each Titan II (on opposite sides on each of the first and second stages). USAF crews maintained Launch Complex 19 and prepared and launched all of the Gemini-Titan II launch vehicles. Data and experience operating the Titans was of value to both the U.S. Air Force and NASA.
The USAF serial numbers assigned to the Gemini-Titan launch vehicles are given in the tables above. Fifteen Titan IIs were ordered in 1962 so the serial is "62-12XXX", but only "12XXX" is painted on the Titan II. The order for the last three of the 15 launch vehicles was canceled on July 30, 1964, and they were never built. Serial numbers were, however, assigned to them prospectively: 12568 - GLV-13; 12569 - GLV-14; and 12570 - GLV-15.
Program cost
From 1962 to 1967, Gemini cost $1.3 billion in 1967 dollars ($9.07 billion in 2023[28]).[1] In January 1969, a NASA report to the US Congress estimating the costs for Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo (through the first crewed Moon landing) included $1.2834 billion for Gemini: $797.4 million for spacecraft, $409.8 million for launch vehicles, and $76.2 million for support.[29]
Current location of hardware
Spacecraft
- Gemini 1: Intentionally disintegrated upon re-entry to the atmosphere
- Gemini 2: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
- Gemini III: Grissom Memorial, Spring Mill State Park, Mitchell, Indiana
- Gemini IV: National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
- Gemini V: Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston, Texas
- Gemini VI: Stafford Air & Space Museum, Weatherford, Oklahoma
- Gemini VII: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia
- Gemini VIII: Armstrong Air and Space Museum, Wapakoneta, Ohio
- Gemini IX: Kennedy Space Center, NASA, Merritt Island, Florida
- Gemini X: Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson, Kansas
- Gemini XI: California Museum of Science and Industry, Los Angeles, California
- Gemini XII: Adler Planetarium, Chicago, Illinois
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Gemini 2 at Air Force Space and Missile Museum in 2006
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Gemini III at Grissom Memorial in 2011
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Gemini IV at National Air and Space Museum in 2009
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Gemini V at Johnson Space Center in 2011
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Gemini VI-A at Stafford Air & Space Museum in 2011
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Gemini VII at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
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Gemini VIII at Armstrong Air and Space Museum in 2010
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Gemini IX-A at Kennedy Space Center in 2011
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Gemini X at Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in 2010
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Gemini XI at California Museum of Science and Industry in 2013
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Gemini XII at Adler Planetarium in 2010
Trainers and boilerplates
- Gemini 3A (2411):
- Gemini MOL-B (2411): National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio[32]
- Gemini Mission Simulator (5143): U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama[33]
- Gemini Trainer: Discovery Center, Fresno, California
- Gemini Trainer: Kentucky Science Center, Louisville, Kentucky[34]
- Gemini Water Egress Trainer: Texas Air Museum, Slaton, Texas[35]
- Gemini Trainer: Kalamazoo Air Museum, Kalamazoo, Michigan[36]
- Trainer: Pate Museum of Transportation, Fort Worth, Texas[37]
- GATV (6165): National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. (not on display)[38][39]
- El Kabong: Kalamazoo Air Museum, Kalamazoo, Michigan[40]
- MSC 312: Private residence, Holden, MA[41]
- MSC 313: Private residence, San Jose, California[42]
- Paresev 1A (Rogallo Test Vehicle): Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia
- TTV-1 (6873) paraglider capsule: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia[43]
- TTV-2 paraglider capsule: Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh[44]
- Gemini boilerplate: Air Force Space and Missile Museum, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida[45]
- Gemini boilerplate: Air Force Space and Missile Museum, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida[46]
- Ingress/Egress Trainer: U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama[47][48]
- MSC-307: NAS Alameda, Alameda, California[49]
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Gemini MOL-B, National Museum of the United States Air Force.
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Gemini Mission Simulator, U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
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Gemini Water Egress Trainer, Texas Air Museum.
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Gemini Trainer, Kalamazoo Air Museum.
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El Kabong, Kalamazoo Air Museum.
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Paresev 1A, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
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TTV-1, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
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TTV-2, Museum of Scotland.
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Gemini boilerplate,Air Force Space & Missile Museum.
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MSC-307,USS Hornet Museum
Mockups and models
A number of detailed Gemini models and mockups are on display:[50]
- Gemini Model - Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, New York, NY
- Gemini Model - The Discovery Center, Fresno, CA
- Gemini Model (built for From the Earth to the Moon)- Evergreen Aviation Museum, McMinnville, Oregon
- Gemini Sit-in Model - KSC Visitors Center, Kennedy Space Center FL
- Gemini Model - Science Museum Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK
- Gemini Model (made by McDonnell) - Boeing Prologue Room, St. Louis, MO
- Gemini Model (made by McDonnell) - Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago, IL
- Gemini Sit-in Model - Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum, Wapakoneta, OH
- Gemini Mockup (winner of the 1967 Revell contest) - Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, OR
- Gemini Model (made by McDonnell) - San Diego Air & Space Museum, San Diego, CA
- Gemini Model - Stafford Air & Space Museum, Weatherford, OK
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Gemini model,Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
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Gemini model, Evergreen Aviation Museum.
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Gemini sit-in model, KSC Visitors Center.
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Gemini sit-in model, Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum.
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Gemini mockup, Oregon Air and Space Museum.
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Gemini model, Stafford Air & Space Museum.
Proposed extensions and applications
Advanced Gemini
McDonnell Aircraft, the main contractor for Mercury and Gemini, was also one of the original bidders on the prime contract for Apollo, but lost out to North American Aviation. McDonnell later sought to extend the Gemini program by proposing a derivative which could be used to fly a cislunar mission and even achieve a crewed lunar landing earlier and at less cost than Apollo, but these proposals were rejected by NASA.
A range of applications were considered for Advanced Gemini missions, including military flights, space station crew and logistics delivery, and lunar flights. The Lunar proposals ranged from reusing the docking systems developed for the Agena Target Vehicle on more powerful upper stages such as the Centaur, which could propel the spacecraft to the Moon, to complete modifications of the Gemini to enable it to land on the lunar surface. Its applications would have ranged from crewed lunar flybys before Apollo was ready, to providing emergency shelters or rescue for stranded Apollo crews, or even replacing the Apollo program.
Some of the Advanced Gemini proposals used "off-the-shelf" Gemini spacecraft, unmodified from the original program, while others featured modifications to allow the spacecraft to carry more crew, dock with space stations, visit the Moon, and perform other mission objectives. Other modifications considered included the addition of wings or a parasail to the spacecraft, in order to enable it to make a horizontal landing.
Big Gemini
Big Gemini (or "Big G") was another proposal by McDonnell Douglas made in August 1969. It was intended to provide large-capacity, all-purpose access to space, including missions that ultimately used Apollo or the Space Shuttle.
The study was performed to generate a preliminary definition of a logistic spacecraft derived from Gemini that would be used to resupply an orbiting space station. Land-landing at a preselected site and refurbishment and reuse were design requirements. Two baseline spacecraft were defined: a nine-man minimum modification version of the Gemini B called Min-Mod Big G and a 12-man advanced concept, having the same exterior geometry but with new, state-of-the-art subsystems, called Advanced Big G.[51] Three launch vehicles-Saturn IB, Titan IIIM, and Saturn INT-20 (S-IC/S-IVB) were investigated for use with the spacecraft.
Military applications
The Air Force had an interest in the Gemini system, and decided to use its own modification of the spacecraft as the crew vehicle for the
The USAF also thought of adapting the Gemini spacecraft for military applications, such as crude observation of the ground (no specialized reconnaissance camera could be carried) and practicing making rendezvous with suspicious satellites. This project was called Blue Gemini. The USAF did not like the fact that Gemini would have to be recovered by the US Navy, so they intended for Blue Gemini eventually to use the airfoil and land on three skids, carried over from the original design of Gemini.
At first some within NASA welcomed sharing of the cost with the USAF, but it was later agreed that NASA was better off operating Gemini by itself. Blue Gemini was canceled in 1963 by
In media
- Two Gemini capsules (codenamed "Jupiter" instead of "Gemini") are featured in the plot of the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice.
- A modified one-person Gemini capsule is used to send an astronaut (played by Countdown.
- Gemini missions 4, 8 and 12 feature in the first episode of the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon'
- Like other US space programs, Gemini was covered in the 1985 PBS series "Spaceflight"
- Some aspects of the Gemini program relating to astronaut Neil Armstrong were touched upon in the 2018 film First Man.
- Many episodes of the television show I Dream of Jeannie featured launch pad and launch footage of various Gemini missions.
- Gemini, is a layer 7 telecom standard named after the Gemini missions. Its non-standard port number, 1965, is a reference to the first mission date.
See also
- List of crewed spacecraft
- Splashdown (spacecraft landing)
- Timeline of hydrogen technologies
- US space exploration history on US stamps
References
Notes
- ^ The only Gemini spacecraft not launched by a Titan II was the reflight of Gemini 2 for a Manned Orbiting Laboratory test in 1966, which used a Titan IIIC.
- ^ Gemini 3 used the Mercury Control Center located at Cape Kennedy for flight control, as the new center was still in test status. Gemini 4 was the first to be guided from Houston, with Mercury Control as a backup. From Gemini 5 through today, all flights are controlled from Houston.
- ^ The requirement for a touchdown on land using a paraglider was canceled in 1964.
- ^ During the ten crewed flights of the Gemini program, the Soviets made no crewed flights, and despite achieving the first EVA, did no more EVAs until January 1969.
- ^ Armstrong had left the US Navy and was already a NASA test pilot when he and Elliot See became the first civilian astronauts in Astronaut Group 2; see Armstrong's NASA biography and a description of his receiving a NASA award, among others.
- ^ Stafford was originally selected as the Pilot on the prime crew of Gemini 3 alongside Alan Shepard; following Shepard's grounding as a result of Ménière's disease, Stafford swapped places with John Young.
- ^ Shepard was originally selected as the Command Pilot of Gemini 3, but was grounded following a diagnosis of Ménière's disease, an inner ear disorder.
- ^ See had left the United States Navy and was employed as a test pilot and engineer for General Electric when he was selected as part of Astronaut Group 2
- ^ a b See and Bassett were the original prime crew for Gemini 9, but were killed in a plane crash on February 28, 1966
Citations
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the
- ^ a b Lafleur, Claude (2010-03-08). "Costs of US piloted programs". The Space Review. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
- ^ a b Schwartz, John (October 17, 2018). "Why Does 'First Man' Say Gemini as 'Geminee'? NASA Explains. Sorta". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Gainor (2001), pp. 93, 97–99.
- ^ Hacker & Grimwood (1977), pp. XV, 75.
- ^ Loff (2013).
- ^ a b Murray & Cox (1989), pp. 33–34.
- ^ Reguly (1965), p. 7.
- ^ Hacker & Grimwood (1977), p. 75.
- ^ a b Agle (1998).
- ^ Farmer & Hamblin (2004), pp. 51–54.
- ^ Gatland (1976), p. 42.
- ^ Dryden (1964), p. 362.
- ^ Dryden (1964), p. 364.
- ^ Glen E. Swanson, ed., "Before This Decade Is Out: Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program," Dover Publications 2012, p. 354.
- ^ Betancourt, Mark (October–November 2018). "Abort!". Air & Space/Smithsonian. Vol. 33, no. 5. p. 39. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ Vantine, William (October 15, 1997). "Thomas P. Stafford Oral History". Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. NASA. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ a b Tomayko (1988), pp. 10–19.
- ^ Burkey (2012).
- ^ "IBM Archives: IBM and the Gemini Program". 23 January 2003.
- ^ C. A. Leist and J. C. Condell, "Gemini Programming Manual", 1966
- ^ "Losing Rogallo from Gemini". Vintage Space. Amy Shira Teitel. 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
- ^ Rocket Motor, TE-M-385, Solid Propellant, Gemini Spacecraft Retro.
- ^ a b Dumoulin, Jim (August 25, 2000), NASA Project Gemini-XI, archived from the original on September 18, 2018, retrieved April 12, 2010
- ^ Buzz Aldrin (Fall 2005). "Orbital Rendezvous". Buzz Aldrin's Share Space Foundation. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- ^ "NASA, Project Gemini". NASA. Archived from the original on 2004-11-07. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
- ^ "NASA Mum on 'Jingling'"[permanent dead link], Palm Beach Post, Dec 17, 1965
- YouTube
- Gross Domestic Product deflatorfigures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
- ^ Wilford, John Noble (July 1969). We Reach the Moon. New York: Bantam Books. p. 67.
- ^ "St. Louis Science Center". heroicrelics.org. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
- ^ "A Field Guide to American Spacecraft". 2019-04-08. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
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- ^ "A Field Guide to American Spacecraft". 2019-04-10. Archived from the original on 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
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- ^ https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/target-adapter-agena (Wayback Machine 2018-09-19)
- ^ "A Field Guide to American Spacecraft | Gemini Index". 2019-03-28. Archived from the original on 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
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Books
- Farmer, Gene; Hamblin, Dora Jane (2004). First On the Moon: A Voyage With Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-7607-5510-5.
- ISBN 978-0-8032-1128-5.
- Gainor, Chris (2001). Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books. ISBN 978-1-896522-83-8.
- Gatland, Kenneth (1976). Manned Spacecraft (Second ed.). New York: Macmillan.
- Hacker, Barton C.; Grimwood, James M. (1977). On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini (PDF). NASA SP-4203. Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
- Harland, David M. (2004). How NASA Learned to Fly in Space: An Exciting Account of the Gemini Missions. Burlington, Ontario: Apogee Books. ISBN 978-1-894959-07-0. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
- ISBN 978-0-7432-0079-0. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
- ISBN 978-0-671-61101-9.
- Shayler, David J. Gemini, Springer-Verlag Telos, 2001, ISBN 1-85233-405-3
- Tomayko, James E. (1988). "The Gemini Digital Computer: First Machine in Orbit". Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience. Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
Articles
- Agle, D.C. (September 1998). "Flying the Gusmobile". Air and Space Magazine. 12 (4). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
- Agle, D.C. (September 1998a). "Riding the Titan II". Air and Space Magazine. 12 (4). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
- Burkey, Ronald (2012-01-08). "Gemini Spacecraft On-Board Computer (OBC)". Archived from the original on 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
- Dryden, Hugh (March 1964). "Footprints on the Moon". National Geographic Magazine. 125 (3). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society: 357–401. Retrieved 2015-01-04.[dead link]
- Loff, Sarah (2013-10-21). "Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon". Gemini: Bridge to the Moon. Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original on 2014-12-21. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
- Reguly, Robert (1965-09-03). "Canadians who helped Gemini 'Go'". Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. 7.
- Project Gemini —A Chronology (NASA report SP-4002) (PDF format)
- Gemini Midprogram Conference —Including Experiment Results (NASA report SP-121) —Manned Spacecraft Center —Houston, Texas, February 23–25, 1966
- Gemini Summary Conference (NASA report SP-138) —Manned Spacecraft Center —Houston, Texas, February 1–2, 1967
External links
- NASA Project Gemini images and videos
- NASA Project Gemini science site Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
- Project Gemini Drawings and Technical Diagrams Archived 2021-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Gemini familiarization Manuals (PDF format).
- NASA History Series Publications (many of which are on-line)
- Project Gemini McDonnell Employee Video Interviews and Archival Documents: Western Historical Manuscripts Collection in St. Louis, Missouri