The Gemini Project

Overview

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced on December 7th, 1961, a plan to extend the existing manned space flight program by development of a two-man spacecraft. The program was officially designated Gemini on January 3rd, 1962. It was named after the third constellation of the zodiac, featuring the twin stars Castor and Pollux. The program was operationally completed with the Gemini XII flight.

The Gemini program was managed by the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas, under direction of the Office of Manned Space Flight, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC., Dr. George E. Mueller, Associate Administrator of NASA for Manned Space Flight, served as acting director of the Gemini program. William C. Schneider, Deputy Director of Manned Space Flight for Mission Operations, served as Mission Director on all Gemini flights beginning with Gemini V.

The Manned Spacecraft Center Gemini effort was headed by Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, director of the Center, and Charles W. Matthews, Gemini Program Manager.

Program Objectives
The Gemini Program was conceived after it became evident to NASA officials that an intermediate step was required between Project Mercury and the Apollo Program. The major objectives assigned to Gemini were:

• To subject two men and supporting equipment to long duration flights -- a requirement for projected later trips to the moon or deeper space.
• To effect rendezvous and docking with other orbiting vehicles, and to maneuver the docked vehicles in space, using the propulsion system of the target vehicle for such maneuvers.
• To perfect methods of reentry and landing the spacecraft at a pre-selected land-landing point.
• To gain additional information concerning the effects of weightlessness on crew members and to record the physiological reactions of crew members during long duration flights.

A brief summary of the Gemini flight results reveals how successful the Gemini Program was. All of the major objectives were met as well as many other objectives assigned to each mission, with the exception of land landing which was canceled from the Gemini Program in 1964. However, the precision control necessary to achieve the land landing objective was demonstrated.

Gemini Goals
The second U.S. manned space program was announced in January 1962.
Its two-man crew gave it its name, Gemini, for the third constellation of the
Zodiac and its twin stars, Castor and Pollux. Gemini involved 12 flights,
including two unmanned flight tests of the equipment. Like Mercury's, its major objectives were clear-cut:

• To subject man and equipment to space flight up to two weeks in duration.
• To rendezvous and dock with orbiting vehicles and to maneuver the docked combination by using the target vehicle's propulsion system;
• To perfect methods of entering the atmosphere and landing at a preselected point on land. Its goals were also met, with the exception of a land landing, which was cancelled in 1964.

The Spacecraft
The spacecraft was an enlargement of the familiar Mercury capsule--5.8m (19 ft) long, 3m (10 ft) in diameter, and about 3810 kilograms (8400 pounds) in weight. Engineering changes simplified maintenance and made it more maneuverable for the pilots. The Titan II rocket, more powerful than the Redstone, placed the larger spacecraft into orbit.

Sometimes referred to as Gemini-Titan for the craft and its launch vehicle, each flight was designated by a Roman numeral. Only the first capsule was nicknamed; Command Pilot Virgil Grissom called it the Molly Brown in reference to his Mercury spacecraft that sank.

The unmanned Gemini Missions

Gemini I
8th April, 1964
4 Days, hours, min, seconds

Gemini II
19th January, 1965
18 min, 16 seconds

The Manned Flights

	Gemini III, Molly Brown 23rd March, 1965 Virgil I. Grissom, John W. Young 4 hours, 52 minutes 31 seconds First manned Gemini flight, three orbits.
	Gemini IV 3rd - 7th June, 1965 James A. McDivitt , Edward H. White II 4 days 1 hour 56 minutes 12 seconds Included first extravehicular activity (EVA) by an American; White's "space walk" was a 22 minute EVA exercise.
	Gemini V 21st - 29th August, 1965 L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. , Charles Conrad, Jr. 7 days 22 hours 55 minutes 14 seconds First use of fuel cells for electrical power; evaluated guidance and navigation system for future rendezvous missions. Completed 120 orbits.
	Gemini VII 4th - 18th December, 1965 Frank Borman , James A. Lovell, Jr. 13 days, 18 hours, 35 minutes 1 seconds When the Gemini VI mission was scrubbed because its Agena target for rendezvous and docking failed, Gemini VII was used for the rendezvous instead. Primary objective was to determine whether humans could live in space for 14 days.
	Gemini VI-A 15th - 16th December, 1965 Walter M. Schirra, Jr. , Thomas P. Stafford 1 Day 1 hour 51 minutes 24 seconds First space rendezvous accomplished with Gemini VII, station-keeping for over five hours at distances from 0.3 to 90 m (1 to 295 ft).
	Gemini VIII 16th March, 1966 Neil A. Armstrong , David R. Scott 10 hours 41 minutes 26 seconds Accomplished first docking with another space vehicle, an unmanned Agena stage. A malfunction caused uncontrollable spinning of the craft; the crew undocked and effected the first emergency landing of a manned U.S. space mission.
	Gemini IX-A 3rd - 6th June, 1966 Thomas P. Stafford , Eugene A. Cernan 3 days 21 hours Rescheduled from May to rendezvous and dock with augmented target docking adapter (ATDA) after original Agena target vehicle failed to orbit. ATDA shroud did not completely separate, making docking impossible. Three different types of rendezvous, two hours of EVA, and 44 orbits were completed.
	Gemini X 18th - 21st July, 1966 John W. Young , Michael Collins 2 days 22 hours 46 minutes 39 seconds First use of Agena target vehicle's propulsion systems. Spacecraft also rendezvoused with Gemini VIII target vehicle. Collins had 49 minutes of EVA standing in the hatch and 39 minutes of EVA to retrieve experiment from Agena stage. 43 orbits completed.
	Gemini XI 12 - 15th September, 1966 Charles Conrad, Jr. , Richard F. Gordon, Jr. 2 days 23 hours 17 min 8 seconds Gemini record altitude, 1,189.3 km (739.2 mi) reached using Agena propulsion system after first orbit rendezvous and docking. Gordon made 33-minute EVA and two-hour standup EVA. 44 orbits.
	Gemini XII 11th - 15th November, 1966 James A. Lovell, Jr. , Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. 3 days 22 hours 34 minutes 31 seconds Final Gemini flight. Rendezvoused and docked with its target Agena and kept station with it during EVA. Aldrin set an EVA record of 5 hours, 30 minutes for one space walk and two stand-up exercises.