What was the Gemini Program? - National Air and Space Museum
WEBSep 22, 2022 · The Gemini program sent two-astronaut spacecraft into Earth orbit. The missions helped NASA understand and master the challenges of spacewalking, rendezvous and docking, and long-duration spaceflight. Explore some of the key accomplishments of the Gemini program below. The Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft.
Gemini program - National Air and Space Museum
WEBProject Gemini took place between the Mercury program, which was the United States' first human spaceflight program, and the Apollo program, which put the first human on the Moon. Mercury sent astronauts to space for longer periods of time than previously. This allowed NASA to learn more about space's effects on the human body—in preparation ...
The World’s First Space Rendezvous
WEBDec 15, 2015 · The Gemini VII spacecraft was the heaviest ever launched, a bit over 3,636 kg (8,000 lbs.), in part because of the extra food and water supply, and in part because the capsule was retrofitted for a transponder to return the radar signal from VI-A. Working long hours, pad crews cleaned up the launch damage and re-erected the other vehicle.
Spinning Out of Control: Gemini VIII’s Near-Disaster
WEBMar 16, 2021 · Fifty-five years ago, on March 16, 1966, the Gemini VIII astronauts made the world’s first space docking, quickly followed by the first life-threatening, in-flight emergency in the short history of the U.S. human spaceflight program. Gemini VIII, joined to its Agena target vehicle, began spinning and gyrating; when the astronauts undocked ...
Almost Blind and Completely Exhausted: Gene Cernan’s Disastrous …
WEBJun 4, 2021 · Cernan flew on Gemini IX-A with Tom Stafford as his commander, part of a series of short missions with the two-astronaut Gemini spacecraft in 1966. These flights aimed to develop experience in EVAs and in rendezvous and docking, techniques needed if the U.S. was going to land on the Moon by the end of the decade.
Gemini 7 spacecraft interior | National Air and Space Museum
WEBVisit. National Air and Space Museum in DC Udvar-Hazy Center in VA Plan a field trip Plan a group visit. One museum, two locations. Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.
Fuel Cell, Gemini | National Air and Space Museum
WEBFuel Cell, Gemini. This fuel cell is a test version of the electric-power generating device used on the two-astronaut Gemini spacecraft during seven missions in 1965-66. It was run for over 1000 hours to demonstrate long-duration functioning. A fuel cell is like a battery, in that it uses a chemical reaction to create an electrical current.
Gemini Heat Shield, Ablated | National Air and Space Museum
WEBGemini Heat Shield, Ablated. A heat shield protected the two-man Gemini spacecraft against the enormous heat of reentry into the atmosphere beginning at a velocity of more than 27,500 kilometers (17,000 miles) per hour. Like those of other early human spacecraft, Gemini's heat shield derived from ballistic-missile warhead technology.
Failure to Launch: The Heart-Stopping Pad Shutdown of Gemini VI-A
WEBDec 12, 2020 · Photo taken by astronaut Thomas Stafford of Gemini VII from inside Gemini VI as the two spacecraft rendezvoused on December 15, 1965. There was a coda to the close call on the twelfth. Thirteen-and-a-half months later, three of their colleagues, Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, would die in a launch-pad fire inside the Apollo 1 ...
Model Kit, Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft, 1/48
WEBThis unassembled plastic model kit including models of three American spacecraft was built and sold by Revell, Inc. The models inside include a one-person Mercury spacecraft, a two-person Gemini spacecraft, and the three-person Apollo command and service module. The box art appealed to prospective consumers with accurate photographs of each of ...