Project: Gemini

No sooner had Alan Shepard flown in space President John F. Kennedy publicly challenged the Russians, who were ahead in the game at that point, to a race for the Moon in his famous speech to Congress:


"I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."

- President John F. Kennedy
Special Joint Session of Congress
25 May, 1961


Project Gemini would be the vehicle in taking the next logical steps in that process.


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Gemini Titan
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The Mercury Project had proven that humans could work and operate in space over significant periods of time, and could be returned safely back to Earth, so the challenge was down, and the gloves came off.

The two-man Gemini capsules were a development, and enlargement, of the already-proven Mercury capsules, but being heavier at 3,810kg. The Redstone and Atlas rockets were too small for these capsules. So larger, more powerful, Titan II rockets were used for all the Gemini missions between 1965 and 1966. Gemini-Titan missions utilised a roman numeral designating flight number.

So, the new brief became: Design and test all of the operations and equipment which would be required to land a man on the moon.


Rendezvous in Space


Gemini-III
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After two unmanned missions, Gemini 3 launched from Launch Complex 19 on March 23, 1965 to test out all the new systems. In command was Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom alongside pilot John W. Young. On this mission, Grissom became the first man ever to return to space. He would later go on to be the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 1.


Gemini-IV
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Gemini-IV was to prove rather historical, it being the very first time an American astronaut, Edward H. White, would exit a capsule to perform Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) in space.

Problems developed aboard Gemini IV with a fuel cell, which stopped the planned rendezvous her crew were to make with a Radar Evaluation Pod (REP). The problem was not serious enough to jeopardise the lives of the crew however, and they returned safely back to Earth.



GT-VI Abort
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Gemini-VII was actually launched 11 days ahead of Gemini-VI, because Gemini-VI had an aborted launch on 25 October 1965.

The Gemini-VII's mission was re-structured to allow it to be used as a rendezvous target for the coinciding flight of Gemini-VI - this dual-mission became the first involved a rendezvous in space. Gemini's IV and V's missions all had technical difficulties which prevented their attempting to rendezvous with Atlas Agena-launched artificial targets for one reason or another.



GT-VII from GT-VI
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GT-VII from GT-VI
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GT-VII from GT-VI
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GT-VII from GT-VI
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The two craft completed their rendezvous in space perfectly. They were never going to dock, but they came close enough for the crews of each craft to wave at one another. This proved that a manned mission would be able to navigate their way to a rendezvous in space. In addition, Gemini-VI also managed it's secondary target of stationkeeping with it's own Titan-II Launch Vehicle whilst in orbit.

Of interest, the Pilot of Gemini-VII was James A. Lovell who would later become even more famous as the commander aboard the miraculous Apollo 13.

Nearly There Now


GATV-6 Launch
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GATV-6
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GATV-6
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Gemini-VIII had the honour of being the very first craft to make a successful docking to an object in space - a GATV (Gemini-Agena Target Vehicle) number 6, which was launched specifically for this maneuver by an earlier Atlas Agena rocket.



Atlas Agena
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Neil A. Armstrong
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A minor problem aboard Gemini-VIII prevented a planned re-rendezvous with the GATV later in the mission, but the first rendezvous had gone by the book so the mission was still an unprecedented success.

An interesting fact is that in command of this prestigious craft was a certain Neil A. Armstrong who would go on to do bigger things in the Apollo program.


Gemini-IX's original crew, Elliott M. See and Charles Bassett, had been killed in an airplane crash on 28 February, 1966. The backup crew were named to flight crew for the mission. They were unable to re-create the success of Gemini-VIII because their GATV target in space had not fully separated from a shroud used to protect it during launch.

Gemini-X managed the re-rendezvous without hitch, and even managed a third time, though this time using the GATV-8's propulsion system rather than the Gemini-X's. During one docking with a GATV it 'boosted' the target higher up in it's orbit.

Another smooth rendezvous and successful parking in a higher orbit of GATV-10 were notable parts of the Gemini-XI mission. An EVA managed successfully to tether the GATV and the capsule together and to unattach again. On re-entry a new automatic re-entry system was put through it's paces and proved successful.

The final Gemini mission was Gemini-XII. It had a similar brief to the previous mission, but a slight propulsion problem prevented some of the docked maneuvering. Additionally, the planned boosting to a higher orbit was not performed due to technical problems with the GATV itself.


James A. Lovell
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Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin
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The crew of Gemini-XII would earn more fame in the future: In command was James A. Lovell who would command the fateful Apollo 13, and his pilot for Gemini-XII is Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin who would later pilot Apollo 11.

All in all the Gemini missions proved that all of the rendezvous requirements to be used on the Moon missions would work. They proved they could navigate to and successfully dock with another object in space. They could maneuver with two craft docked and they could separate and re-dock at will. All of which they would needed to accomplish on the trip to the moon. Gemini had proven the technology, and now it was time to step forward once again and start the race itself. It was time for Apollo to reach for the Moon.


The manned Project Gemini capsules were commanded and piloted by astronauts:


Last modified: 2nd July 2001

© Ross B. Tierney, 2001.