Questions tagged [project-gemini]
Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of the United States. It was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966.
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Gemini Ejection seat usage during late stages of reentry
Gemini in one way or another was a somewhat unique spacecraft. One such unique feature was having a ejection seat. While reading trough the document Development and qualification of gemini escape ...
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Were there any external markings or features that allow the Gemini VI and VII capsules to be identified in photographs taken on-orbit?
(Inspired by What are these on the Gemini Spacecraft?)
Gemini VI-A and VII rendezvoused and pictures of the spacecraft were taken.
Given only the pictures and no other information, are there markings ...
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What are these on the Gemini Spacecraft?
What are these (circled in red) protruding from the retrograde section of the Gemini spacecraft?
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Request for high quality Titan II turbopump audio
I'm making a historical spaceflight mod and I'm close to starting work on Titan II. Does anybody have high-quality audio clips of the Titan bwoop?
All I have right now are the news broadcasts for ...
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Mystery balls! Gemini apparently had "thousands of hollow ping-pong-sized balls made of extremely thin aluminum embedded within its walls". What?
This fascinating answer says that "The Gemini capsule floated because it had thousands of hollow balls made of extremely thin aluminum, each composed of two half-spheres welded together, the size ...
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Has Buzz Aldrin’s Line-of-Sight rendezvous method ever been used?
Has Buzz Aldrin’s Line-of-Sight rendezvous method ever been used?
Buzz Aldrin’s 1963 doctoral thesis describes a line-of-sight (LOS) rendezvous technique which is independent of computer and radar ...
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During orbital rendezvous, at what distance and approach velocity does the transition from orbital mechanics to “boating around” occur?
During the intercept (terminal) phase of orbital rendezvous, the intercepting spacecraft must use Proportional Navigation or Orbital Mechanics to develop an intercept course: all that counterintuative ...
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OPS 0855 Gemini B Separation
On 3 November 1966 a modified Titan IIC launched from LC-40 in Cape Canaveral. This launch would be the only launch as part of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program. Designated OPS 0855 the vehicle ...
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How practical was the suggestion to cut the lanyards on the Gemini 9A mission?
The Gemini 9A mission was supposed to rendezvous with an Agena target vehicle, but due to lanyards not being removed before launch the conical nose shroud was still attached and docking was impossible....
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Which spacecraft are models in this Astronaut Group 1+2 photo?
The picture below of NASA Astronaut Groups 1 and 2 was taken in February 1963. Astronaut Group 1 was the original Mercury 7, and are seated in the front row (Cooper, Grissom, Carpenter, Schirra, ...
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What were the sizes of the roll-on cuffs called?
Early astronauts used roll-on cuffs to collect their urine. I remember hearing once that these cuffs were available in 3 sizes, but the NASA had to change the names of the sizes because astronauts ...
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"Re-entry" vs "Reaction" in RCS
Reading through the Wikipedia (not known for being the bastion of all truth but usually a decent starting point) article for Gemini 8, I came across this passage (emphasis mine):
The astronauts ...
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Why did early MOL/Gemini aborts involving the separation of the crew capsule from the launcher still call for the crew to eject afterwards?
The Gemini spacecraft, often given as an example of a manned space capsule with no launch escape system, or LES (it used individual ejection seats instead), did, in fact, have an LES, although not one ...
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Did the RTCC ever “fail over” to the standby computer during a mission?
The Real Time Computer Complex (RTCC) was the central computing facility for the Gemini and Apollo programs, and contained, during the Apollo program, several IBM System 360 mainframes. These systems ...
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What does "all systems are internal" mean?
When watching (once again) a large History Channel documentary series about Gemini and Apollo, in some launch scenes with the original audio, the person doing the countdown usually says "all ...
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Did Ed White, on his Gemini 4 spacewalk, have to release pressure from his suit to reenter the capsule?
I'm reading the book Das kleines Handbuch für angehende Raumfahrer ("The Little Handbook for Budding Space Travelers") by the Doctors Bergita and Urs Ganse. I generally like it. They got a few little ...
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Heart attacks & suicides in NASA Mission Control of the 60s?
On page 280 of Mike Gray's book Angle of Attack: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon (1992), Gene Kranz, legendary NASA flight director in Gemini & Apollo missions, is quoted as saying:
It ...
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How many spacesuits were specifically manufactured for John Young?
John W. Young was a legendary astronaut:
The first American in space after the original Mercury Seven, as Gus Grissom's co-pilot in Gemini 3. He got in trouble during this flight for smuggling ...
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Why is there a Saturn V in the background of this Gemini-Titan launch?
In this photo, a Gemini-Titan is lifting off in the foreground, while a Saturn V is visible in the background.
The last Gemini flight was in late 1966, but the first flight of a Saturn V wasn't ...
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Do astronauts set a pressure on the space craft altimeter before launch or zero it?
I was watching First Man (2018) and noticed that just before the launch of Armstrong's Gemini mission the capsule's altimeter read zero.
My understanding of the Titan II GLV is that it's 109ft tall ...
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Was there any risk of the Gemini hatches blowing open?
The Gemini hatches open outward, as can be seen in this EVA image.
I know this was required for the ejection seats to work, but wouldn't this also pose a risk of depressurization if the latch ...
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Direct communication between Gemini 6A and 7?
During the Rendezvous maneuver of Gemini 6A and 7 the crews talked to each other, see Wikipedia.
Did they use ground control as relay station or special transmitters and receivers for communication ...
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Was this Gemini "giant eye chart" ever performed?
This article from the May 14, 1965 issue of the Manned Spacecraft Center Roundup describes an "eye chart" experiment on an upcoming Gemini flight. Did this experiment end up happening in any manner?
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Why weren't Gemini capsules given names?
Mercury capsules had names (e.g. Liberty Bell).
Apollo command modules had names (e.g. Columbia).
Apollo lunar modules had names (e.g. Challenger).
Space Shuttle orbiters had names (e.g. Columbia ...
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Why did the cones of the Mercury and Gemini capsules have a neck?
As highlighted by the green double-arrow lines in the pictures below, the Mercury and Gemini capsules had a (roughly) cylindrical "neck" at the end of the capsule cone. If they had instead followed ...
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Why was Gemini VIII terminated after recovering from the OAMS thruster failure?
This NASA source states that the mission was terminated after Neil Armstrong used 75% of the RCS propellent to cancel the rotation from the OAMS thruster failure. If the mission had enough RCS left to ...
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Agena docking and RCS Brakes in First Man
In the movie, First Man, Neil Armstrong and his colleague David Scott, as part of the Gemini 8 program, attempt to dock with the Agena but it turns out to be disastrous as they go into a continuous ...
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How did mission control work for the concurrent Gemini 6A and 7 missions?
Gemini 6A and 7 were two manned missions that together accomplished the first successful space rendezvous. As they were in space at the same time,
Did they share the same mission control room, or ...
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What is the meaning of "T.M"?
In the movie, First Man (2018), Neil Armstrong is getting into Gemini 8 space craft. He overhears capcom voice:
CARNARVON CAPCOM: Guaymas, read you loud and clear. We have S band
track. We have ...
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Looking for veterans of the Space Race [closed]
Hi everyone. I am writing an oral history of the men and women who worked at Cape Canaveral and KSC during Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. If you know someone that fits the bill, or know how to find them, ...
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Did the astronauts of Gemini 4 have any realistic rendezvous simulator training of orbital mechanic effects?
Gemini 4 was launched on June 3, 1965. It mission included the first attempt of a rendezvous manoeuvrer in space. The rendezvous test failed.
Two years earlier, in June 1963, the Rendezvous Docking ...
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Why did rendezvous on Gemini 4 fail so badly?
I can't for the life of me understand why commander Jim McDivitt thought he could eyeball a rendezvous - point the nose and thrust. The futility of that technique is one of the first things even ...
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Acceleration due to uncontrolled rotation of Gemini 8
Having just watched the movie "First Man," I'm interested in analyzing the Gemini 8 malfunction in physics terms and possibly turning it into a homework problem or an example for my physics classes. I ...
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What is BECO? (Gemini) Same as MECO?
This answer links to this answer which shows the acceleration g-force envelopes experienced by early astronauts, reaching as high as almost 7.5g!
Both show BECO, which is what I might call MECO or ...
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Looking for information about a space-related footage and film resource [closed]
There once was a website called Space Films, I think that was it. The web site featured restored official video footage from NASA and others of various space launches over the years (i.e. Gemini, ...
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Where can I find flight manuals (not familiarization manuals) from Project Gemini?
I have heard about the Project Gemini flight manuals, but have not been able to locate a copy. Perhaps someone here knows if these exist in some form?
I am NOT talking about the Familiarization manual,...
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How was time kept on board early manned spaceflights?
I have not been able to find a definitive answer to this.
From Mercury to Gemini to Apollo, what was the mechanism for keeping time onboard the spacecraft? Did the Engineers spend energy (and maybe ...
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Why were ejection seats used in Project Gemini instead of a tower escape system?
In Project Gemini, the Titan II GLV space rocket used as fuel hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, so safety concerns over its toxic propellants were present. But along with the special care that was ...
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How did Gemini/Agena rendezvous?
From this Wikipedia article, the time to launch between the two missions was 1 hour 41 minutes (15:00 and 16:41 UTC, respectively), which is pretty much 1 orbit in LEO. That would give a nodal ...
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Why did the rendezvous attempt fail on Gemini 4?
It is said in Wikipedia, that
On the first orbit, McDivitt attempted to rendezvous with the spent
Titan second stage. This was unsuccessful for a number of reasons:
NASA engineers had not ...
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Are Mercury/Apollo/Gemini capsules visible in any museum?
Is it possible to visit some of the famous American capsules in any museum?
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"Failure is not an option" is really a quote of flight director Gene Kranz?
"Failure is not an option" is attributed to Gene Kranz, flight director of Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle missions. In the movie Apollo 13, Ed Harris says it but IMDB trivia states that it was not ...
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