![[ img ]](http://s1016.photobucket.com/user/craigh666/media/SciFI/USA-Gemini8-12.png.html)
USA-Gemini 8-12 Mission Capsules
March - November 1966
These missions and capsules represent my earliest real memories of the NASA space program. I remember being glued to the family's little B&W TV.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gemini
The major objectives were:[2]
1) To demonstrate endurance of humans and equipment to spaceflight for extended periods, at least eight days required for a Moon landing, to a maximum of two weeks.
2) To effect rendezvous and docking with another vehicle, and to maneuver the combined spacecraft using the propulsion system of the target vehicle.
3) 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.
4) To perfect techniques of atmospheric reentry and landing at a pre-selected location.
5) To provide the astronauts with zero-gravity, rendezvous, and docking experience required for Apollo.
Mission 8- Accomplished first docking with another space vehicle, an unmanned 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 manned U.S. space mission.
Mission 9- Rescheduled from May to rendezvous and dock with an Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA) after the original Agena Target Vehicle failed to orbit. The ATDA shroud did not completely separate, making docking impossible. Three different types of rendezvous, two hours of EVA, and 44 orbits were completed.
Mission 10- 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.
Mission 11- Gemini record altitude with apogee of 739.2 nautical miles (1,369.0 km)[15] 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.
Mission 12- Final Gemini flight. Rendezvoused and docked manually with its 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.
As a nod to my wife, the Gemini Capsule was designed by a Canadian, Jim Chamberlin, the chief aerodynamicist on the Avro Arrow fighter interceptor.
http://shipbucket.com/images.php?dir=Mi ... Canada.png
CraigH
![[ img ]](http://s1016.photobucket.com/user/craigh666/media/SciFI/USA-MercuryDesignDA.png.html)
![[ img ]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/63270384/SPACE%21/Complete/USA_Saturn_IC_260SRBVariant.png)
