The Gemini program was established to use the experiences from Mercury to develop the maneuvers needed for the Apollo moon program later on. Along with the new two man Gemini spacecraft, came two more groups of astronauts. Gemini kept the unblemished safety record from Project Mercury in tact. Only the first Gemini mission, commanded by Gus Grissom, named their spacecraft
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Interesting Fact: Gus Grissom was so involved in the design and testing of the Gemini spacecraft, fellow astronauts referred to the Gemini capsule as the "Gusmobile."
Flights:
| Mission Name: | Gemini-Titan 3 |
| Spacecraft Name: | Molly Brown |
| Crew: | Gus Grissom, Commander (2) * |
| Milestones: | ~First manned Gemini space flight ~First flight with a two person crew ~Astronaut Gus Grissom becomes the first man to fly in space twice ~Molly Brown is the first spacecraft to change its orbit |
| Launch Date: | March 23, 1965 |
| Mission Duration: | 4 hours, 52 minutes 31 seconds |
Interesting Fact: A corned beef sandwich was sneaked onto Gemini 3 by Astronaut John Young, and consumed by Gus Grissom. John knew that this sandwich was Gus's favorite, and Grissom thoroughly enjoyed it. NASA management made it clear after the flight that no non-man-rated food items would be brought aboard a spacecraft.
| Mission Name: | Gemini-Titan 4 |
| Crew: | James A. McDivitt, Commander (1) Edward H. White II, Pilot (1) |
| Milestones: | ~White becomes first American to walk in space |
| Launch Date: | June 3, 1965 |
| Mission Duration: | 4 days |
| Mission Name: | Gemini-Titan 5 |
| Crew: | L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Commander (2) * Pete Conrad Jr., Pilot (1) |
| Milestones: | ~Set U.S. space endurance record at eight days ~First use of fuel cells ~Astronaut Gordon Cooper becomes the first man to make two orbital spaceflights |
| Launch Date: | August 21, 1965 |
| Mission Duration: | 8 days |
| Mission Name: | Gemini-Titan 7 |
| Crew: | Frank Borman, Commander (1) James A. Lovell, Pilot (1) |
| Milestones: | ~Set new U.S. space endurance record at 14 days ~Launched before Gemini 6 ~First spacecraft rendezvous, with Gemini 6 |
| Launch Date: | December 4, 1965 |
| Mission Duration: | 14 days |
| Mission Name: | Gemini-Titan 6 |
| Crew: | Walter M. "Wally" Schirra Jr., Commander
(2) * Thomas P. Stafford, Pilot (1) |
| Milestones: | ~Titan malfunction led to aborted launch, and liftoff after Gemini 7 ~Made first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7 |
| Launch Date: | December 15, 1965 |
| Mission Duration: | 1 day |
| Mission Name: | Gemini-Titan 8 |
| Crew: | Neil A. Armstrong, Commander (1) David R. Scott, Pilot (1) |
| Milestones: | ~Completed first ever docking between two spacecraft ~After docking with the Agena boosted, it started spinning uncontrollably. This led to Astronaut Neil Armstrong making the first emergency landing of the U.S. space program. |
| Launch Date: | March 16, 1966 |
| Mission Duration: | 10 hours 41 minutes 26 seconds |
| Mission Name: | Gemini-Titan 9 |
| Crew: | Thomas P. Stafford, Commander (2) Eugene A. Cernan, Pilot (1) |
| Milestones: | ~Made three rendezvous with a docking target ~Gene Cernan makes a two hour space walk (EVA) ~Tom Stafford is the first person to make two flights in the same space program |
| Launch Date: | June 3, 1966 |
| Mission Duration: | 4 days |
John W. Young- The Astronaut's Astronaut
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| No other space traveler, American nor Russian, has had a career that rivals that of Astronaut John Young. Selected by NASA in 1962 as one of "The Next Nine," Young's career would lead him to fly in three different space programs. He holds the record for most types of spacecraft flown at four (Gemini command module, Apollo CSM, Apollo lunar module, & Space Shuttle). He made two Gemini flights, two Apollo flights, and two space shuttle flights. The only astronaut to do so. He also holds the record as the longest serving astronaut in history, 42 years. John Young's heart & determination have led many to believe that he should have been one of the original Mercury astronauts. Making his first flight into space on Gemini 3 in 1965, John Young was the first non-Mercury astronaut to fly into space in the American program. On this the very first Gemini mission, co-pilot John Young received the tutiledge of veteran Mercury astronaut Gus Grissom. After flying under Grissom on Gemini 3, NASA gave Young his own command. Gemini 10. Young and rookie Michael Collins made a 3 day orbital flight, and Collins made a record 2 hour spacewalk. On Apollo 10, Young served under Tom Stafford during the moon landing dress rehersal mission. He was just as qualified as Stafford was to command this mission. It was probably for the best that he didn't though, because serving as CM pilot for Apollo 10 allowed him to be selected as commander of Apollo 16. On Apollo 16, John Young finally made it to the moon's surface. He was the 9th man to walk there. Young was one of only three men to go to the moon twice (Jim Lovell & Gene Cernan were the other two). As the Apollo program came to a close, John Young was made Chief of the Astronaut Office. He was now holding the office of Chief Astronaut that only Alan Shepard had held before. Young made influential decisions on the design of the Space Shuttle in the 1970's. As the 80's rolled around the choice of the who would be the first space shuttle commander was rather obvious. The man himself, John Young. STS-1 was a revolutionary mission. Young and first time flyer Bob Crippen took the orbiter through its paces. Young certified it for further flights. STS-1 had also made John Young the first man to fly in space five times. His final flight in 1983 would make him the first man to fly six times. STS-9 was the first flight of the Spacelab science module.. John Young stayed on active duty as an astronaut until he retired from NASA in December 2004. | |||
| Mission Name: | Gemini-Titan 10 |
| Crew: | John W. Young, Commander (2) Michael Collins, Pilot (1) |
| Milestones: | ~First mission to use an Agena booster for in orbit propulsion ~ Collins made a 2 hour EVA ~Rendezvous |
| Launch Date: | July 18, 1966 |
| Mission Duration: | 3 days |
| Mission Name: | Gemini-Titan 11 |
| Crew: | Pete Conrad Jr., Commander (2) Richard F. Gordon Jr., Pilot (1) |
| Milestones: | ~Reached record altitude of 730 miles using agena booster |
| Launch Date: | September 12, 1966 |
| Mission Duration: | 3 days |
| Mission Name: | Gemini-Titan 12 |
| Crew: | James A. Lovell, Commander (2) Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Pilot (1) |
| Milestones: | ~Docked with an agena booster ~Aldrin completed 5 and a half hour EVA for the U.S. space walk record ~Final Gemini space flight |
| Launch Date: | November 11, 1966 |
| Mission Duration: | 4 days |
Interesting Fact: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin holds a Ph.D in Astronautics from M.I.T., and developed the techniques for the rendezvous of two spacecraft in orbit for his doctoral dissertation. Aldrin's techniques and calculations have been used on all NASA space rendezvous missions.
Numbers in parentheses indicate number of flights flown by astronaut. (1) indicates their first space flight. An (*) asterisk after a name denotes one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts.
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