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|  Gemini Goals
The second U.S. manned space program was announced in January 1962.
Its two-man crew gave it its name, Gemini, for the third constellation of the
Zodiac and its twin stars, Castor and Pollux. Gemini involved 12 flights,
including two unmanned flight tests of the equipment. Like Mercury's, its major objectives were clear-cut:
To subject man and equipment to space flight up to two weeks in duration.
To rendezvous and dock with orbiting vehicles and to maneuver the docked combination by using the target vehicle's propulsion system;
To perfect methods of entering the atmosphere and landing at a preselected point on land. Its goals were also met, with the exception of a land landing, which was cancelled in 1964.
Visit our spacestore for NASA collectables, Space Shuttle Mission Insignia and much more. Everything from NASA mission patches to photos, decals, lapel pins, postcards and more. The Manned Flights
Gemini III, Molly Brown
March 23, 1965
Virgil I. Grissom, John W. Young
4 hours, 52 minutes 31 seconds
First manned Gemini flight, three orbits.
| | Gemini IV
June 03-07, 1965
James A. McDivitt, Edward H. White II
4 days 1 hour 56 minutes 12 seconds
Included first extravehicular activity (EVA) by an American; White's "space walk" was a 22 minute EVA exercise. | | Gemini V
August 21-29, 1965
L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., Charles Conrad, Jr.
7 days 22 hours 55 minutes 14 seconds
First use of fuel cells for electrical power; evaluated guidance and navigation system for future rendezvous missions. Completed 120 orbits. | | Gemini VII
December 04-18, 1965
Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr.
13 days, 18 hours, 35 minutes 1 seconds
When the Gemini VI mission was scrubbed because its Agena target for rendezvous and docking failed, Gemini VII was used for the rendezvous
instead. Primary objective was to determine whether humans could live in space for 14 days. | | Gemini VI-A
December 15-16, 1965
Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Thomas P. Stafford
1 Day 1 hour 51 minutes 24 seconds
First space rendezvous accomplished with Gemini VII, station-keeping for over five hours at distances from 0.3 to 90 m (1 to 295 ft). | | Gemini VIII
March 16, 1966
Neil A. Armstrong, David R. Scott
10 hours 41 minutes 26 seconds
Accomplished first docking with another space vehicle, an unmanned Agena stage. A malfunction caused uncontrollable spinning of the craft; the crew undocked and effected the first emergency landing of a manned U.S. space mission. | | Gemini IX-A
June 03-06, 1966
Thomas P. Stafford, Eugene A. Cernan
3 days 21 hours
Rescheduled from May to rendezvous and dock with augmented target docking adapter (ATDA) after original Agena target vehicle failed to orbit. ATDA shroud did not completely separate, making docking impossible. Three different types of
rendezvous, two hours of EVA, and 44 orbits were completed. | | Gemini X
July 18-21, 1966
John W. Young, Michael Collins
2 days 22 hours 46 minutes 39 seconds
First use of Agena target vehicle's propulsion systems. Spacecraft also rendezvoused with Gemini VIII target vehicle. Collins had 49 minutes of EVA standing in the hatch and 39 minutes of EVA to retrieve experiment from
Agena stage. 43 orbits completed. | | Gemini XI
September 12-15, 1966
Charles Conrad, Jr., Richard F. Gordon, Jr.
2 days 23 hours 17 min 8 seconds
Gemini record altitude, 1,189.3 km (739.2 mi) reached using Agena propulsion system after first orbit rendezvous and docking. Gordon made 33-minute EVA and two-hour standup EVA. 44 orbits. | | Gemini XII
November 11-15, 1966
James A. Lovell, Jr., Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.
3 days 22 hours 34 minutes 31 seconds
Final Gemini flight. Rendezvoused and docked with its target Agena and kept station with it during EVA. Aldrin set an EVA record of 5 hours, 30 minutes for one space walk and two stand-up exercises. | |
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