March 31, 1962, NASA designed a new spacecraft called Gemini confirmed This program was supposed to help the United States for the mission Apollo gets ready.
Gemini program
The Gemina project was planned during the height of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. Its spacecraft was built by a Canadian engineer. Jim Chamberlain It was designed and built by McDonnell Aircraft Company.
Although the capsule is slightly larger than the project spacecraft Mercury It was still considered a small environment for astronauts.
Gemina tested equipment and mission methods in Earth orbit and further prepared NASA for trips to the Moon by training astronauts.
Each Gemina mission carries two astronauts into Earth orbit for periods ranging from 5 hours to 14 days. The program consisted of 10 manned launches, 2 unmanned launches and 7 target vehicles, with a total cost of $1,280 million. This project, which was between Mercury and Apollo, was in progress from 1961 to 1966.
Achievements
The United States was able to gain many advantages and win the space race with the capabilities it acquired during this project.
During this mission, spacewalks, eight-day and 14-day endurance, space loading and rendezvous with the target vehicle. Agna It was done for the first time.
Experiments were also carried out on the spacecraft’s heat shield and systems, and for the first time electrical power was produced by a fuel cell.
Gemini-10 also proved that radiation does not cause serious problems at high altitudes. The record for manned orbital height with the earth is still named Jeminai-11.
Perhaps the biggest and most important achievement of this project can be considered the first connection and meeting with another spacecraft. Performing maneuvers, observing the correct distance and especially anchoring required special practice and expertise.
