Gemini Rockets

Gemini VI Commander Wally Schirra had a life-or-death decision to make. And he had a split second to make it.

His Gemini rocket had just shut down at the moment of ignition. If the fully-fueled Titan II booster below him had risen as much as an inch, it would settle back down on the pad and explode in a fireball. Mission rules dictated that Schirra and pilot Tom Stafford eject to safety.

Schirra decided to stay put. He had detected no upward motion, and he knew that the ejection seats could leave both of them with serious injuries.

It was the right call. The Gemini rocket hadn't moved. Schirra and Stafford climbed aboard their spacecraft three days later and soared safely into space aboard the same booster.

That was the most serious incident involving the Gemini Titan II rocket. A modified U.S. Air Force intercontinental ballistic missile, the Titan II launched 10 manned Gemini capsules and two unmanned ones in 1965 and 1966.

Gemini Rockets - Titan II Rocket

Gemini Rockets - Gemini Titan II

The Gemini program was a stepping stone between the single-man Mercury program and the Apollo program. The goal was to test out technologies and techniques for landing men on the moon.

Because Gemini carried two astronauts, NASA needed a much bigger rocket. The single-stage Atlas had used 360,000 pounds of thrust to boost the 3,000 pound Mercury capsule into orbit. Gemini weighted in at more than 8,000 pounds. The two-stage Titan II had 430,000 pounds of thrust in the first stage and 100,000 pounds of thrust in its second.

The Titan II was 109 feet tall, 10 feet across and weighed 340,000 lbs. For its oxidizer and fuel, the rocket used a hypergolic combination of nitrogen tetroxide and Aerozine 50. Engineers added malfunction detection and backup flight control systems to man-rate the Titan II for human crews. They also made alterations to the tracking, electrical and hydraulic systems.

Gemini program

Gemini Titan rocket

 

Mission

Crew

Mission

Launch and Landing Dates

Duration

Gemini I

None

Unmanned test in orbit

April 8–12 1964

03d 23h

Gemini II

None

Unmanned suborbital test of heat shield

January 19, 1965

18m 16s

Gemini III

Gus Grissom, John Young

First manned flight

March 23, 1965

00d 04h 52m

Gemini IV

James McDivitt, Edward White

First U.S. spacewalk (White)

June 3–7 1965

04d 01h 56m

Gemini V

Gordo Cooper, Pete Conrad

First week-long flight, test of navigational system

August 21–29 1965

07d 22h 55m

Gemini VII

Frank Borman, Jim Lovell

First two-week flight; rendezvous with Gemini VI

December 4–18 1965

13d 18h 35m

Gemini VI

Wally Schirra, Tom Stafford

Rendezvous with Gemini VII

December 15–16 1965

01d 01h 51m

Gemini VIII

Neil Armstrong, David Scott

First docking in space; emergency landing after docking thruster malfunctioned

March 16–17 1966

00d 10h 41m

Gemini IX

Tom Stafford, Eugene Cernan

Rendezvous with target vehicle; unable to dock due to docking shroud malfunction; spacewalk (Cernan)

June 3–6 1966

03d 00h 21m

Gemini X

John Young, Michael Collins

Docked with Agena target vehicle; spacewalk (Collins)

July 18–21 1966

02d 22h 46m

Gemini XI

Pete Conrad, Richard Gordon

Docked with Agena target vehicle; spacewalk (Gordon)

September 12–15 1966

02d 23h 17m

Gemini XII

Jim Lovell, Buzz Aldrin

Docked with Agena target vehicle, spacewalk (Aldrin)

November 11-15 1966

03d 22h 34m

 

 

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