Fifty years ago, NASA began a program called Project Gemini, developing deep space travel techniques and equipment to prepare for the upcoming Apollo program. Two unmanned and ten manned missions were flown, and astronauts and engineers accomplished hundreds of goals, including the first American spacewalk, a 14-day endurance test in orbit, space docking, and the highest-ever manned orbit at 1,369 km (850 mi). After the project ended in 1966, many Gemini astronauts brought their experiences with them as they went on to fly Apollo missions to the Moon. Collected here are remarkable images of Project Gemini half a century ago -- some beautiful, some technical, and a few surprisingly intimate.
NASA Astronaut Edward White floats in zero gravity of space northeast of Hawaii, on June 3, 1965, during the flight of Gemini IV. White is attached to his spacecraft by a 25-ft. umbilical line and a 23-ft. tether line,both wrapped in gold tape to form one cord. In his right hand he carries a Hand-Held Self-Maneuvering Unit. (NASA/JSC/ASU)
Model Titan rocket with Gemini capsule in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel on March 20, 1964, at NSAA's Langley Research Center.(NASA)
Astronauts Virgil I. Grissom (center) and John W. Young (left), prime crew for the Gemini-Titan 3 mission, are shown inspecting the inside of Gemini spacecraft at the Mission Control Center at Cape Kennedy, Florida, on November 9, 1964. (NASA)
A Gemini capsule being tested in Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center, on November 7, 1962. (NASA)
An aerial view of the unmanned Gemini/Titan-II launch vehicle #1 liftoff at Cape Kennedy, Florida, on April 8 1964. (NASA)
A distant view of the successful launching of the first manned Gemini flight, on March 23, 1965. The Gemini-Titan 3 (GT-3) lifted off Pad 19, at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 9:24 a.m. (EST). The Gemini-3 spacecraft "Molly Brown" carried astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, command pilot, and John W. Young, pilot, on three successful orbits of Earth. (NASA)
Flight director John D. Hedge (left), chief, Flight Control Division; Glynn S. Lunney (standing left), chief, Flight Dynamics Branch, Flight Control Division; and James W. Beach, assistant flight director for Gemini-Titan 3, are shown in the Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas during the Gemini-Titan 3 flight, on March 23, 1965. (NASA)
Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., chief of the astronaut office of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, chomps vigorously on a cigar during relaxing moments following the Gemini-6 liftoff, on December 15, 1965. He is seated at his console in the Kennedy Space Center Mission Control Center. (NASA)
Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and David R. Scott sit with their spacecraft hatches open while awaiting the arrival of the recovery ship, the USS Leonard F. Mason after the successful completion of their Gemini 8 mission, on March 16, 1966. They are assisted by USAF Pararescuemen Eldrige M. Neal, Larry D. Huyett, and Glenn M. Moore. The overhead view shows the Gemini 8 spacecraft with the yellow flotation collar attached to stabilize the spacecraft in choppy seas. The green marker dye is highly visible from the air and is used as a locating aid. (NASA)
Major Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin's helmet, seen as he emerges from the open hatch of Gemini 12, in November of 1966. (NASA/JSC/ASU)
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