50th Anniversary of Gemini 12, 1966–2016
Fifty four years ago, Project Gemini began. It bridged the Mercury and Apollo space programs and was focused on developing equipment and deep space travel techniques to prepare for the upcoming missions to the Moon. Ten crews flew missions on the two-man Gemini spacecraft. Hundreds of milestones, including the first American spacewalk, a 14-day manned endurance in orbit, space docking, the highest-ever manned orbit, and the very first selfie in space, were among them. Many of the Gemini astronauts brought their experiences with them flying Apollo missions.
2016 is the 50th anniversary of Gemini 12 which was was launched from Kennedy Space Center’s Complex 19 at Cape Canaveral on November 11, 1966 at 3:46:33 p.m. EST.
Gemini 12 was the tenth and final flight of the Gemini series and carried astronauts Jim Lovell and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin into orbit.
Astronauts Lovell and Aldrin performed rendezvous and docking with the Agena target vehicle, conducted long duration operations with Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA) for tethered stationkeeping exercises, tested rendezvous and docking maneuvers with the Agena propulsion system, and demonstrated automatic pinpoint reentry. In addition to this intensive series of tasks, there were 14 scientific, medical, and technological experiments on board for the them to perform.
The Gemini Agena Target Vehicle (GATV) was developed as the primary docking target for Gemini Spacecraft. The docking cone was designed to receive the nose of a Gemini capsule. Equipment within the docking cone allowed the spacecraft to be securely attached. While docked, equipment in the Gemini capsule allowed astronauts to control the Agena Spacecraft. The Gemini-Agena combination could use the Agena engine to make significant orbital maneuvers. These would be critical components of the Apollo missions with the Command and Lunar Modules as well as for all future space station and capsule to capsule docking in space.
During one of the there EVAs, Buzz Aldrin took the first space selfie when he turned a camera toward himself and snapped a photograph.
The American Space Program and the American television industry contributed significantly to each other’s growth. Space missions matched Hollywood productions for drama, suspense and excitement, and pulled in some of the medium’s largest audiences. America’s first astronauts were among television’s first celebrity heroes. As were many americans in November of 1966, Colonel and Mrs. Edwin Aldrin, Sr., parents of Buzz Aldrin Jr., watched the television broadcast of Gemini 12 in from their home in Brielle, New Jersey.
Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin would fly on two of the most remembered Apollo missions. Buzz, with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, would fly Apollo 11, the first Moon landing, in 1969. Jim Lovell commanded Apollo 13 which was the seventh manned mission in the Apollo program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the the spacecraft. Despite the hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of water, and the need to jury-rig the carbon dioxide removal system, the crew returned safely to Earth on April 17. Apollo 13 was Lovell’s fourth and last spaceflight, it was the only spaceflight for his crew members Jack Swigert and Fred Haise.
The original ”Press Kit” for Gemini 12, Release 66–272, can be found here: http://explorers.institute/space/NASA_Gemini_12_Press_Kit.pdf
