Project Gemini

Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program in which the United States of America sent humans into space, between Projects Mercury and Apollo, during the years 1963-1966. Its objective was to develop techniques for advanced space travel, notably those necessary for Apollo, whose objective was to land men on the Moon. Gemini missions involved extravehicular activity and orbital maneuvers including rendezvous and docking.

Crew Selection

Deke Slayton as head of the Astronaut Office had the main role in choice of crews that with the prospect of more ambitious missions with Apollo became even more political that with the Mercury Program. With Gemini it became a proceedure that each flight had a prime crew and back up crew and that the back up crew would rotate to prime crew status three flights later. Slayton also sought that first choice of mission Commands would be given to the original Mercury Seven astronauts (excepting John Glenn who was considered to valuable to risk). When Alan Shepard was removed from flight status he lost command of Gemini 4 that went to James McDivitt. Gus Grissom was in-line to command Gemini 9 but was promoted to Apollo 1 taking Ed White with him who would have been commander of Gemini 10. Elliott See who had been due to fly as pilot of Gemini 8 was given the chance of commanding his own mission Gemini 9. When See and his pilot Charles Bassett were killed in a plane crash this created a hole in the astronaut roster for the later missions. Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan became prime crew for Gemini 9. John Young who had been out of favour since the sandwich incident on Gemini 3 became commander of Gemini 10. Lovell and Aldrin became prime crew for the last manned Gemini mission in place of Stafford and Cernan. These events were decisive in who would be in position to walk on the moon.

Related Topics:
Deke Slayton - John Glenn - Alan Shepard - Gemini 4 - Gemini 9 - Apollo 1 - Gemini 10 - Elliott See

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~