Gemini 1

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Gemini 1
spacecraft_name = Gemini 1
booster = Titan II #62-12556
insignia = GeminiPatch.png insignia_size = 162px
sign = Gemini 1
crew_members = 0
launch_pad = LC-19 (CCAF)
launch = April 8, 1964, 16:01:01.69 UTC
landing = April 12, 1964, ~15:00:00 UTC South Atlantic
duration = ~3 days 23:00:00
orbits = ~64
apogee = convert|320.6|km|nmi|lk=on
perigee = convert|160.5|km|nmi
period = 89.3 min.
inclination = 32.59°
distance = ~convert|2789864|km|mi|lk=on
mass = convert|3187|kg|lb|lk=on convert|5170|kg|lb (with 2nd stage)
previous =
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Gemini 1 was a 1964 unmanned space flight in NASA's Gemini program.Gemini 1 was the first unmanned test flight of the Gemini spacecraft. Its main objectives were to test the structural integrity of the new spacecraft and modified Titan II ICBM. As well as this it would be the first test of the new tracking and communication systems for the Gemini program and provided training for the ground support crews for the first manned missions.

The planned mission was quite short and lasted only three orbits. The spacecraft stayed attached to the second stage of the rocket and there were no plans for recovery.

Gemini Spacecraft Number 1 was built specifically for this mission. It lacked life support systems and had ballast instead. Although it featured a heat shield, the shield had four large holes drilled in it to make sure that the spacecraft was destroyed during reentry. In place of the crew couches were measuring equipment that relayed telemetry measuring the pressure, vibration, acceleration, temperature, and structural loads during the short flight.

As with any new spacecraft, there were problems at first during system testings and also the rocket ran into problems, as the Air Force had yet to make the Titan II totally reliable as an ICBM, let alone as a manned launch vehicle. One instance was where a short circuit was discovered in the second stage due to the insulation being cut by a defective clamp. Several more were found with the same problem meaning that 1500 clamps had to be replaced.

However after several months of testing the launch vehicle and spacecraft were ready for launch. Due to the hypergolic propellants used in the Titan II, the launch lacked the red flame like appearance of a Saturn launch.

The first stage was jettisoned after two and a half minutes with the rocket 64 kilometers high and 91 kilometers downrange. At that moment there was an unexpected three second loss of signal from the craft. It was later determined that this brief communications blackout was caused by charged ions from the separation and startup of the second stage, similar to the blackout during spacecraft reentry. All subsequent Gemini flights would have the same brief blackout. [Chris Kraft, "Flight", p. 203.]

The spacecraft achieved orbit five and a half minutes after launch. The only problem found was that the launch vehicle had provided a bit too much speed and put the spacecraft into an orbit with an apogee of 320 km instead of 299 km.

Then three orbits later the spacecraft official mission was over. There were no plans for a retrofire as the spacecraft would reenter by itself after four days. The Gemini 1 remained attached to the Titan II second stage throughout the four days it spent in orbit. It was tracked by Manned Space Flight Network until its orbit dipped too much into the atmosphere and it reentered over the South Atlantic, midway between South America and Africa. The Gemini 1 mission was supported by the following U.S. Department of Defense resources: 5,176 personnel, 11 aircraft and 3 ships. [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/appg2.htm On The Shoulders of Titans - Appendix G-2 ] ]

Instrument pallets

References

External links

* On The Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/cover.htm