Gemini 12

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Gemini 12
spacecraft_name = Gemini 12
booster =
insignia = Gemini 12 insignia.png insignia_size = 180px
sign = Gemini 12
crew_members = 2
launch_pad = LC-19 (CCAF)
launch = November 11, 1966, 20:46:33 UTC
landing = November 15, 1966, 19:21:04 UTC
coord|24|35|N|69|57|W
duration = 3d/22:34:31
orbits = 59
apogee = convert|270.6|km|nmi|lk=on (1st orbit)
perigee = convert|160.8|km|nmi (1st orbit)
period = 88.87 min (1st orbit)
inclination = 28.87°
mass = convert|3762.1|kg|lb|lk=on
crew_photo = S66-46952.jpg
crew_caption = (L-R) Aldrin, Lovell
previous =
next =

Gemini 12 (officially Gemini XII) was a 1966 manned spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the 10th manned Gemini flight, the 18th manned American flight and the 26th spaceflight of all time (includes X-15 flights over 100 km).

Crew

Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.
*James A. Lovell, Jr (2) - Command Pilot
*Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr (1) - Pilot

Backup crew

*L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. (2) - Command Pilot
*Eugene A. Cernan (1) - Pilot

Mission parameters

*Mass: 3,762.1 kg
*Perigee: 160.8 km
*Apogee: 270.6 km
*Inclination: 28.87°
*Period: 88.87 min

Docking

*Docked: November 12, 1966 - 01:06:00 UTC
*Undocked: November 13, 1966 - 20:18:00 UTC

pace walk

* Aldrin - EVA 1 - (stand up)
**Start: November 12, 1966, 16:15:00 UTC
**End: November 12, 1966, 18:44:00 UTC
**Duration: 2 hours, 29 minutes
* Aldrin - EVA 2
**Start: November 13, 1966, 15:34:00 UTC
**End: November 13, 1966, 17:40:00 UTC
**Duration: 2 hours, 06 minutes
* Aldrin - EVA 3 (stand up)
**Start: November 14, 1966, 14:52:00 UTC
**End: November 14, 1966, 15:47:00 UTC
**Duration: 0 hours, 55 minutes

ee also

* Agena Target Vehicle
* Extra-vehicular activity
* List of spacewalks
* Splashdown

Objectives

At the completion of the previous Gemini flight, the program still had not demonstrated that an astronaut could work easily and efficiently outside the spacecraft. In preparation for Gemini XII, new, improved restraints were added to the outside of the capsule, and a new technique—underwater training—was introduced, which would become a staple of all future space-walk simulation. Aldrin's two-hour, 20-minute tethered space-walk, during which he photographed star fields, retrieved a micrometeorite collector and did other chores, at last demonstrated the feasibility of extravehicular activity. Two more stand-up EVAs also went smoothly, as did the by­ now routine rendezvous and docking with an Agena which was done "manually" using the onboard computer and charts when a rendezvous radar failed. The climb to a higher orbit, however, was canceled because of a problem with the Agena booster.

Many documentaries afterward largely credit the spacewalk innovations, including the underwater training, to Aldrin himself.

Gemini 12 was designed to perform rendezvous and docking with the Agena target vehicle, to conduct three Extravehicular Activity (EVA) operations, to conduct a tethered stationkeeping exercise, to perform docked maneuvers using the Agena propulsion system to change orbit, and demonstrate an automatic reentry.

Experiments

The 14 scientific experiments were (1) frog egg growth under zero-g, (2) synoptic terrain photography, (3) synoptic weather photography, (4) nuclear emulsions, (5) airglow horizon photography, (6) UV astronomical photography, and (7) dim sky photography. Two micrometeorite collection experiments, as well as three space phenomena photography experiments, were not fully completed.

Reentry

The capsule was controlled on reentry by computer and splashed down 4.8 kilometers from its target.

The Gemini 12 mission was supported by the following U.S. Department of Defense resources; 9,775 personnel, 65 aircraft and 12 ships.

Insignia

The patch's unique orange and black colors are a link to the flight's original scheduled date close to Halloween. The Roman numeral XII is located at the 12 o'clock position on the face of a clock, with the Gemini spacecraft pointing to it like the hour hand of a clock. This represents the position of Gemini 12 as the last flight of the Gemini program. With the Apollo project following this last flight of the Gemini program, the ultimate objective -- the moon -- is symbolized by the crescent on the left.

Trivia

A blunter symbol of the end of the Gemini program took place on the day of liftoff, as both astronauts wore signs on their backs. Lovell's read "THE," Aldrin's read "END."

Gemini 12 is the only spacecraft that has passed through the umbra of a total solar eclipse.

Capsule location

After several years at the Museum of Transport and Technology, in Auckland, New Zealand, the capsule was returned to the United States. It is now on display at the Adler Planetarium, Chicago, Illinois. Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin were reunited with the capsule November 9, 2006 during the opening for Adler's "Shoot for the Moon" exhibit, almost 40 years after the mission launched. Lovell and Aldrin's voices are used for the exhibit's recorded narration.

External links

* [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790076631_1979076631.pdf Gemini 12 Mission Report (PDF) January 1967]
* On The Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/cover.htm
* Spaceflight Mission Patches: http://www.genedorr.com/patches/Intro.html
* http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1966-104A
* U.S. Space Objects Registry http://usspaceobjectsregistry.state.gov/search/index.cfm
*Whmc stl photodb|keywords=Gemini+12|title=Gemini 12
* [http://www.panoramio.com/photo/8588521 Gemini XII Cockpit in crosseyed-3D stereoview format]