NASA begins the programme with two unmanned missions, Gemini I and II. The first tests the spacecraft’s structural integrity, as well as the Titan II launch vehicle, a repurposed ballistic missile adapted to launch the Gemini spacecraft. The second launch is focused on the safety of the crew. Thus, the tests are concerned with the rocket’s capability to resist an atmospheric re-entry as well as the integrity of its hull and life support systems.
The first manned mission of the project is Gemini III. On March 23 1965, Virgil Grisson and John Young orbit the Earth for almost five hours. This allows NASA to test their tracking equipment, as well as evaluate the onboard equipment operated by astronauts and the craft’s controls. NASA will launch nine more manned missions, each one inching them closer to the possibility of a spaceflight to the Moon. Then, as Gemini IV soars through the heavens, Ed White performs the USA’s first spacewalk.
On Gemini VIII, a young astronaut named Neil A. Armstrong, along with David Scott, makes his first spaceflight. This is a long flight of two weeks, aimed at performing the world’s first space docking, essential for the trip to the Moon. Armstrong expertly docks Gemini VIII with its docking target, the Agena, and begins an orbit around the Earth. Just as they pass around our planet, and out of communications range with the Houston Mission Control Centre, they begin to rapidly spin. At first, Armstrong believes that it’s the Agena that is causing the problem, so he shuts down the craft’s control system. The spinning increases, and the astronauts experience near-blackout conditions. In desperation, they detach the Agena, but this only makes the problem worse.
As it turns out, one of Gemini’s capsule’s thrusters is malfunctioning. The craft is spinning like a top now, making one revolution per second. They must make an emergency landing. Engaging his re-entry system, Armstrong lands his craft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Gemini VIII’s mission is only a partial success, but Armstrong demonstrates his intelligence and acumen, keeping his head and improvising in a state of semi-consciousness and saving himself, his crewmate and the mission.
The final Gemini launch, Gemini XII, carries two important NASA heroes, Buzz Aldrin, who will be the second man on the Moon, and Jim Lovell, who will survive the disastrous Apollo 13 mission. On November 11th, the two astronauts spend almost four days in orbit, conducting spacewalks and other experiments. By the time they touch down on Earth, the bridge between Mercury and Apollo is complete, and the Moon missions can begin.