Eight Days in Space
On August 21, 1965, Gemini V launched from Kennedy Space Center. Over the course of eight days, astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad set a record for the longest manned trip into space at the time. The astronauts orbited the earth 120 times.
NASA announced the Gemini Missions in January 1962 as the next phase in the race to the moon. Goals included:
• To subject men and equipment to space flight up to two weeks in duration.
• To have two orbiting space vehicles rendezvous and dock.
Gemini Milestones
With the launch of Astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John Young on March 23, 1965, NASA sent its first “crew” into space. On June 3, 1965, Edward H. White became the first American to walk in space. On December 15, 1965, Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 achieved the first space rendezvous.
There are 270 breathtaking images taken from Gemini V in the National Archives digital catalog - take a look here.
Photo of Gemini V Launch from Great Images in the NASA Collection
More: LBJ and the The Gemini Program from the Presidential Timeline
Source: presidentialtimeline.org
Never-Before-Seen Photos From the Early Days of Space Exploration
The Gemini astronauts also took some of the most memorable photos in NASA history. You’d think we would have seen them all by now. But with Nasa’s help and funding, a team of researchers at Arizona State University led by lunar scientist Mark Robinson has retrieved from the archives dozens of outtakes that never made it into wide circulation.
Photos: NASA
Ed note: Check out our friends at Air & Space for more stunning photos from the Gemini mission.
