Gemini 2

This article is about the 1965 U.S. space mission"Gemini-Titan II" redirects here. For the launch system, seeTitan II GLV.

Gemini 2

The atmospheric re-entry of Gemini 2 viewed through a pilot's window
Mission type	Test flight
Operator	NASA
Mission duration	18 minutes, 16 seconds
Range	3,422.4 kilometers (1,847.9 nmi)
Apogee	171.1 kilometers (92.4 nmi)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	GeminiSC2
Manufacturer	McDonnell
Start of mission
Launch date	January 19, 1965, 14:03:59.861(1965-01-19UTC14:03:59Z)UTC
Rocket	Titan II GLV,s/n 62-12557
Launch site	Cape KennedyLC-19
End of mission
Recovered by	USSLake Champlain
Landing date	January 19, 1965, 14:22:14(1965-01-19UTC14:22:15Z)UTC
Landing site	16°36′N49°46′W
Project Gemini

Gemini 2(Gemini-Titan 2;GT-2)was the secondspaceflightof the Americanhuman spaceflightprogramProject Gemini,and was launched and recovered on January 19, 1965. Gemini 2, likeGemini 1,was an uncrewed mission intended as atest flightof the Geminispacecraft.Unlike Gemini 1, which was placed into orbit, Gemini 2 made asuborbitalflight, primarily intended to test the spacecraft'sheat shield.It was launched on aTitan II GLVrocket. Thespacecraft used for the Gemini 2 missionwas later refurbished into theGemini Bconfiguration, and was subsequently launched on another suborbital flight, along withOPS 0855,as a test for the US Air ForceManned Orbital Laboratory.Gemini spacecraft no. 2was the first craft to make more than one spaceflight since theX-15,and the only one untilSpace ShuttleColumbiaflew itssecond missionin 1981; it would also be the only space capsule to be reused untilCrew DragonEndeavourwas launched asecond timein 2021.

Mission history

GLV

The Titan II/Gemini launch vehicle was dismantled to protect it from two hurricanes in August and September 1964. Thesecond stageof the vehicle was taken down and stored in ahangaron August 26, 1964, in preparation forHurricane Cleo,and the entirelaunch vehiclewas subsequently dismantled and removed fromCape Kennedy Air Force Station'sLaunch Complex19in early September beforeHurricane Dorapassed overCape Kennedyon September 9. The Gemini launch vehicle was erected for the final time on 12 September 1964.

The prime and backup crews forGemini 3,John Young(suited),Wally Schirra,Thomas P. Stafford(in shirtsleeves), andGus Grissom(suited), practice egress from the Gemini 2 pad, in preparation for the upcoming Gemini 3 flight

Many ground tests were carried out on the Gemini 2 andTitan rocketin November 1964. On November 24, Gemini-Titan (GT) 2 successfully completed the Wet Mock Simulated Launch, a full-scale countdown exercise which included propellant loading. Procedures for flight crewsuitingand spacecraft ingress and egress were practiced during simulated launch. The prime flight crew forGemini 3donned pressure suits and full biomedical instrumentation, assisted by their backup crew and the space suit bioinstrumentation and aeromedical personnel who would participate in the GT-3 launch operation. As a result of this practice operation, it was established that all physical examinations, bioinstrumentation sensor attachment, and suit donning would be done in the pilot ready room atLaunch Complex 16.

Gemini 2 had been scheduled for launch on December 9, 1964. On that date, the countdown reached zero and the first stage engines were ignited. The launch vehicle's Malfunction Detection System detected technical problems due to a loss ofhydraulic pressureand shut down the engines about one second after ignition.

On the second launch attempt on January 19, 1965, Gemini 2 lifted off from Launch Complex 19 at Cape Kennedy at 9:03:59 a.m. EST (14:03:59.861 UTC).

Shortly after launch theMission Control Centersuffered a power outage. Control of the mission was transferred to a tracking ship. The outage was later traced to an overload of the electrical system from the network television equipment used to cover the launch.

Gemini 2 flew a ballistic suborbital arc over theAtlantic Oceanreaching a maximum altitude of 92.4 nautical miles (171.1 km). The spacecraft was run by an onboard automatic sequencer. At 6 minutes 54 seconds after launch,retrorocketswere fired. The spacecraft landed 1,847.9 nautical miles (3,422 km) downrange from the launch pad. The flight lasted 18 minutes 16 seconds. The landing was 14 nautical miles (26 km) short of the planned impact point, and 45 nautical miles (83 km) from the recovery aircraft carrier,USSLake Champlain.The spacecraft was brought aboard the carrier at 15:52 UT (10:52 a.m. EST). Most goals were achieved, except thefuel cellshad failed before liftoff and were turned off. The spacecraft cooling system temperature also was found to be too high. The Gemini 2 spacecraft was in excellent condition. Its heat shield and retrorockets functioned as expected. The Gemini 2 mission was supported by 6,562United States Department of Defensepersonnel, 67 aircraft, and 16 ships.

Gemini 2 had flight instrumentation pallets installed in the crew cabin, similar tothose in Gemini 1.

MOL

The Gemini 2reentry modulewas refurbished and flown again on November 3, 1966, in a test flight for theUnited States Air ForceManned Orbiting Laboratoryprogram. It was launched on aTitan IIIC rocketon a 33-minute suborbital flight fromLC-40at Cape Kennedy. It is the only Gemini spacecraft to have flown with U.S. Air Force insignia, but there is an unflownGemini Bspacecraft in USAF markings on display at theNational Museum of the United States Air ForceatWright-Patterson Air Force BaseinDayton,Ohio.

Gallery

• 
  SC2 is launched for a second time aboard a Titan 3C in November 1966, on a suborbital test flight for the USAFMOLproject.
• 
  Gemini 2 instrument pallets (NASA)
• 
  Gemini 2 spacecraft on display at theAir Force Space and Missile Museum,Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,Florida.
• 
  Gemini 2 spacecraft on display at the Air Force Space and Missile Museum, Cape Canaveral.

See also

• Gemini program
• Manned Orbiting Laboratory
• Titan (rocket family)
• Titan III
• List of NASA missions
• Splashdown (spacecraft landing)

References

This article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom websites or documents of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.

External links

• Manned Space Flight Network Performance Analysis for the GT-2 Mission - NASA - May 14, 1965 (PDF)
• NASA Gemini 2 press kit - December 4. 1964
• presentation on the Gemini 2 and the Manned Orbital Laboratory spacecraft on display at the Air Force Space and Missile Museum
• Gemini II reentry at real speed - HD sourceonYouTube