Gemini SC-2

SC-2
Gemini SC-2 on display
Type	Reentry capsule Test article
Class	Gemini
Manufacturer	McDonnell
History
First flight	January 19, 1965 Gemini 2
Last flight	November 3, 1966 OPS 0855
Flights	2

Gemini SC-2(Spacecraft No. 2) was the second NASAProject Geminifull-upreentry capsulebuilt. ThisMcDonnellGemini capsule was the firstspace capsuleto be reused, flying twice in suborbital flights. SC-2 flew onGemini 2andOPS 0855flights. The capsule is currently on display at theAir Force Space and Missile MuseumatCape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Spacecraft history

The capsule is part of the collection of theNational Air and Space Museumof theSmithsonian Institution.

On 19 January 1965, the Gemini 2 suborbital test mission was launched, with the second prototype Gemini capsule.

In March 1965, NASA approved the transfer of the Gemini 2 capsule to the USAF for modification into the first prototype of the Gemini B capsule.

On 3 November 1965, the firstManned Orbiting Laboratory(MOL) and Gemini B suborbital test mission was launched.It is the first capsule to ever be flown twice in space.SeveralMercurycapsules were used on multiple flights, including the capsule used onMercury-Redstone 1andMercury-Redstone 1A,the Mercury capsule used on test flightsLittle Joe 5AandLittle Joe 5B,and the Mercury capsule used on flightsMercury-Atlas 3andMercury Atlas 4,but none of these capsules surpassed theKármán lineon two separate flights. Thus, Gemini SC-2 became the only reentry capsule of the United States to be reflown in space beforeSpaceX'sCrew Dragon Endeavour.

The capsule was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, as part of the National Air and Space Museum collection.

A mock-up of the Gemini B capsule was put on display in the Allan and Malcolm Lockheed and Glenn Martin Space Gallery at theNational Museum of the USAFin 2016.

The flown Gemini SC-2 capsule was put on display in the exhibit hall of theAir Force Space and Missile Museumof the USAF in 2017.

Flight history

Flight No.	Mission	Launch date (UTC)	Launch	Landing	Notes
1	Gemini 2	19 January 1965			NASA Mission
2	OPS 0855	3 November 1966			USAF Mission; first reflight of a previously flown reentry capsule

See also

• Falcon 9 booster B1021– the first Falcon 9 first stage booster to be reused for a space launch mission
• McDonnell Douglas DC-X– Prototype single-stage-to-orbit rocket developed & flown between 1991-1996
• New Shepard– Rocket developed by Blue Origin
• SpaceShipOne– American experimental spaceplane
• Dragon C106– the first Dragon capsule to be reused for a spaceflight mission

Further reading

• "Gemini-B: NASA-Gemini's Air Force Twin"(PDF).Historic Space Systems Infosheet.No. 1. Historic Space Systems. September 1996.
• James M. Grimwood; Barton C. Hacker; Peter J. Vorzimmer.Project Gemini: Technology and Operations: A Chronology.NASA. SP-4002.
• Berger, Carl (February 1970).History of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program (MOL)(PDF)(Technical report).MOLProgram Office,Department of the Air Force.BYE-68204/70. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 31 December 2016.

External links

• "Index, Declassified Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) Records".National Reconnaissance Office (U.S. NRO). 22 October 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 29 January 2018.Retrieved31 December2017.