Gemini

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced the goal of sending astronauts to the moon before the end of the decade. This was the start to Project Gemini, the United States second human spaceflight program.

The point of Project Gemini was to learn the necessary skills to go to the moon.  The main goals were to test astronauts ability to fly long duration missions (up to two weeks), to understand how spacecraft could rendezvous and dock in orbit around earth and the moon, to perfect re-entry and landing methods, and to further understand the effects of longer space flights.
The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews flew low Earth orbit (LEO) missions between 1965 and 1966 putting the United States in the lead during the Cold War Space Race against the Soviet Union. It performed missions long enough for a trip to the Moon and back, perfected working outside the spacecraft with extra-vehicular activity (EVA), and pioneered the orbital maneuvers necessary to achieve space rendezvous and docking.

The program was from 1961 to 1966 and cost a total of $1.3 billion (1967).

"Project Gemini." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Mar. 2017. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Loff, Sarah. "Gemini - Bridge to the Moon." NASA. NASA, 23 Feb. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Missing Another Post

I am sorry I have not been posting. We have not had school on the past few Fridays. I am sad to say that I will not be able to post tomorrow either. I plan to be back soon with some more information.

This week I will be working at continuing my research on the Mercury and Gemini Programs. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

                On February 20, 1962 an Atlas rocket successfully carried John Glenn into Earth's orbit. The rocket that was used was called Friendship 7. There were two other flights that took place before February 20, 1062, but they were suborbital flights. The objectives of the Mercury Program were to put a manned spacecraft into orbit, investigate man's capabilities and ability to function in space, and recover the man and spacecraft safely.

                Initiated in 1958, completed in 1963, the Mercury Project was the United States first manned space program. There were six manned missions Redstone 3 in Freedom 7, Redstone 4 in Liberty Bell 7, Atlas 6 in Friendship 7, Atlas 7 in Aurora 7, Atlas 8 in Sigma 7, and Atlas 9 in Faith 7. There were a total of 20 unmanned missions.

                The total cost of the Mercury Program was $277 million in 1965 US dollars. It also involved the work of 2 million people. The first flight was on September 9, 1959  and the last was on May 15-16, 1963.

"Project Mercury." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 Mar. 2017. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

Loff, Sarah. "Project Mercury - America's First Astronauts." NASA. NASA, 20 Feb. 2015. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.