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 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.
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