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Gemini
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Watch the launch and booster separation of Gemini spacecraft as it is lifted off the ground by a Titan II rocket
Astronauts John W. Young (left) and Virgil I. Grissom inside their Gemini 3 spacecraft awaiting blastoff from Cape Kennedy on March 23, 1965. They successfully orbited the Earth three times in the first U.S. two-man spaceflight. Ed White: space walk Buzz Aldrin performing an extravehicular activity Gemini 12 spacecraft lifting off from the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla., Nov. 11, 1966. Charles Conrad, Jr., 1969 Gemini 7, as seen from Gemini 6, 1965 Thomas P. Stafford. Neil Armstrong, 1969 Cernan, Eugene
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Astronauts John W. Young (left) and Virgil I. Grissom inside their Gemini 3 spacecraft awaiting blastoff from Cape Kennedy on March 23, 1965. They successfully orbited the Earth three times in the first U.S. two-man spaceflight.
Gemini
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Category: Science & Tech
Key People:
Neil Armstrong
Buzz Aldrin
John W. Young
Michael Collins
Eugene Cernan
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crewed spacecraft
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Mar. 18, 2024, 1:45 PM ET (AP)
Astronaut Thomas Stafford, commander of Apollo 10, has died at age 93
Watch the launch and booster separation of Gemini spacecraft as it is lifted off the ground by a Titan II rocket
Watch the launch and booster separation of Gemini spacecraft as it is lifted off the ground by a Titan II rocket
The Gemini program was conducted between 1964 and 1967 to give NASA engineers and astronauts information about spacecraft maneuvering, rendezvous, and ground control and about human performance in microgravity, in preparation for the Apollo voyages to the Moon. This video shows a Gemini spacecraft launch and booster separation. A Titan II rocket, a modified version of a rocket designed to carry nuclear warheads, lifts the spacecraft off the ground. Once the craft has cleared the Earth's atmosphere, the rocket is jettisoned, and it falls back to Earth. The Gemini craft was an enlarged version of the Mercury capsule and measured 5.8 metres (19 feet) long and 3 metres (10 feet) in diameter.
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Ed White: space walk
Ed White: space walk
Gemini 4 astronaut Ed White during his historic 23-minute space walk on June 3, 1965. White was secured to the Gemini spacecraft by a 7.6-metre (25-foot) umbilical and tether line. He used a self-maneuvering unit to facilitate movement outside the craft.
Buzz Aldrin performing an extravehicular activity
Buzz Aldrin performing an extravehicular activity
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, pilot of the Gemini 12 spacecraft, performing an extravehicular activity (EVA) on November 12, 1966, the second day of the four-day mission in space. Aldrin is positioned next to the Agena workstation.
Gemini 12 spacecraft lifting off from the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla., Nov. 11, 1966.
Gemini 12 spacecraft lifting off from the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla., Nov. 11, 1966.

Gemini, any of a series of 12 two-man spacecraft launched into orbit around Earth by the United States between 1964 and 1966. The Gemini (Latin: “Twins”) program was preceded by the Mercury series of one-man spacecraft and was followed by the Apollo series of three-man spacecraft. The Gemini program was chiefly designed to test the ability of astronauts to maneuver their spacecraft by means of manual control. The Gemini series, directed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), helped to develop the techniques for orbital rendezvous and docking with a target vehicle, procedures that were vital to the subsequent Apollo Moon-landing program. It also provided NASA engineers with an opportunity to improve environmental control and electrical power systems of spacecraft. During the Gemini 4 mission (launched June 3, 1965), astronaut Edward H. White performed the first American spacewalk, maneuvering outside the spacecraft for 20 minutes and demonstrating man’s increasing ability to function in space. Gemini 5 (Aug. 21, 1965) completed an eight-day mission, the longest spaceflight undertaken up to that time. Gemini 7 and 6 (Dec. 4 and 15, 1965, respectively) performed the first orbital rendezvous of two manned spacecraft. Gemini 12 (Nov. 11, 1966), the last in the series, made the first automatically controlled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.

A chronology of spaceflights in the Gemini program is shown in the table.

Edwin E. Aldrin (Buzz Aldrin) stands on the moon, Apollo 11
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Famous Astronauts and Cosmonauts
Chronology of crewed Gemini missions*
mission crew dates notes
*Gemini 1 and 2 were uncrewed test flights.
Astronauts John W. Young (left) and Virgil I. Grissom inside their Gemini 3 spacecraft awaiting blastoff from Cape Kennedy on March 23, 1965. They successfully orbited the Earth three times in the first U.S. two-man spaceflight.
 Gemini 3 Virgil Grissom March 23, 1965 first spacecraft to maneuver in orbit
John Young
Ed White: space walk
 Gemini 4 James McDivitt June 3–7, 1965 first American to walk in space (White)
Edward White
Charles Conrad, Jr., 1969
 Gemini 5 L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. Aug. 21–29, 1965 new space endurance record (7 days 23 hours)
Charles Conrad
Gemini 7, as seen from Gemini 6, 1965
 Gemini 7 Frank Borman Dec. 4–18, 1965 new space endurance record (13 days 19 hours)
James Lovell, Jr.
Thomas Stafford
 Gemini 6 Walter Schirra, Jr. Dec. 15–16, 1965 first rendezvous of two crewed spacecraft (Gemini 6 and 7)
Thomas Stafford
Neil Armstrong, 1969
 Gemini 8 Neil Armstrong March 16–17, 1966 first docking of two spacecraft
David Scott
Cernan, Eugene
 Gemini 9 Thomas Stafford June 3–6, 1966 unable to dock with Agena rocket stage
Eugene Cernan
Gemini 10 blastoff from Cape Kennedy, Florida, on July 18, 1966. The image is the result of the combination of 10 exposures.
 Gemini 10 John Young July 18–21, 1966 first space walk from one spacecraft to another
Michael Collins
Richard F. Gordon, Jr., 1964.
 Gemini 11 Charles Conrad Sept. 12–15, 1966 first spacecraft docking on first orbit after launch
Richard Gordon
Agena
 Gemini 12 James Lovell, Jr. Nov. 11–15, 1966 three space walks (Aldrin) that solved problems (exhaustion and suit overheating) from previous flights
Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin
This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.