Gemini’s Last Mission
Gemini 12 splashed down today, and with it the Gemini program is complete. Buzz Aldrin spent five and a half hours outside the capsule.
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Gemini 11 — Highest Orbit
Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon flew Gemini 11 to 853 miles altitude — the highest any American has ever been, except for the Apollo 8 crew going to the Moon. They could see the curve of the Earth clearly.
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The Agena — The Target That Keeps Coming Back
The Agena target vehicle is flying on more Gemini missions than I can easily count. Let me explain what it is and why it matters.
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Lunar Orbiter Maps the Moon
Lunar Orbiter 1 is photographing the Moon from orbit right now. The images coming back show the lunar surface in detail we've never had before.
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Gemini 10 — Young and Collins Hit Two Targets
John Young and Mike Collins completed the most operationally complex Gemini mission yet, docking with two different Agena target vehicles.
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Gemini 9 — Cernan’s Difficult Walk
Gene Cernan tried to do a two-hour spacewalk on Gemini 9 today and had to cut it short after 2 hours and 9 minutes. He was in serious trouble.
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Surveyor Lands on the Moon
The United States landed a spacecraft on the Moon today. Unmanned, but on the Moon. Softly, without crashing. The first successful American soft landing on the lunar surface.
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The Soviet Moon Program — What We Think We Know
What is the Soviet lunar program actually doing? The question is frustrating because so little is known publicly. Here's my best understanding.
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Life Magazine and the Astronaut Families
Life magazine has an exclusive contract with the astronauts and their families. I've been reading these profiles for years. They're part of how America knows these people.
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Neil Armstrong Almost Died Up There
The Gemini 8 mission nearly ended in catastrophe yesterday. Neil Armstrong and David Scott were in an uncontrolled spin — one revolution per second — when Armstrong managed to use the reentry thrusters to stop the tumbling. They had to abort the mission. Armstrong is home. But reading the account…
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