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.

Buzz Aldrin performing an extravehicular activity

Gemini 12 spacecraft lifting off from the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla., Nov. 11, 1966.

Gemini

spacecraft and space program

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Key People:: Neil Armstrong; Buzz Aldrin; Michael Collins; Thomas Stafford; John W. Young

Related Topics:: crewed spacecraft

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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.

Chronology of crewed Gemini missions*
	mission	crew	dates	notes
*Gemini 1 and 2 were uncrewed test flights.
	Gemini 3	Virgil Grissom	March 23, 1965	first spacecraft to maneuver in orbit
	Gemini 3	John Young	March 23, 1965	first spacecraft to maneuver in orbit
	Gemini 4	James McDivitt	June 3–7, 1965	first American to walk in space (White)
	Gemini 4	Edward White	June 3–7, 1965	first American to walk in space (White)
	Gemini 5	L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.	Aug. 21–29, 1965	new space endurance record (7 days 23 hours)
	Gemini 5	Charles Conrad	Aug. 21–29, 1965	new space endurance record (7 days 23 hours)
	Gemini 7	Frank Borman	Dec. 4–18, 1965	new space endurance record (13 days 19 hours)
	Gemini 7	James Lovell, Jr.	Dec. 4–18, 1965	new space endurance record (13 days 19 hours)
	Gemini 6	Walter Schirra, Jr.	Dec. 15–16, 1965	first rendezvous of two crewed spacecraft (Gemini 6 and 7)
	Gemini 6	Thomas Stafford	Dec. 15–16, 1965	first rendezvous of two crewed spacecraft (Gemini 6 and 7)
	Gemini 8	Neil Armstrong	March 16–17, 1966	first docking of two spacecraft
	Gemini 8	David Scott	March 16–17, 1966	first docking of two spacecraft
	Gemini 9	Thomas Stafford	June 3–6, 1966	unable to dock with Agena rocket stage
	Gemini 9	Eugene Cernan	June 3–6, 1966	unable to dock with Agena rocket stage
	Gemini 10	John Young	July 18–21, 1966	first space walk from one spacecraft to another
	Gemini 10	Michael Collins	July 18–21, 1966	first space walk from one spacecraft to another
	Gemini 11	Charles Conrad	Sept. 12–15, 1966	first spacecraft docking on first orbit after launch
	Gemini 11	Richard Gordon	Sept. 12–15, 1966	first spacecraft docking on first orbit after launch
	Gemini 12	James Lovell, Jr.	Nov. 11–15, 1966	three space walks (Aldrin) that solved problems (exhaustion and suit overheating) from previous flights
	Gemini 12	Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin	Nov. 11–15, 1966

This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.