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Author
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Topic: Gemini Question?
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edoc45
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posted 10-18-2004 02:21 PM
   
How close did we come to sending a Gemini crew in a circumlunar flight?I know it was discussed but was unsure of the particulars, either agena or centaur as an earth orbit booster and the potential crew? There was even talk of a Gemini moon landing as fictionalized in the movie "Countdown." Any thoughts? |
bruce
Member Posts: 917
From: Fort Mill, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 10-18-2004 03:08 PM
Try this link for Gemini lunar flight info: http://www.astronautix.com/articles/bygemoon.htm In May of 1997, at the "Moon Explorers" Symposium at the Naval Aviation Museum in Florida, Al Shepard was asked about this by a person in the audience. His comment was something like "My official comment on this would be to say 'no comment', and you have no idea how hard it is to say 'no comment' to this question!" From what limited public info there is out there, apparently there were indeed contingency plans to use a Gemini configured vehicle for a lunar journey if the Apollo spacecraft wasn't available in time to beat the Russians. This might be a great question for Tracy to ask Wally Schirra for his website Q & A! Best,
Bruce |
micropooz
Member Posts: 1532
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 10-18-2004 06:16 PM
Wow! Thanks Bruce! I never knew that it was anything more than a figment of a sci-fi writer's imagination. |
carmelo
Member Posts: 1051
From: Messina, Sicilia, Italia
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 10-18-2004 07:10 PM
"No comment" after more 35 years??? Why?these things are not top secret.No more. |
dtemple
Member Posts: 730
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 10-18-2004 07:55 PM
That "no comment" from Shepard certainly implies there more to the Gemini lunar mission than just a proposal. I don't think Shepard meant it was still a secret and therefore could not discuss it. The Gemini mission would have simply been a circumlunar flight, though there was a proposal to create a one-man lander and an orbiting Gemini for the moon landing. Fortunately, that was not necessary as I don't think it would have been nearly as safe (if that term applies) as the Apollo equipment. My question is why was Gemini 7 a 14-day flight? No lunar mission lasted that long, though the justification for the duration was given as the time for a round trip to the moon and back. My speculation is that the duration was chosen in support of the MOL program which would have have had two-week (and perhaps longer) flights. |
carmelo
Member Posts: 1051
From: Messina, Sicilia, Italia
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 10-18-2004 11:12 PM
Eight days in Gemini suit modified for lunar EVA and with eavy overgarment multi cover-layer (the A7 apollo suit not enter in a gemini cockpit)! its beyond the limits ! you add a spacewalk from gemini at mini-lem, the EVA on the moon,and another spacewalk (with a bag of moon rocks)from mini-lem at gemini! WOW!! its a terrible mission.About Gemini VII i think who the main one motivation was establish a record defeating in unquestionable way the russians.After came,naturally,the scientific reserch on long duration space flight.
[This message has been edited by carmelo (edited October 18, 2004).] |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3446
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 10-19-2004 12:41 AM
quote:
Originally posted by carmelo:
"No comment" after more 35 years??? Why?these things are not top secret.No more.
Depends. When I was into model rockets fifteen or so years ago, I asked (naively) Boeing for info on the X-20 "Dyna-Soar" because I thought it would be cool to build a model of it. No info was forthcoming because then it was classified info. |
Rodina
Member Posts: 836
From: Lafayette, CA
Registered: Oct 2001
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posted 10-19-2004 01:44 AM
Doesn't surprise me that X-20 stuff is still classified. There's a shocking amount of stuff that stays classified for a long time.If I recall correctly, the first time the Pentagon release even the code names associated with the plans for the invasion of Kyushu (November 1945) was in Nineteen NINETY five. (The beaches and various objectives had code names all named after automobiles: Cadillac, De Soto, Town Car, etc.) To think my great uncle could have died storming the beaches of Buick...
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Richard Jackson
Member Posts: 132
From: Palm Harbor, FL 34684
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 10-19-2004 06:45 AM
My father could have died launching JB-2’s (USA version of the German V-1) from barges off of Cadillac beach. Another well keep classified item. |
carmelo
Member Posts: 1051
From: Messina, Sicilia, Italia
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 10-19-2004 09:48 AM
Depends. When I was into model rockets fifteen or so years ago, I asked (naively) Boeing for info on the X-20 "Dyna-Soar" because I thought it would be cool to build a model of it. No info was forthcoming because then it was classified info.[/B][/QUOTE] Yes,but the X20 was a USAF military program.Gemini-luna instead was a civilian NASA program. Moreover gemini-luna has been obsolete from Apollo success. [This message has been edited by carmelo (edited October 19, 2004).] |
Cliff Lentz
Member Posts: 655
From: Philadelphia, PA USA
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 10-19-2004 10:42 AM
After seeing the Gemini VII spacecraft, I'm amazed that anyone could stay confined in such an area for 14 minutes, let alone 14 days. With some type of PLSS backpack taking up more space, how could it be done?For such a Gemini flight to the Moon, was the communication devices on Gemini enough to support lunar orbit? I recall that even with the large S-band Antenna on the Service Module, there were many breakdowns in transmissions. How would Gemini look with a big S-band sticking out of the adaptor? |
Yanksman2001
Member Posts: 24
From: Long Island City, NY, USA
Registered: Jul 2004
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posted 10-24-2004 11:37 AM
The problem with an Gemini-to-the-moon missions are that the Agena was not powerful enough for a translunar enjection rocket firing. There was nothing powerful enought that Gemini could dock with to do this.
More important, the Gemini heat-sheild was not built to withstand the high speed re-entry of the spacecraft returning to the moon. The very high cost that would have been needed to modify Gemini to fly this type of mission would have come from the Apollo Project. NASA administraters would not have done it. |
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