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  Gemini in literature (realistic or credible accounts)

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Author Topic:   Gemini in literature (realistic or credible accounts)
John Charles
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Posts: 339
From: Houston, Texas, USA
Registered: Jun 2004

posted 07-30-2015 02:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for John Charles     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am interested in compiling a list of books that incorporate realistic, or at least credible, depictions of Gemini spaceflights.

Being a space geek of the 1960s, I have a fascination with Gemini that is apparently not uncommon among people of a certain age.

This fascination has led me to the study of the MOL program, and more recently, to almost an obsession with the new book, "Blue Gemini," by Mike Jenne. (If you share my affliction, I recommend it highly.)

I think it would be interesting to compile a list of other fictional accounts that offer realistic or at least credible descriptions of Gemini flight activities.

So far, I have:

  • Blue Gemini, Mike Jenne, 2015
  • Autopsy for a Cosmonaut, Jacob Hay and John Keshishian, 1969
  • Marooned, Martin Caidin, 1964.
Also, the Mike Mars series included Gemini in one or more novels, I think, but I never read any of them.

Any other recommendations for inclusion?

Robert Pearlman
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Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-30-2015 03:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Two alternate/fictionalized histories come to mind:
  • James Michener's "Space" (1982) includes the account of at least one Gemini mission with fictional astronauts Claggett and Pope.

  • Stephen Baxter's "Voyage" (1996) only includes it in passing mention, but one of its astronauts is a Gemini veteran.

jiffyq58
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Posts: 218
From: Durham, NC, USA
Registered: Jun 2011

posted 07-30-2015 07:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jiffyq58   Click Here to Email jiffyq58     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I remember reading "Autopsy for a Cosmonaut" when I was in the 6th grade. I thought it was pretty interesting then. I wonder how it would hold up if I read it now. (I do remember being a bit annoyed that the main character's son was known as "The Samuel.")

hermit
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Posts: 186
From: Scotland
Registered: Jun 2009

posted 08-02-2015 09:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for hermit   Click Here to Email hermit     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I don't know if it was ever released as a book, but there was the movie whose plot was based on Project Pilgrim, in which a Gemini spacecraft was landed on the Moon in order to beat the Soviets, and the single occupant had to rely on supplies from Earth until it was possible to bring him back.

Or at least that's what I "remember" of it; memory is a fickle thing though.

mach3valkyrie
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Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006

posted 08-02-2015 02:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mach3valkyrie   Click Here to Email mach3valkyrie     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That was the movie "Countdown", released in 1968, starring James Caan and Robert Duval.

I was wondering the same thing, whether it had been taken from a book.

There were some actual launch shots from Gemini 11 in the movie.

randy
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Posts: 2176
From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 08-02-2015 03:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for randy   Click Here to Email randy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There's also the Bond flick "You Only Live Twice", where SPECTRE hijacks a Russian and a Gemini spacecraft.

GT76
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Posts: 24
From: River Ridge, La. USA
Registered: Jun 2015

posted 08-04-2015 11:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for GT76   Click Here to Email GT76     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In "Operation Moon Rocket" by Nick Carter (1968) there is a passing mention of the crash of Gemini 9A (should be 9).

In "Countdown" by Frank Slaughter (1970), not related to the movie of the same name, it is mentioned that one of the astronauts is a Gemini veteran.

Possibly helpful is a Wikipedia page titled "List of Fictional Astronauts" which states a fictional astronaut must be modeled upon actual astronauts of real-world space programs. It is an extensive list not only of literature but movies, television, etc.

Ronpur
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Posts: 1211
From: Brandon, Fl
Registered: May 2012

posted 08-04-2015 09:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ronpur   Click Here to Email Ronpur     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by mach3valkyrie:
I was wondering the same thing, whether it had been taken from a book.
The book this movie was based on was called "The Pilgrim Project" by Hank Searls. In the book, a Mercury capsule is used instead of the Gemini and is placed on a Surveyor lander. It is a great book, from 1965.

Ronpur
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Posts: 1211
From: Brandon, Fl
Registered: May 2012

posted 08-10-2015 06:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ronpur   Click Here to Email Ronpur     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I picked up "Blue Gemini" a few days ago. So far, it is very enjoyable!

mercsim
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Posts: 219
From: Phoenix, AZ
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 08-10-2015 07:10 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mercsim   Click Here to Email mercsim     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
"Footprints on a Secret Moon" by David Senechal is a fictional account of a Gemini Spacecraft being used to go to the moon.

Its a bit far fetched but was a fun read.

Tonyq
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Posts: 199
From: UK
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 08-11-2015 07:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tonyq   Click Here to Email Tonyq     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Another Gemini to the moon yarn is "Gemini 17" by Brad R Torgerson.

Another improbable tale of a moon race with the Soviets, which end with disaster for both sides and the survivors, the American protagonist, and a comely female cosmonaut, pooling their resources and know-how to return home.

Nice twist in the tail, though.

Ronpur
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Posts: 1211
From: Brandon, Fl
Registered: May 2012

posted 09-04-2015 10:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ronpur   Click Here to Email Ronpur     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I finished Blue Gemini and loved it! This was another of those books that I lose sleep over because I could not stop reading it! I would call this an alternate history type book, that shows a space program that did not happen in our universe (or maybe it did and we don't know it!).

It felt like I was back in the 60s in that tiny spacecraft! The book is the first of three, and as such, it sets up some plot lines that are not completed yet, but the book does have a very satisfying climax. And leaves you wanting more.

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