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Wally Schirra

Wally Schirra

Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. (born March 12, 1923 in Hackensack, New Jersey) was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts chosen for the Project Mercury, America's first effort to put men in space. He was the only man to fly in America's first three space programs: Mercury, Gemini and Apollo and has logged a total of 295 hours and 15 minutes in space. The family name Schirra is originally from the Valle Onsernone, in Canton Ticino, the Italian part of Switzerland. Wally Schirra was born into an aviation family. Schirra's father, Walter M. Schirra, Sr., went to Canada during World War I and became an ace with the RAF. He later became a barnstormer. Wally's mother, Florence Leach Schirra, went along on her husband's barnstorming tours and performed wing walking stunts. By the time he was 15, Wally was flying his father's airplane. Wally graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1944 and spent the final months of World War II as an officer aboard the cruiser USS Alaska. After the war ended, he trained as a pilot at NAS Pensacola and joined a carrier aviation squadron. Upon the outbreak of the Korean War, Schirra was dispatched to South Korea as an exchange pilot on loan to the US Air Force. He served as a flight leader with the 136th Bomb Wing, and then as operations officer with the 154th Fighter Bomber Squadron. He flew 90 combat missions between 1951 and 1952, mostly in F-84s. Schirra was credited with shooting downing one MiG-15 and damaging two others. Schirra received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster for his service in Korea. After his tour in Korea, Schirra served as a test pilot. He tested weapons systems such as the Sidewinder missile and the F7U-3 Cutlass jet fighter. After spending time as a flight instructor and carrier based aviator, he later returned to his test pilot duties and helped proof the F-4H fighter fighter for naval service. On April 2, 1959, Schirra was chosen as one of the original seven American astronauts. He entered Project Mercury and was assigned the specialty area involving life support systems. On October 3, 1962, Schirra became the fifth American in space, piloting the Mercury 8 (Sigma 7) on a six-orbit mission lasting 9 hours, 13 minutes, and 11 seconds. The capsule attained a velocity of 17,557 miles per hour and an altitude of 175 statute miles, and landed within four miles of the main Pacific Ocean recovery ship. On December 15, 1965, Schirra flew into space a second time in Gemini 6A with Tom_Stafford, rendezvousing with astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell, Jr. in Gemini 7. This was the first rendezvous of two manned spacecraft in earth orbit. The two vehicles, however, were not capable of actually docking. Gemini 6 landed in the Atlantic Ocean the next day, while Gemini 7 continued on to a then record-setting 14-day mission. On October 11, 1968, Schirra flew into space a final time as commander of Apollo 7, the first manned flight in the Apollo program after a fatal fire during tests of Apollo 1. The three-man crew, including Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham, spent eleven days in earth orbit, performed rendezvous exercises with the upper stage of the Saturn 1-B launch vehicle that rocketed them into space and provided the first television pictures from inside a U.S. manned spacecraft. During the Apollo 7 mission, Schirra caught what was perhaps the most famous cold in NASA history. He took Actifed to relieve his symptoms upon the advice of the flight surgeon. Years later, he would become a spokesman for Actifed and would appear in television commercials advertising the product. He is currently a semi-retired consultant and lives in Rancho Santa Fe, California. During his time in college, Schirra was a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity.

References


- Wally Schirra & Richard N. Billings, "Schirra's Space", 1995 ISBN 1-55750-792-9
- Robert Godwin "Sigma 7: The NASA Mission Reports", 2003 ISBN 1-894959-01-9
- Robert Godwin "Gemini 6: The NASA Mission Reports", 2000 ISBN 1-896522-61-0
- Robert Godwin "Apollo 7: The NASA Mission Reports", 2000 ISBN 1-896522-64-5 Schirra, Wally Schirra, Walter Marty Schirra, Walter Marty Schirra, Walter Marty Shirra, Walter Marty

March 12

March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in Leap years). There are 294 days remaining.

Events


- 515 BC - Construction is completed on the Temple in Jerusalem.
- 1664 - New Jersey becomes a colony of Britain.
- 1803 - Port Gibson, MS is chartered
- 1868 - Henry James O'Farrell attempts to assassinate Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
- 1894 - Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time
- 1912 - The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts in the US) are founded in the US.
- 1913 - Canberra becomes the capital of Australia.
- 1928 - In California, the St. Francis Dam fails, killing 400 people.
- 1930 - Mahatma Gandhi leads a 200-mile march known as Dandi March to the sea in defiance of British opposition, to protest the British monopoly on salt.
- 1933 - Great Depression: Franklin Delano Roosevelt addresses the nation for the first time as President of the United States. This was also the first of his "Fireside Chats."
- 1938 - Anschluss: German troops occupy Austria; annexation declared the following day.
- 1940 - Winter War: Finland signs a harsh peace treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia. Finnish troops and remaining population are immediately evacuated.
- 1947 - The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.
- 1951 - The Dennis the Menace comic strip appears in newspapers across the USA for the first time.
- 1956 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 500 for the first time (500.24)
- 1958 - In Hilversum, Netherlands, André Claveau wins the third Eurovision Song Contest for France singing "Dors, mon amour" (Sleep, my love).
- 1960 - A fire at a chemical plant in Pusan, Korea kills 68.
- 1967 - Suharto takes over from Sukarno to become President of Indonesia.
- 1968 - Mauritius achieves independence.
- 1987 - Les Misérables opens on Broadway.
- 1992 - Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the British Commonwealth.
- 1992 - 13 are killed and several injured when a tram-car crashes into a crowd of people at the tram-station at Vasaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden.
- 1993 - Several bombs explode in Bombay (Mumbai), India, killing about 300 and injuring hundreds more.
- 1993 - North Korea nuclear weapons program: North Korea says that it plans to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and refuses to allow inspectors access to nuclear sites.
- 1994 - A photo by Marmaduke Wetherell, previously touted as 'proof' of the Loch Ness monster, is confirmed to be a hoax.
- 1994 - The Church of England ordains its first female priests.
- 1997 - Mikail Markhasev is arrested in Los Angeles, California and charged with shooting Bill Cosby's 27-year-old son, Ennis Cosby.
- 1999 - Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.
- 2002 - In Texas, Andrea Yates is found guilty of drowning her five children on June 20, 2001. She is later sentenced to life in prison.
- 2003 - Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia, assassinated in Belgrade.
- 2004 - Roh Moo-hyun, President of South Korea is impeached by its national assembly for the first time in the nation's history.
- 2005 - Tung Chee Hwa, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong, steps down from his post after his resignation is approved by the Chinese central government.

Births


- 1270 - Charles of Valois, son of Philip III of France (d. 1325)
- 1386 - Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shogun (d. 1428)
- 1478 - Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (d. 1516)
- 1607 - Paul Gerhardt, German hymnist (d. 1676)
- 1613 - André Le Nôtre, French landscape architect (d. 1700)
- 1620 - Johann Heinrich Hottinger, Swiss philologist and theologian (d. 1667)
- 1626 - John Aubrey, English antiquary and writer (d. 1697)
- 1637 - Anne Hyde, wife of James II of England (d. 1671)
- 1647 - Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie, French general (d. 1727)
- 1685 - George Berkeley, Irish theologian (d. 1753)
- 1718 - Joseph Damer, English politician (d. 1798)
- 1806 - Jane Pierce, First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
- 1831 - Clement Studebaker, American automobile pioneer (d. 1901)
- 1824 - Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist (d. 1887)
- 1863 - Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian writer, war hero, and politician (d. 1938)
- 1863 - Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (d. 1945)
- 1888 - Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish-born ballet dancer (d. 1950)
- 1895 - William C. Lee, U.S. Army general (d. 1948)
- 1896 - Sir John Abbott, third Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1893)
- 1908 - Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d. 1970)
- 1912 - Irving Layton, Canadian poet
- 1918 - Elaine de Kooning, American artist (d. 1989)
- 1921 - Gianni Agnelli, Italian auto executive (d. 2003)
- 1921 - Gordon MacRae, American singer and actor (d. 1986)
- 1922 - Jack Kerouac, American writer (d. 1969)
- 1922 - Lane Kirkland, American labor leader (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater
- 1923 - Wally Schirra, astronaut
- 1923 - Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (d. 2005)
- 1925 - Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1925 - Harry Harrison, American author
- 1928 - Edward Albee, American dramatist
- 1932 - Barbara Feldon, American actress
- 1932 - Andrew Young, American civil rights activist, politician, and ambassador to the United Nations
- 1940 - Al Jarreau, American singer
- 1941 - Barbara Feldon, American actress and model
- 1942 - Ratko Mladić, Republika Srpska leader
- 1945 - Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, American gangster
- 1946 - Liza Minnelli, American singer and actress
- 1947 - Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist (d. 1987)
- 1948 - James Taylor, American musician
- 1953 - Carl Hiaasen, American journalist and author
- 1953 - Ron Jeremy, American actor
- 1957 - Steve Harris, English musician (Iron Maiden)
- 1957 - Marlon Jackson, American singer (The Jackson 5)
- 1962 - Darryl Strawberry, baseball player
- 1963 - Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner
- 1965 - Steve Finley, baseball player
- 1968 - Aaron Eckhart, American Actor (Erin Brockavich)
- 1969 - Graham Coxon, English musician
- 1970 - Roy Khan, Norwegian singer (Kamelot)
- 1976 - Simon Young, music journalist
- 1985 - Bradley Wright-Phillips, English footballer
- 1986 - Danny Jones, British singer (McFly)

Deaths


- 604 - Pope Gregory I
- 1289 - King Demetre II of Georgia (b. 1259)
- 1374 - Emperor Go-Kogon of Japan (b. 1336)
- 1447 - Shah Rukh, ruler of Persia and Transoxonia (b. 1377)
- 1507 - Cesare Borgia, Italian general and statesman (b. 1475)
- 1608 - Koriki Kiyonaga, Japanese warlord (b. 1530)
- 1628 - John Bull, English composer
- 1648 - Tirso de Molina, Spanish writer
- 1681 - Frans van Mieris, Sr., Dutch painter (b. 1635)
- 1699 - Peder Griffenfeld, Danish statesman (b. 1635)
- 1790 - Andreas Hadik, Austro-Hungarian general (b. 1710)
- 1872 - Zeng Guofan, Chinese politician and general (b. 1811)
- 1889 - Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia
- 1898 - Zacharias Topelius, Finnish-Swedish writer (b. 1818)
- 1925 - Sun Yat Sen, Chinese revolutionary, politician (b. 1866)
- 1937 - Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (b. 1844)
- 1943 - Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (b. 1869)
- 1944 - Artur Gavazzi, Croatian geographer (b. 1861)
- 1945 - Anne Frank, German-born diarist (b. 1929)
- 1947 - Winston Churchill, American novelist (b. 1871)
- 1955 - Charlie Parker, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1920)
- 1978 - John Cazale, American actor (b. 1935)
- 1979 - Pete Doherty, Musician- the libertines and babyshambles
- 1984 - Arnold Ridley, British playwright and actor (b. 1896)
- 1985 - Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian conductor (b. 1899)
- 1987 - Woody Hayes, American football coach (b. 1913)
- 1989 - Maurice Evans, British actor (b. 1901)
- 1990 - Wallace Breem, British author (b. 1926)
- 1991 - Ragnar Granit, Finnish neuroscientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1900)
- 1995 - Juanin Clay, American actress (b. 1949)
- 1998 - Beatrice Wood, American artist and ceramist (b. 1893)
- 1999 - Sir Yehudi Menuhin, American-born violinist (b. 1916)
- 2001 - Morton Downey, Jr., American television talk show host (b. 1933)
- 2001 - Robert Ludlum, author (b. 1927)
- 2002 - Spyros Kyprianou, Cypriot politician (b. 1932)
- 2003 - Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia (b. 1952)
- 2003 - Howard Fast, American author (b. 1914)
- 2003 - Lynne Thigpen, American actress (b. 1948)
- 2005 - Bill Cameron, Canadian journalist (b. 1943)

Holidays and observances


- Roman Catholic Church - Feast day of St Theophanes
- Mauritius - National Day
- Sweden - Namesday of Crown Princess Victoria, an Official Flag Day
- Flag Day in Venezuela
- Ancient Latvia - Gregoru Diena observed  

Fiction


- In Stephen King's Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the character Andy Dufresne escapes from Shawshank Prison on March 12, 1975.

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/12 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.tnl.net/when/3/12 Today in History: March 12] ---- March 11 - March 13 - February 12 - April 12 -- listing of all days ko:3월 12일 ja:3月12日 simple:March 12 th:12 มีนาคม

1923

1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January-June


- January 1 - Grouping of all UK railway companies into four larger companies
- January 10 - Lithuania seizes and annexes Memel
- January 11 - Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to pay its reparation payments
- February 16 - Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun
- February 22 - Barcelona (Catalonia): Albert Einstein visits the city, invited by the scientist Esteban Terradas i Illa, as part of the monografics course of High Studies and Exchange organized by the Mancomunitat de Catalunya and conducted by Rafael de Campalans.
- March - Antigone by Jean Cocteau appears on a Paris stage. Settings by Pablo Picasso, music by Arthur Honegger, and costumes by Gabrielle Chanel. Antonin Artaud played the part of Tiresias.
- March 1 - USS Connecticut decommissioned
- March 2 - Time Magazine hits newsstands for the first time
- March 9 - Vladimir Lenin suffers a stroke, his third, which renders him bedridden and unable to speak; consequently he retires his position as Chairman of the Soviet government.
- April - End of Irish Civil War
- April 12 - Kandersteg International Scout Centre came into existence.
- April 23 - Ceremonial inauguration of Gdynia Seaport
- April 26 - Wedding of Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in Westminster Abbey
- May 23 - Launch of Belgium's SABENA Airlines
- May 27 - Ku Klux Klan defies law requiring publication of its members
- June 9 - Military coup in Bulgaria - prime minister Aleksandar Stamboliyski is ousted (he is killed June 14)
- June 18 - Etna volcano erupts - 60.000 made homeless

July-September


- July 6 - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established
- July 10 - Large hailstones kill 23 in Rostow, Soviet Russia
- July 19-20 night - Assassination of Pancho Villa
- July 24 - The Treaty of Lausanne, settling the boundaries of modern Turkey, is signed in Switzerland by Greece, Bulgaria and other countries that fought in the First World War
- August 2 - Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States (1921 - 1923) dies in office and is succeeded by Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929).
- August 13 - First major sea-going ship arrives at Gdynia, newly constructed Polish seaport
- August 13 - Gustav Stresemann is named chancellor and founds a coalition government in Weimar Republic Germany
- September 1 - Great Kantō earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama killing 142.807 people
- September 4 - In Lakehurst, New Jersey, the first American airship, the "USS Shenandoah, takes to the sky for the first time
- September 6 - Italian navy occupies Corfu in retaliation of murder of an Italian officer. League of Nations protests and they leave September 29
- September 8 - Honda Point Disaster: Seven US Navy destroyers ran aground off the California coast.
- September 9 - Atatürk founded the CHP.
- September 13 - Military coup in Spain - Miguel Primo de Rivera takes over, setting up a dictatorship.
- September 18-26 - Newspaper printers strike in New York
- September 26 - In Bayern, Gustav von Kuhr declares independence from Berlin

October-December


- October 29 - Turkey becomes a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
- November 8 - Beer Hall Putsch: In Munich, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government. Police and troops crush the attempt the next day
- November 12- Her Highness Princess Maud of Fife marries Captain Charles Alexander Carnegie in Wellington Barracks, London.
- November 15 - The inflation in Germany reaches its height. One dollar is worth 4,200,000,000,000 Reichsmarks (4.2 trillion). Gustav Stresemann abolishes the old currency
- November 23 - Gustav Stresemann's coalition government collapses
- December 12 - Po river dam bursts - 600 dead
- December 27 - Assassination attempt against the crown prince of Japan in Tokyo

Unknown dates


- Juan de la Cierva invents the autogyro, a rotary-winged aircraft with an unpowered rotor.
- Finnish flag carrier Finnair airline is started in Aero Oy.
- Interpol is set up.
- International Police Conference in Vienna
- Hoda Cha'arawi Association (formerly The Egyptian Feminist Union) is established in Egypt.
- Trade unions banned in Spain for 10 years.
- Police strike in Australia
- Regia Aeronautica, air force of Fascist Italy, is founded.
- American Law Institute established
- Moderation League of New York became part of movement for repeal of prohibition in United States.

Births

January-February


- January 1 - Roméo Sabourin, Canadian World War II spy (d. 1944)
- January 5 - Sam Phillips, American record producer (d. 2003)
- January 6 - Jacobo Timerman, Argentine writer (d. 1999)
- January 7 - Hugh Kenner, Canadian literary critic (d. 2003)
- January 8 - Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (d. 1985)
- January 16 - Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)
- January 19 - Jean Stapleton, American actress
- January 25 - Arvid Carlsson, Swedish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- January 26 - Anne Jeffreys, American actress
- January 29 - Paddy Chayefsky, American writer (d. 1981)
- January 31 - Norman Mailer, American writer and journalist
- February 2 - James Dickey, American poet and author (d. 1997)
- February 2 - Liz Smith, American gossip columnist
- February 9 - Brendan Behan, Irish author (d. 1964)
- February 12 - Franco Zeffirelli, Italian film and opera director
- February 13 - Yfrah Neaman, Lebanese-born violinist (d. 2003)
- February 13 - Chuck Yeager, American pilot and NASA official
- February 20 - Forbes Burnham, President of Guyana (d. 1985)
- February 24 - David Soyer, American cellist
- February 27 - Dexter Gordon, American jazz saxophone player (d. 1990)

March-April


- March 6 - Ed McMahon, American television personality
- March 9 - Walter Kohn, Austrian-born physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- March 10 - Val Logsdon Fitch, American nuclear physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- March 12 - Wally Schirra, astronaut
- March 21 - Shri Mataji Nirmala Shrivastava, Indian founder of Sahaja Yoga
- March 25 - Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (d. 2003)
- March 26 - Bob Elliott, American comedian
- March 27 - Louis Simpson, Jamaican-born poet
- March 30 - Milton Acorn, Canadian writer (d. 1986)
- April 2 - G. Spencer-Brown, British mathematician
- April 8 - George Fisher, American political cartoonist (d. 2003)
- April 8 - Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (d. 1997)
- April 13 - Don Adams, American actor and comedian (d. 2005)
- April 20 - Mother Angelica, American founder of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN)
- April 22 - Bettie Page, American model
- April 22 - Aaron Spelling, American television producer and writer
- April 23 - Dolph Briscoe, Governor of Texas

May-August


- May 1 - Joseph Heller, American novelist (d. 1999)
- May 2 - Patrick Hillery, President of Ireland
- May 3 - Ralph Hall, American politician
- May 5 - Richard Wollheim, British philosopher (d. 2003)
- May 7 - Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
- May 13 - Bea Arthur, American actress
- May 15 - John Lanchbery, English composer (d. 2003)
- May 16 - Merton Miller, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- May 18 - Hugh Shearer, Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2004)
- May 21 - Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician (d. 2003)
- May 21 - Dorothy Hewett, writer (d. 2002)
- May 21 - Ara Parseghian, American football coach
- May 26 - James Arness, American actor
- May 27 - Henry Kissinger, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- May 28 - György Ligeti, Hungarian composer
- May 31 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
- July 2 - Wislawa Szymborska, Polish writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- July 4 - Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss Federal Councilor
- July 8 - Harrison Dillard, American athlete
- July 18 - Jerome H. Lemelson, American inventor (d. 1997)
- July 20 - Stanisław Albinowski, Polish economist and journalist (d. 2005)
- July 21 - Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- July 22 - Robert Joseph Dole, American politician and Presidential candidate
- July 22 - Mukesh, Indian singer (d. 1976)
- July 23 - Witto Aloma, Cuban Major League Baseball player (d. 1997)
- August 5 - Devan Nair, third President of Singapore (d. 2005)
- August 20 - Jim Reeves, American singer (d. 1964)
- August 21 - Shimon Peres, Prime Minister of Israel, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- August 24 - Arthur Jensen, American educational psychologist
- August 26 - Wolfgang Sawallisch, German conductor and pianist

September-December


- September 1 - Kenneth Roy Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian businessman and art collector
- September 1 - Rocky Marciano, American boxer (d. 1969)
- September 3 - Mort Walker, American cartoonist
- September 6 - King Peter II of Yugoslavia (d. 1970)
- September 9 - Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, American virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- September 11 - Dharmsamrat Paramhans Swami Madhavananda, Indian guru (d. 2003)
- September 17 - Hank Williams, American country musician (d. 1953)
- September 20 - Geraldine Clinton Little, Irish-born poet (D. 1997
- September 22 - Dannie Abse, Welsh poet
- September 26 - Dev Anand, Indian actor
- October 3 - Edward Oliver LeBlanc, Dominican politician (d. 2004)
- October 5 - Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic professional football player and politician (d. 1994)
- October 5 - Glynis Johns, British actress
- October 13 - Faas Wilkes, Dutch football (soccer) player
- October 15 - Italo Calvino, Italian writer (d. 1985)
- October 23 - Frank Sutton, American actor (d. 1974)
- November 1 - Victoria de los Angeles, Catalan soprano (d. 2005)
- November 1 - Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian author (d. 2001)
- November 8 - Jack Kilby, American electrical engineer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 2005)
- November 20 - Nadine Gordimer, South African writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- November 22 - Arthur Hiller, Canadian film director
- November 23 - Billy Haughton, American harness driver and trainer (d. 1986)
- November 25 - Mauno Koivisto, President of Finland
- December 2 - Maria Callas, Greek soprano (d. 1977)
- December 12 - Bob Barker, American game show host
- December 13 - Philip Warren Anderson, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- December 13 - Larry Doby, baseball player (d. 2003)
- December 13 - Antoni Tàpies, Catalan painter
- December 14 - Gerard Reve, Dutch writer
- December 15 - Freeman Dyson, English-born physicist
- December 23 - Claudio Scimone, Italian conductor
- December 23 - James Stockdale, U.S. Navy admiral
- December 24 - George Patton IV, American general (d. 2004)
- December 25 - Sonia Olschanezky, World War II heroine (d. 1944)

Deaths


- Michel-Joseph Maunoury, French general (b. 1847)
- January 9 - Katherine Mansfield, British novelist (b. 1888)
- January 23 - Max Nordau, Hungarian author, philosopher, and Zionist leader (b. 1849)
- February 10 - Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
- February 23 - Théophile Delcassé, French statesman (b. 1852)
- March 8 - Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1837)
- March 26 - Sarah Bernhardt, French actress (b. 1844)
- March 27 - Sir James Dewar, Scottish chemist (b. 1842)
- April 4 - John Venn, British mathematician (b. 1834)
- April 5 - George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English financier of Egyptian excavations (b. 1866)
- June 9 - Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (b. 1846)
- August 2 - Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States (b. 1865)
- October 30 - Andrew Bonar Law, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1858)
- December 12 - Raymond Radiguet, French author (b. 1903)
- December 13 - Théophile Steinlen, Swiss painter (b. 1859)

Nobel Prizes


- Physics - Robert Andrews Millikan
- Chemistry - Fritz Pregl
- Physiology or Medicine - Frederick Grant Banting, John James Richard Macleod
- Literature - William Butler Yeats
- Peace - Not awarded
- ko:1923년 ms:1923 ja:1923年 simple:1923 th:พ.ศ. 2466

Hackensack, New Jersey

Hackensack is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 42,677. It is the county seat of Bergen County. The City of Hackensack is governed under the 1923 Municipal Manager Law. Luminaries include early astronaut Walter Schirra who was born there as well as avant-garde musician / filmmaker Jamal Morelli (born Benjamin Prentiss) Hackensack is also the home of the New Jersey Naval Museum, the World War II submarine USS Ling, Hackensack High School, Bergen County Academies and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Geography

Hackensack is located at 40°53'16" North, 74°2'53" West (40.887797, -74.047978). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.2 km² (4.3 mi²). 10.7 km² (4.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 4.41% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 42,677 people, 18,113 households, and 9,545 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,999.4/km² (10,358.3/mi²). There are 18,945 housing units at an average density of 1,775.4/km² (4,598.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 52.61% White, 24.65% African American, 0.45% Native American, 7.45% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 9.71% from other races, and 5.08% from two or more races. 25.92% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 18,113 households out of which 21.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% are married couples living together, 13.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.3% are non-families. 39.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.26 and the average family size is 3.08. In the city the population is spread out with 18.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 38.4% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.5 males. The median income for a household in the city is $49,316, and the median income for a family is $56,953. Males have a median income of $39,636 versus $32,911 for females. The per capita income for the city is $26,856. 9.3% of the population and 6.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.1% of those under the age of 18 and 10.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Government

Local government

Hackensack operates under the New Jersey 1923 Municipal Manager Law. This form of government separates policy making (the work of the Mayor and City Council) from the execution of policy (the work of the City Manager). This maintains professional management and a City-wide perspective through: nonpartisan election, at-large representation, concentration of executive responsibility in the hands of a professional manager accountable to the Mayor and Council, concentration of policy making power in one body: a five-person Mayor and Council. This form also creates stability which can be demonstrated by the fact that in several decades of the Municipal Manager Form of Government, Hackensack has had only nine City Managers. Members of the Hackensack City Council are Mayor Marlin G. Townes, Deputy Mayor Karen K. Sasso, Charles P. McAuliffe, Michael R. Melfi and Jorge E. Meneses.

Federal, state and county representation

Hackensack is part of New Jersey's 37th Legislative District and is in the Ninth Congressional District.

External links


- [http://www.hackensack.org/ Hackensack official website]
- [http://www.hackensackschools.org/ Hackensack Public Schools] Category:1923 Municipal Manager Law Category:Cities in New Jersey Category:Bergen County, New Jersey Category:New Jersey District Factor Group CD

Mercury program

Project Mercury was the United States first successful manned spaceflight program. It ran from 1959 through 1963 with the goal of putting a man in orbit around the Earth. Early planning and research was carried out by NACA, while the program was officially carried out by the newly created NASA. The name Mercury comes from the Roman god (it is also the name of the innermost planet of the solar system). The Mercury program cost $1.5 billion in 1994 dollars. See NASA Budget.

Spacecraft

__NOTOC__ Mercury spacecraft (also called a capsule or space capsule) were very small one-man vehicles; it was said that the Mercury spacecraft were not ridden, they were worn. Only 1.7 cubic meters in volume, the Mercury capsule was barely big enough to include its pilot. Inside were 120 controls: 55 electrical switches, 30 fuses and 35 mechanical levers. The spacecraft was designed by Max Faget and NASA's Space Task Group. During the launch phase of the mission, the Mercury spacecraft and astronaut were protected from launch vehicle failures by the Launch Escape System. The LES consisted of a solid fuel, 52,000 lbf (231 kN) thrust rocket mounted on a tower above the spacecraft. In the event of a launch abort, the LES fired for 1 second, pulling the Mercury spacecraft away from a defective launch vehicle. The spacecraft would then descend on its parachute recovery system. After booster engine cutoff (BECO), the LES was no longer needed and was separated from the spacecraft by a solid fuel, 800 lbf (3.6 kN) thrust jettison rocket, that fired for 1.5 seconds. To separate the Mercury spacecraft from the launch vehicle, the spacecraft fired three small solid fuel, 400 lbf (1.8 kN) thrust rockets for 1 second. These rockets are called the Posigrade rockets. The spacecraft had only attitude control thrusters. After orbit insertion and before retrofire they could not change their orbit. The spacecraft had three sets of control jets for each axis (yaw, pitch and roll), supplied from two separate fuel tanks. An automatic set of high and low powered jets and a set of manual jets, fueled from either the automatic tank or the manual tank. The pilot could use any one of the three thruster systems and fuel them from either of the two fuel tanks to provide spacecraft attitude control. The Mercury spacecraft were designed to be totally controllable from the ground in the event that the space environment impaired the pilot's ability to function. The spacecraft had three solid fuel, 1000 lbf (4.5 kN) thrust retrorockets that fired for 10 seconds each. One was sufficient to return the spacecraft to earth if the other two failed. The first retro was fired, five seconds later the second was fired (while the first was still firing). Five seconds after that, the third retro fires (while the second retro is still firing). This is called ripple firing. There was a small metal flap at the nose of the spacecraft called the "spoiler". If the spacecraft started to reenter nose first (another stable reentry attitude for the capsule), airflow over the "spoiler" would flip the spacecraft around to the proper, heatshield first reentry attitude. Suborbital Mercury capsules encountered lower reentry temperatures and used beryllium heat-sink heat shields. Orbital missions encountered much higher atmospheric friction and temperatures during reentry and used ablative shields. NASA ordered 20 production spacecraft, numbered 1 through 20, from McDonnell Aircraft Company, St. Louis, Missouri. Five of the twenty spacecraft were not flown. They were, Spacecraft #10, 12, 15, 17, and 19. Two unmanned spacecraft were destroyed during flights. They were Spacecraft #3 and #4. Spacecraft #11 sank and was recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after 38 years. Some spacecraft were modified after initial production (refurbished after launch abort, modified for longer missions, etc) and received a letter designation after their number, examples 2B, 15B. Some spacecraft were modified twice, example, spacecraft 15 became 15A and then 15B. A number of boilerplate spacecraft (mockup/prototype/replica spacecraft, made from non-flight materials or lacking production spacecraft systems and/or hardware) were also made by NASA and McDonnell Aircraft and used in numerous tests, including launches.

Boosters

ablative The Mercury program used three boosters: Little Joe, Redstone, and Atlas. Little Joe was used to test the escape tower and abort procedures. Redstone was used for suborbital flights, and Atlas for orbital ones. Starting in October, 1958, Jupiter missiles were also considered as suborbital launch vehicles for the Mercury program, but were cut from the program in July, 1959 due to budget constraints. The Atlas boosters required extra strengthening in order to handle the increased weight of the Mercury capsules beyond that of the nuclear warheads they were designed to carry. Little Joe was a solid-propellant booster designed specially for the Mercury program. The Titan missile was also considered for use for later Mercury missions, however the Mercury program was terminated before these missions were flown. The Titan was used for the Gemini program which followed Mercury

Astronauts

Gemini program The first Americans to venture into space were drawn from a group of 110 military pilots chosen for their flight test experience and because they met certain physical requirements. Seven of those 110 became astronauts in April 1959. Six of the seven flew Mercury missions (Deke Slayton was removed from flight status due to a heart condition). Beginning with Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 flight, the astronauts named their own spacecraft, and all added 7 to the name to acknowledge the teamwork of their fellow astronauts Mercury had seven prime astronauts, all former military test pilots, known as the Mercury 7. NASA announced the selection of these astronauts on April 9, 1959.
- M. Scott Carpenter (1925-)
- L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. (1927-2004)
- John H. Glenn. Jr. (1921-)
(first American to orbit the earth)
- Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom (1926-1967)
- Walter M. Schirra, Jr. (1923-)
- Alan B. Shepard, Jr. (1923-1998)
(first American in space)
- Donald K. "Deke" Slayton (1924-1993)
(grounded in 1962 due to irregular heartbeat, reinstated in 1972 and later flew on Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975)

Flights

The program included 20 robotic launches. Not all of these were intended to reach space and not all were successful in completing their objectives. The fifth flight in 1959 launched a monkey named Sam (a rhesus monkey named after the Air Force School of Aviation Medicine) into space. Other non-human space-farers were Miss Sam (a rhesus monkey), Ham and Enos, both chimpanzees. The Mercury program used the following launch vehicles:
- Little Joe - Suborbital, robotic, and primate flights. Launch escape system tests
- Redstone - Suborbital robotic, primate and piloted orbital flights.
- Atlas - Suborbital robotic, robotic, primate, and piloted orbital flights.

Robotic


- Mercury-Jupiter - Cancelled in July, 1959 - Proposed suborbital launch vehicle for Mercury. Not flown.
- Little Joe 1 - August 21, 1959 - test of launch escape system during flight
- Big Joe 1 - September 9, 1959 - test of heat shield and Atlas / spacecraft interface
- Little Joe 6 - October 4, 1959 - Test of capsule aerodynamics and integrity
- Little Joe 1A - November 4, 1959 - test of launch escape system during flight
- Little Joe 2 - December 4, 1959 - carried Sam the monkey to 85 kilometres in altitude
- Little Joe 1B - January 21, 1960 - carried Miss Sam the monkey to 9.3 statute miles (15 kilometres) in altitude
- Beach Abort - May 9, 1960 - test of the Off-The-Pad abort system
- Mercury-Atlas 1 - July 29, 1960 - first flight of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas Booster
- Little Joe 5 - November 8, 1960 - first flight of a production Mercury spacecraft
- Mercury-Redstone 1 - November 21, 1960 - Launched 4 inches (100 mm). Settled back on pad due to electrical malfunction
- Mercury-Redstone 1A - December 19, 1960 - first flight of Mercury spacecraft and Redstone booster
- Mercury-Redstone 2 - January 31, 1961 - carried Ham the Chimpanzee on suborbital flight
- Mercury-Atlas 2 - February 21, 1961 - test of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas Booster
- Little Joe 5A - March 18, 1961 - test of the launch escape system during the most severe conditions of a launch
- Mercury-Redstone BD - March 24, 1961 - Redstone Booster Development - test flight
- Mercury-Atlas 3 - April 25, 1961 - test of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas Booster
- Little Joe 5B - April 28, 1961 - test of the launch escape system during the most severe conditions of a launch
- Mercury-Atlas 4 - September 13, 1961 - test of Mercury spacecraft and Atlas Booster
- Mercury-Scout 1 - November 1, 1961 - test of Mercury tracking network
- Mercury-Atlas 5 - November 29, 1961 - carried Enos the Chimpanzee on a two orbit flight

Primate flights


- Little Joe 2 - December 4, 1959 - carried Sam the monkey to 85 kilometres in altitude
- Little Joe 1B - January 21, 1960 - carried Miss Sam the monkey to 9.3 statute miles (15 kilometres) in altitude
- Mercury-Redstone 2 - January 31, 1961 - carried Ham the Chimpanzee on suborbital flight
- Mercury-Atlas 5 - November 29, 1961 - carried Enos the Chimpanzee on a two orbit flight

Piloted

Suborbital


- Mercury-Redstone 3 (Freedom 7) - 5 May 1961 - Alan Shepard
- Mercury-Redstone 4 (Liberty Bell 7) - 21 July 1961 - Gus Grissom

Orbital


- Mercury Atlas 6 (Friendship 7) - 20 February 1962 - John Glenn
- Mercury-Atlas 7 (Aurora 7) - 24 May 1962 - Scott Carpenter (replaced Deke Slayton)
- Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7) - 3 October 1962 - Wally Schirra
- Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) - 15 May 1963 - Gordon Cooper
- Mercury-Atlas 10 (Freedom 7-II) - October 1963 - Cancelled June 13, 1963 1963 1963

Piloted Mercury launches

1963

Mercury Flight insignias

Flight patches are available to the public that purport to be patches from various Mercury missions. In reality, these patches were designed long after the Mercury program ended by private entrepreneurs. When genuine flight patches were created by crews in the Gemini program, this caused a public demand for Mercury flight patches, which was filled by these private entrepreneurs. The only patches the Mercury astronauts wore were the NASA logo and a name tag. Each manned Mercury spacecraft, however, was decorated with a flight insignia. These are the genuine Mercury flight insignias. They were approved by the Mercury astronauts and painted on their spacecraft. Each flight insignia is illustrated in the photo above.

Follow-on programs

Miscellaneous

The Mercury astronauts trained, in part, at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia, under Flight Surgeon William K. Douglas and Keith G. Lindell (COL, USAF). Several bridges throughout the city bear the name of the Mercury astronauts, and the main route in the city is named Mercury Boulevard, honoring the Mercury program. The names of five of the Mercury astronauts are also commemorated in the popular 1960s TV show Thunderbirds. In the series, Jeff Tracy, the founder of the fictional International Rescue organisation, is a millionaire ex-astronaut who has named his five sons -- Scott, Virgil, Alan, John and Gordon -- after the real-life Mercury astronauts.

Further reading


- Gene Kranz, Failure is Not an Option. Factual, from the standpoint of a chief flight controller during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs. ISBN 0743200799
- Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff. Sentimental, from the astronaut viewpoint, not meant to be taken as a strict history, but fascinating anyway.
- Schirra, Grissom, Glenn, Slayton, Shepherd, Carpenter, Cooper, We Seven. (ISBN B00005X54G); Simon & Schuster - 1962. Factual; a collection of articles written by the seven Mercury astronauts describing events from their points of view.
- James M. Grimwood, [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/cover.htm This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury]
- James M. Grimwood, [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4001/cover.htm Project Mercury - A Chronology]
- Mae Mills Link, [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4003/cover.htm Space Medicine In Project Mercury]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930074071_1993074071.pdf Results of the first US manned orbital space flight - Feb 20, 1962 (Friendship 7) NASA report - (PDF format)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19620004691_1962004691.pdf Results of the second u.s. manned orbital space flight, May 24, 1962 (Aurora 7) NASA report - (PDF format)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19990026158_1999028570.pdf This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury - NASA report (PDF format)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19630011968_1963011968.pdf Chronology of Project Mercury - NASA report (PDF format)]

See also


- Vostok programme
- Splashdown

External links


- [http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/mercury/mercury.htm The Mercury Project (Kennedy Space Center)]
- [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4001/contents.htm Project Mercury A Chronology (Prepared by James M. Grimwood)]
- [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4003/cover.htm Space Medicine In Project Mercury By Mae Mills Link]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/mercury.html Project Mercury Drawings and Technical Diagrams]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/diagrams.htm Technical Diagrams and Drawings]
- [http://www.geocities.com/atlas_missile/mercury.htm Mercury-Atlas Diagrams]
- [http://projectmercury5.moonport.org Project Mercury Simulator for the PC (Orbiter)]
- [http://youarego.com Project Mercury Simulator for the Mac]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670028606_1967028606.pdf The Mercury Redstone Project (PDF) December 1964]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19740076527_1974076527.pdf Project Mercury familiarization manual (PDF) November 1961]
- [http://www.ibiblio.org/mscorbit/document.html Various PDFs of historical Mercury documents including familiarization manuals.] Category:Manned spacecraft Category:Human spaceflight programmes
- ja:マーキュリー計画

Gemini program

Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program in which the United States of America sent humans into space, between Projects Mercury and Apollo, during the years 1963-1966. Its objective was to develop techniques for advanced space travel, notably those necessary for Apollo, whose objective was to land men on the Moon. Gemini missions involved extravehicular activity and orbital maneuvers including rendezvous and docking. Gemini was originally seen as a simple extrapolation of the Mercury program, and thus early on was called Mercury Mark II. The final program had little in common with Mercury and was in fact superior to even Apollo in some ways. (See Big Gemini.) This was mainly a result of its late start date, which allowed it to benefit from much that had been learned by that time on the Apollo project (which, despite its later launch dates, was actually begun before Gemini). Its primary difference from Mercury was that the earlier spacecraft had all systems other than the reentry rockets sited within the capsule, nearly all of which had to be accessed through the astronaut's hatchway, while Gemini had many power, propulsion, and life-support systems in a detachable module like a huge bowl; many components in the capsule itself were reachable each through its own small access door. The original intention was for Gemini to use a paraglider instead of a parachute, and the crew to be seated upright controlling the forward motion of the craft before its landing. To facilitate this, the parachute cord does not just attach to the nose of the craft; there is an additional attachment point for balance near the heat shield. This cord is covered by a strip of metal between the doors. Early, short-duration missions had their electrical power supplied by batteries; later endurance missions had the first fuel cells in manned spacecraft. The "Gemini" designation comes from the fact that each spacecraft held two men, as "gemini" in Latin means "twins". Gemini is also the name of the third constellation of the Zodiac and its twin stars, Castor and Pollux. Unlike Mercury, which could only change its orientation in space, the Gemini capsule could alter its own orbit. It could also dock with other spacecraft--one of which, the Agena Target Vehicle, had its own large rocket engine which was used to perform large orbital changes. Gemini was the first American manned spacecraft to include an onboard computer, the Gemini Guidance Computer, to facilitate management and control of mission maneuvers. The main contractor was McDonnell who had lost out on main contracts for the Apollo Project. McDonnell sought to extend the program by proposing a Gemini craft could be used to fly a cislunar mission and even achieve a manned lunar landing earlier and at less cost than Apollo but these were rejected. The Gemini program cost $5.4 billion in 1994 dollars. See NASA Budget.

Announcement

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA announced December 7, 1961, a plan to extend the existing manned space flight program by development of a two-man spacecraft. The program was officially designated Gemini on January 3, 1962.

Team

The Gemini program was managed by the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas, under direction of the Office of Manned Space Flight, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C, Dr. George E. Mueller, Associate Administrator of NASA for Manned Space Flight, served as acting director of the Gemini program. William C. Schneider, Deputy Director of Manned Space Flight for Mission Operations, served as Mission Director on all Gemini flights beginning with Gemini V. The Manned Spacecraft Center Gemini effort was headed by Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, director of the Center, and Charles W. Matthews, Gemini Program Manager.

Program objectives

The Gemini Program was conceived after it became evident to NASA officials that an intermediate step was required between the projects Mercury and Apollo. The major objectives assigned to Gemini were:
- To subject two men and supporting equipment to long-duration flights, a requirement for projected later trips to the moon or deeper space.
- To effect rendezvous and docking with other orbiting vehicles, and to maneuver the docked vehicles in space, using the propulsion system of the target vehicle for such maneuvers.
- To perfect methods of reentry and landing the spacecraft at a pre-selected land-landing point.
- To gain additional information concerning the effects of weightlessness on crew members and to record the physiological reactions of crew members during long duration flights.

Gemini Applications

The United States Air Force had an interest in the system, and decided to use their own modification of the spacecraft as the crew vehicle for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory. To this end, one of the unmanned Gemini spacecraft was refurbished and flown again atop a mockup of the MOL, sent into space by a Titan III-M. This was the first time a spacecraft went into space twice. The USAF also had the notion of adapting the Gemini spacecraft for trying out military applications, such as crude observation of the ground (no specialized reconnaissance camera could be carried) and practicing making rendezvous with suspicious satellites. This project was called Blue Gemini. The US Air Force did not like the fact that Gemini would have to be recovered by the US Navy, so they intended for Blue Gemini eventually to use the paraglider and land on three skids, something from the original design of Gemini. At first some within NASA welcomed sharing of the cost with the USAF, but it was later agreed that NASA was better off operating Project Gemini by itself. MOL was cancelled in 1968 and Blue Gemini too was cancelled without any use by military astronauts.

Missions

1968 and Thomas Stafford aboard]] Gemini involved 12 flights, including two unmanned flight tests of the equipment.

Unmanned


- Gemini 1 - First test flight of Gemini; April 8-12, 1964
- Gemini 2 - Suborbital flight to test heat shield; January 19, 1965

Manned


- Gemini III , MOLLY BROWN March 23, 1965 Virgil "Gus" Grissom, John W. Young 04 hours, 52 minutes 31 seconds First manned Gemini flight, three orbits. The only major incident during the mission involved a contraband corned beef sandwich that Young had snuck on board. The crew each took a few bites before the sandwich had to be restowed. The crumbs it released could have wreaked havoc with the craft's electronics, so the crew were reprimanded when they returned to Earth. The capsule's name, 'Molly Brown', was a reference to the musical "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", and was allegedly chosen by Grissom in honour of his Mercury capsule ("Liberty Bell 7"), which did sink. Following this, Nasa banned crews from naming their vehicles until relatively late in the Apollo program, and even then only with supervision.
- Gemini IV June 03-07, 1965 James A. McDivitt, Edward H. White II 4 days 1 hour 56 min 12 seconds Included first extravehicular activity (EVA) by an American; White's "space walk" was a 22 minute EVA exercise.
- Gemini V August 21-29, 1965 L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Charles Conrad Jr. 7 days 22 hours 55 min 14 seconds First week-long flight First use of fuel cells for electrical power; evaluated guidance and navigation system for future rendezvous missions. Completed 120 orbits.
- Gemini VII December 04-18, 1965 Frank Borman, James A. Lovell Jr. 13 days, 18 hours, 35 minutes 1 seconds When the original Gemini VI mission was scrubbed because its Agena target for rendezvous and docking failed, Gemini VII was used for the rendezvous instead. Primary objective was to determine whether humans could live in space for 14 days.
- Gemini VI-A December 15-16, 1965 Walter M. Schirra Jr., Thomas P. Stafford 1 Day 1 hour 51 min 24 seconds First space rendezvous accomplished with Gemini VII, station-keeping for over five hours at distances from 0.3 to 90 m (1 to 295 ft).
- Gemini VIII March 16, 1966 Neil A. Armstrong, David R. Scott 10 hours, 41 minutes 26 seconds Accomplished first docking with another space vehicle, an unmanned Agena stage. A malfunction caused uncontrollable spinning of the craft; the crew undocked and effected the first emergency landing of a manned U.S. space mission.
- Gemini IX June 03-06, 1966 Thomas P. Stafford, Eugene A. Cernan 3 days, 21 hours Rescheduled from May to rendezvous and dock with augmented target docking adapter (ATDA) after original Agena target vehicle failed to orbit. ATDA shroud did not completely separate, making docking impossible. Three different types of rendezvous, two hours of EVA, and 44 orbits were completed.
- Gemini X July 18-21, 1966 John W. Young, Michael Collins 2 days 22 hours 46 min 39 seconds First use of Agena target vehicle's propulsion systems. Spacecraft also rendezvoused with Gemini VIII target vehicle. Collins had 49 minutes of EVA standing in the hatch and 39 minutes of EVA to retrieve experiment from Agena stage. 43 orbits completed.
- Gemini XI September 12-15, 1966 Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr. 2 days 23 hours 17 min 8 seconds Gemini record altitude, 1,189.3 km (739.2 mi) reached using Agena propulsion system after first orbit rendezvous and docking. Gordon made 33-minute EVA and two-hour standup EVA. 44 orbits.
- Gemini XII November 11-15, 1966 James A. Lovell Jr., Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin 3 days, 22 hours, 34 minutes 31 seconds Final Gemini flight. Rendezvoused and docked manually with its target Agena and kept station with it during EVA. Aldrin set an EVA record of 5 hours, 30 minutes for one space walk and two stand-up exercises.

Crew Selection

Deke Slayton as head of the Astronaut Office had the main role in choice of crews for the Gemini program. This selection process, with the prospect of more ambitious missions that would follow with Apollo, became even more political that with the Mercury Program. With Gemini it became a procedure that each flight had a prime crew and back up crew and that the back up crew would rotate to prime crew status three flights later. Slayton also sought that first choice of mission Commands would be given to the original Mercury Seven astronauts (excepting John Glenn who retired from NASA in January 1964, Scott Carpenter who was not acceptable to NASA management, and Gordon Cooper was questionable). In late 1963, Slayton choose Alan Shepard and Thomas Stafford for Gemini 3, James McDivitt and Ed White for Gemini 4, and Wally Schirra and John Young for Gemini 5 (the first Agena rendezvous mission). Gemini 3 was backed up by Gus Grissom and Frank Borman who were also slated for Gemini 6 the first long duration mission. Finally Pete Conrad and James Lovell were assigned as the backup for Gemini 4 Delays in the production of the Agena Target Vehicle caused the first rearrangement of the crew rotation. Schirra and Young mission was bumped to Gemini-6 and now were the backup for Shepard and Stafford. Grissom and Borman now had their long duration mission assigned to Gemini 5. The second rearrangment occurred when Alan Shepard developed Meniere's disease, an inner ear problem. Gus Grissom was moved to command Gemini 3. Slayton felt that Young was a better personality match and switched Stafford and Young. Finally Slayton tapped Gordon Cooper to command the long duration Gemini 5. Again for reasons of compatibility he move Pete Conrad from being the backup commander of Gemini 4 to the pilot of Gemini 5 and Frank Borman to the backup command of Gemini 4. Finally he assign Neil Armstrong and Elliot See to be the backup crew for Gemini 5. The third rearrangement of crew assignment occurred when Deke Slayton felt that Elliot See wasn't up to the physical demands of EVA on Gemini 8. He placed Elliot See as the prime commander of Gemini 9 and put Dave Scott as pilot of Gemini 8 and Charles Bassett as the pilot of Gemini 9. The fourth and final rearrangement of the Gemini crew assignment occurred after the death of Elliot See and Charles Bassett in a plane death in St. Louis. The backup crew of Tom Stafford and Eugene Cernan was moved up to become the new prime crew of Gemini 9. James Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was moved from being the backup crew of Gemini 10 to the backup crew of Gemini 9. This cleared the way through the crew rotation for Lovel and Aldrin to become the prime crew of Gemini 12. Along with the death of Grissom, White, and Chaffee in the fire of Apollo 1, this rearrangement is what finally determined the makeup of the early Apollo crews. These events were decisive in determining who would be in position to walk on the moon. In his autobiography "Deke!" Slayton relates that he would have probably replaced Aldrin with the backup pilot for Gemini 12 Eugene Cernan if the second flight of the AMU had flow on Gemini 12.

Gemini-Titan launches and serial numbers

Gemini 4 The Gemini-Titan launch vehicles, like the Mercury-Atlas vehicles before them, were ordered by NASA through the U. S. Air Force and were in reality missiles. The Gemini-Titan II rockets were assigned U.S. Air Force serial numbers, which were painted in four places on each Titan II (on opposite sides on each of the first and second stages). U.S. Air Force crews maintained Launch Complex 19 and prepared and launched all of the Gemini-Titan II launch vehicles. Atlas These are the USAF serial numbers assigned to the Gemini-Titan launch vehicles. They were ordered in 1962 so the serial is "62-12XXX", but only "12XXX" is painted on the Titan II:
- 12556 - GLV-1 - Gemini 1
- 12557 - GLV-2 - Gemini 2
- 12558 - GLV-3 - Gemini 3
- 12559 - GLV-4 - Gemini 4
- 12560 - GLV-5 - Gemini 5
- 12561 - GLV-6 - Gemini 6A
- 12562 - GLV-7 - Gemini 7
- 12563 - GLV-8 - Gemini 8
- 12564 - GLV-9 - Gemini 9A
- 12565 - GLV-10 - Gemini 10
- 12566 - GLV-11 - Gemini 11
- 12567 - GLV-12 - Gemini 12
- 12568 - GLV-13 Ordered by NASA 1962, not built, cancelled July 30, 1964
- 12569 - GLV-14 Ordered by NASA 1962, not built, cancelled July 30, 1964
- 12570 - GLV-15 Ordered by NASA 1962, not built, cancelled July 30, 1964

See also:


- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Titan (rocket family)
- Titan II rocket
- Big Gemini
- Manned Orbiting Laboratory
- Splashdown
- Agena Target Vehicle

Further reading:


- Gene Kranz, Failure is Not an Option. Factual, from the standpoint of a chief flight controller during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs. ISBN 0743200799
- David M. Harland, How NASA Learned to Fly in Space: An Exciting Account of the Gemini Missions, Apogee Books, 2004, ISBN 1894959078
- David J. Shayler, Gemini, Springer-Verlag Telos, 2001, ISBN 1852334053
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19780012208_1978012208.pdf On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini - NASA report (PDF format)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19690027123_1969027123.pdf Project Gemini technology and operatio