Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
Gemini III

Gemini III

Gemini 3 was a 1965 manned space flight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the first manned Gemini flight, the ninth manned American flight and the 17th manned spaceflight of all time (includes X-15 flights over 100 kilometres).

Crew


- Virgil I. Grissom (flew on Mercury 4, Gemini 3, & Apollo 1), Command Pilot
- John W. Young (flew on Gemini 3, Gemini 10, Apollo 10, Apollo 16, STS-1, & STS-9), Pilot

Backup crew


- Walter M. Schirra, Command Pilot
- Thomas P. Stafford, Pilot

Mission parameters


- Mass: 3,236.9 kg
- Perigee: 161.2 km
- Apogee: 224.2 km
- Inclination: 32.6 degrees
- Period: 88.3 minutes
- First orbital maneuver by manned spacecraft On March 23, 1965 at 15:57:00 UTC, at the end of the first orbit, over Corpus Christi, Texas, a 1 minute 14 second burn of the Orbit attitude and maneuvering system (OAMS) engines gave a delta-V of 15.5 meters per second. The orbit was changed from 161.2 km x 224.2 km, period 88.3 minutes to an orbit of 158 km x 169 km, period 87.8 minutes.

Objectives

This first manned flight of the Gemini spacecraft was very much a test flight. In a playful reference to the Broadway hit The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Grissom nicknamed the Gemini 3 spacecraft "Molly Brown," hoping that it would not duplicate his experience with Liberty Bell 7. (It was the last Gemini to be named by an astronaut. All subsequent flights in the program were designated by a Roman numeral.) The mission's primary goal was to test the new, maneuverable Gemini spacecraft. In space, the crew fired thrusters to change the shape of their orbit, shift their orbital plane slightly, and drop to a lower altitude. Other firsts were achieved on Gemini 3: two people flew aboard an American spacecraft; the first manned re-entry where the spacecraft was able to produce lift to change its touchdown point.

Flight

The only major incident during the orbital phase 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. Other crews were warned not to pull the same type of stunt again. corned beefTwo small failures occurred in-orbit. The first was an experiment testing the Synergistic Effect of Zero Gravity on Sea Urchin Eggs. A lever essential to the experiment broke off when pulled. The second involved the photographic coverage objective. It was only partially successful due to an improper lens setting on the 16mm camera. The crew made their first orbit change an hour and a half into the flight. The burn lasted 75 seconds and moved them from a 122 by 175 kilometer orbit to a nearly circular one with a drop in speed of 15 metres per second. The second burn was 45 minutes later when the orbital inclination was changed by 0.02 degrees. The last burn came during the third orbit when the perigee was lowered to 72 kilometres. This meant that even if retrorockets had failed, they would still have reentered. When reentry finally occurred, crew commented that even the colours matched ground simulations. On descent, the capsule shifted from a vertical to horizontal attitude under its parachutes. The change was so sudden that Grissom cracked his faceplate on the control panel in front of him. The craft landed eventually 84 kilometers short of its intended splashdown point. Wind tunnel testing incorrectly predicted the craft's ability to compensate for course deviation. When the crew discovered the error, they decided to stay in the capsule, not wanting to open the hatch before the arrival of the recovery ship. The crew spent an uncomfortable half an hour in a spacecraft never designed to be a boat. The Gemini 3 mission was supported by the following United States Department of Defense resources: 10,185 personnel, 126 aircraft and 27 ships.

Insignia

The mission insignia was not worn by the flight crew as a patch, like those from Gemini 5 onwards. The Gemini 3 Molly Brown logo was designed and minted on gold plated, sterling silver, 1-inch (25-mm) medallions. The crew carried a number of these medallions into space to give to their families and friends. The same design was imprinted on the cover of Gus Grissom's book, GEMINI, and John Young was seen wearing the Molly Brown logo as a patch on his flightsuit as late as 1981. The name "Molly Brown" was chosen by Grissom as a reference to the sinking of Liberty Bell 7; NASA officials found the slightly sarcastic reference embarrassing, and astronauts were not allowed to name their spacecraft again until Apollo 9 when for the first time, two spacecraft would be operating independently as part of the same mission.

Capsule location

The capsule is on display at the Grissom Memorial, Spring Mill State Park, Mitchell, Indiana.

External links


- On The Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/cover.htm
- Spaceflight Mission Patches: http://www.genedorr.com/patches/Intro.html
- Astronaut John W. Young website: http://www.johnwyoung.com
- Gemini 3 page on A Field Guide To American Spacecraft: http://aesp.nasa.okstate.edu/fieldguide/pages/gemini/gt-3.html Gemini 03 Gemini 03

1965

1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar).

Events

January-February

common year starting on Friday
- January 4 - United States President Lyndon Johnson proclaims his "Great Society" during his State of the Union address.
- January 12 - Bodies of two 15 year olds - Christine Sharrock and Marrine Schmidt - found at Wanda Beach, Sydney (Wanda Beach Murders)
- January 14 - Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years
- January 24 - Winston Churchill dies at the age of 90.
- January 26 - Hindi becomes the official language of India.
- January 30 - Winston Churchill's funeral is held in London.
- February 6 - Sir Stanley Matthews plays his final First Division game, at the record age of 50 years and 5 days
- February 7 - US begins regular bombing of North Vietnamese towns and villages
- February 9 - Vietnam War: The first United States combat troops are sent to South Vietnam
- February 15 - A new red and white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada replacing the Union Flag and the Canadian Red Ensign.
- February 18 - The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom
- February 20 - Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
- February 21 - Malcolm X is assassinated on the first day of National Brotherhood Week at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City by Black Muslims

March


- March 7 - Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama
- March 8 - Vietnam War: 3,500 United States Marines arrive in South Vietnam becoming the first American combat troops in Vietnam
- March 8 - First US combat forces arrive in Vietnam
- March 9 - Second march from Selma to Montgomery under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. stops at the bridge that was the site of Bloody Sunday to hold a prayer service and return to Selma in obedience to a court restraining order. White supremacists beat up white Unitarian Universalist minister James J. Reeb later that day in Selma, Alabama.
- March 10 - Goldie, a London Zoo golden eagle is recaptured after 13 days of freedom
- March 11 - White Unitarian Universalist minister James J. Reeb, beaten by White Supremacists in Selma, Alabama on March 9 following the second march from Selma, dies in a hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.
- March 18 - Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space
- March 21 - Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9 which is the last in a series of unmanned lunar space probes
- March 21 - Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr. begin march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery
- March 23 - NASA launches Gemini III with the United States' first two-person crew into earth orbit (Gus Grissom and John Young).
- March 24- Mark "The Undertaker" Callaway, Professional Wrestler March 25 - Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully end march from Selma, arriving at the capitol in Montgomery

April


- April 6 - Launch of Early Bird communications satellite. It becomes operational May 2 and is placed in commercial service in June.
- April 9 - The West German parliament extends the statute of limitations on Nazi war crimes. Also, in Houston, Texas, the Harris County Domed Stadium (or commonly known as Astrodome) was opened.
- April 11 - The Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak: An estimated fifty-one tornadoes (forty-seven confirmed) hit in six Midwestern states killing anywhere from 256 to 271 people and injuring some 1,500 more.
- April 14 - In Cold Blood killers Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, convicted of murdering four members of the Herbert Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, are executed by hanging at the Kansas State Penitentiary For Men in Lansing, Kansas.
- April 21 - NY World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, NY, reopens.
- April 23 - The Pennine Way officially opened.
- April 24 - Bodies of Portuguese opposition politician Humberto Delgado and his secretary Arajaris Campos are found in a forest near Villanueva del Fresno, Spain. They were killed February 12.
- April 24 - Fighting breaks out in the Dominican Republic as officers loyal to deposed President Juan Bosch lead a mutiny against the right wing junta running the country. US troops are later sent by President Lyndon B. Johnson "for the stated purpose of protecting US citizens and preventing an alleged Communist takeover of the country", thus thwarting the possibilty of "another Cuba".
- April 28 - Vietnam War: Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies announces that the country will substantially increase its number of troops in South Vietnam, supposedly at the request of the Saigon government, although it is later revealed that Menzies had asked the leadership in Saigon to send the request at the behest of the Americans.
- April 29 - Australia announces that it is sending an infantry battalion to support the South Vietnam government.

May-June


- May 1 - Bob (later Sir Robert) Askin replaces Jack Renshaw as Premier of New South Wales.
- May 2 - US president Johnson sends troops to the Dominican Republic.
- May 13 - West German court of appeals condemns behavior of ex-defense minister Franz Joseph Strauss during the Spiegel scandal.
- May 19 - Tui Malila, the oldest tortoise or living animal ever, dies of natural causes.
- May 29 - A mining accident in Dhambas, India kills 274.
- May 31 - Racing driver Jim Clark wins the Indianapolis 500, and later wins the Formula One world driving championship in the same year.
- June 2 - Vietnam War: The first contingent of Australian combat troops arrives in South Vietnam.
- June 3 - US astronaut Edward White makes first US space walk during Gemini IV.
- June 7 - A mining accident in Kakanji, Bosnia results in 128 deaths.
- June 10 - Vietnam War: Battle of Dong Xoai begins - About 1,500 Vietcong mount a mortar attack on Dong Xoai and then overrun its military headquarters and adjoining militia compound.
- June 19 - Houari Boumedienne's Revolutionary Council ousts Ahmed Ben Bella in a bloodless coup in Algeria.
- June 20 - Police in Algiers break up demonstrations by people who have taken to the streets chanting slogans in support of deposed President Ben Bella.
- June 22 - Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea.
- June 24 - Freddie Mills, former British boxing champion, is found shot in his car in Soho.

July


- July 14 - US spacecraft Mariner 4 flies by Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to return images from the red planet
- July 16 - The Mont Blanc Tunnel is used for the first time
- July 22 - Sir Alec Douglas-Home suddenly resigns as a head of the British Conservative Party
- July 24 - Vietnam War: Four F-4C Phantoms escorting a bombing raid at Kang Chi are the targets of antiaircraft missiles in the first such attack against American planes in the war. One is shot down and the other three sustain damage
- July 27 - Edward Heath becomes Leader of the British Conservative Party
- July 28 - Vietnam War: US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000
- July 29 - Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay
- July 30 - War on Poverty: US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid

August


- August 1 - Cigarette advertising banned in British television
- August 6 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into United States law
- August 7 - Singapore is expelled and separated from the Federation of Malaysia.
- August 9 - Singapore proclaims its independence from Malaysia
- August 9 - An explosion at a missile plant in Arkansas kills 53
- August 9 – Indonesian president Sukarno collapses in public
- August 11 - Watts Riots begin in Los Angeles, California
- August 13 - Jefferson Airplane debut at the Matrix in San Francisco, California and begin to appear there regularly.
- August 18 - Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins as 5,500 United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in Quang Ngai Province, in the first major American ground battle of the war. The Marines were tipped-off by a Viet Cong deserter who said that there was an attack planned against the US base at Chu Lai
- August 19 - At the Auschwitz trial in Frankfurt, 66 ex-SS personnel receive life sentences, 15 others smaller ones

September


- September 2 - Pakistani troops enter the Indian sector of Kashmir
- September 6 - Indian troops march on Lahore
- September 7 - China announces that it will reinforce its troops in the Indian border
- September 7 - Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlite, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula, 23 miles south of the Chu Lai Marine base
- September 8 - India opens two additional fronts against Pakistan
- September 9 - UN secretary general U Thant negotiates with Pakistani president Ayub Khan
- September 9 - U Thant recommends China for UN membership
- September 13 - Congress of Arab countries begins in Casablanca - Habib Bourgiba boycotts the meeting
- September 14 - Opening of fourth and final period of Second Vatican Council
- September 16 - China protests against Indian provocations in its border region
- September 16 - In Iraq, Prime Minister Razzak's attempted coup fails
- September 17 - Stefan Stafanopoulos forms a new government in Greece and ends a two-year old political crisis
- September 18 - China claims that US troops have used poison gas in South Vietnam
- September 18 - In Denmark, Palle Sörensen shoots four policemen in pursuit - apprehended the same day
- September 19 - Soviet prime minister Alexei Kosygin invites the leaders of India and Pakistan to meet in Soviet Union to negotiate
- September 20 - End of term for Tuanku Syed Putra ibni Almarhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail as the 3rd Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- September 21 - Commander of US troops in Vietnam, general William Westmoreland, pleads Washington to cancel the ban to use mustard gas
- September 21 - Ismail Nasiruddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Zainal Abidin III, Sultan of Terengganu becomes the 4th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- September 22 - Radio Peking announces that Indian troops have dismantled their equipment on the Chinese side of the border
- September 24 - Fighting between Indian and Pakistani troops erupts again
- September 24 - British governor of Aden cancels the Aden constitution and takes direct control of the protectorate because of the bad security situation
- September 27 - Largest tanker ship at the time, Tokyo Maru, launched in Yokohama
- September 28 - Fidel Castro announces that everybody who wants can immigrate to USA
- September 28 - Taal Volcano in Luzon, Philippines, erupts - hundreds dead
- September 30 – Attempted communist coup in Indonesia. Indonesian army crushes it with the lead of general Suharto

October


- October 3 - Fidel Castro announces that Che Guevara has resigned and left the country
- October 4 - Prime minister Ian Smith of Rhodesia and Arthur Bottomley of British Commonwealth begin negotiations in London - they end on October 8 without results
- October 5 - Pakistan sever diplomatic relations with Malaysia because of the disagreement in UN
- October 5 - The Beatles are set to release their song 'Love Me Do' on Parlophone
- October 6 - Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, the Moors Murderers, arrested.
- October 8 - Indonesian army arrests and executes communists
- October 8 - Olympic Committee admits East Germany as a member
- October 8 - The Post Office Tower opens in London
- October 9 - Yale University presents the "Vinland map"
- October 9 - Brigade of South Korean soldiers arrive in South Vietnam
- October 10 - First group of Cuban refugees travels to USA
- October 12 - Per Borten forms a government in Norway
- October 12 - UN general council recommends that United Kingdom try everything to stop a rebellion in Rhodesia
- October 13 - President of Congo, Joseph Kasavubu, fires Prime Minister Moise Tsombe and forms a provisional government with Evariste Kimba in a lead
- October 15 - Vietnam War: The anti-war student-run National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam stages the first public burning of a draft card in the United States
- October 16 - Suharto takes power in Indonesia
- October 17 - NY World's Fair at Flushing Meadows, NY, closes. Due to financial losses, some of the projected improvements on the park on the site fail to materialize.
- October 18 - Indonesian government declares communist party illegal
- October 20 - Ludwig Erhard elected as Chancellor in West Germany
- October 21 - Ikeja-Seki comet
- October 21 - OAU meeting begins in Accra
- October 22 - French authors André Figueras and Jacques Laurent are fined for their comments against Charles De Gaulle
- October 22 - African countries demand that the United Kingdom use force to prevent Rhodesia from declaring unilateral independence
- October 24 - British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Arthur Bottomley travel to Rhodesia for negotiations
- October 25 - Soviet Union declares its support of African countries in case Rhodesia unilaterally declares independence
- October 26
  - Anti-government demonstrations in the Dominican Republic
  - The body of Sylvia Likens discovered by authorities in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
- October 27 - Brazilian president Branco removes power of parliament, legal courts and opposition parties
- October 28 - French foreign minister Couve de Murville travels to Moscow
- October 28 - Pope Paul VI announces that ecumenical council has decided that Jews are not collectively responsible for the killing of Christ
- October 28 - In St. Louis, Missouri, the 630-foot-tall parabolic steel Gateway Arch is completed
- October 29 - Kidnapping of Mehdi Ben Barka
- October 30 - Vietnam War: Just miles from Da Nang, United States Marines repel an intense attack by wave after wave of Viet Cong forces, killing 56 guerrillas. Among the dead, a sketch of Marine positions was found on the body of a 13-year-old Vietnamese boy who sold drinks to the Marines the day before.
- October 31 - Indonesian army announces that it is fighting with communist guerillas in Java

November


- November 2 - Republican John V. Lindsay elected mayor of New York City
- November 3 - Charles De Gaulle announces that he will stand in next presidential election
- November 5 - Martial law announced in Rhodesia. UN General Assembly accepts British intent to use force against Rhodesia if necessary with a vote of 82-9.
- November 6 - Freedom Flights begin: Cuba and the United States formally agree to start an airlift for Cubans who want to go to the United States (by 1971 250,000 Cubans take advantage of this program).
- November 8 - The British Indian Ocean Territory is created, consisting of Chagos Archipelago, Aldabra, Farquhar and Des Roches islands (on June 23, 1976 Aldabra, Farquhar and Des Roches were returned to Seychelles).
- November 9 - Northeast Blackout of 1965: Several U.S. states (VT, NH, MA, CT, RI, NY and portions of NJ) and parts of Canada are hit by a series of blackouts lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.
- November 9 - Vietnam War: In New York City, 22-year old Catholic Worker Movement member Roger Allen LaPorte sets himself on fire in front of the United Nations building in protest of the war in Vietnam (this was the second such incident in a week; on November 2 32-year-old Quaker member Norman Morrison did the same thing in front of The Pentagon)
- November 11 - In Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe), the white minority regime of Ian Smith unilaterally declares independence
- November 12 - UN Security Council resolution (voted 10-0) recommends that other countries would not recognize independent Rhodesia
- November 13 - The SS Yarmouth Castle burns and sinks 60 miles off Nassau with the loss of 90 lives.
- November 14 - Vietnam War: Battle of the Ia Drang begins - In the Ia Drang Valley of the Central Highlands in Vietnam, the first major engagement of the war between regular American and North Vietnamese forces begins
- November 15 - US racer Craig Breedlove sets a new land speed record of 600.601 mph
- November 16 - Venera program: The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe from Baikonur, Kazakhstan toward Venus (on March 1, 1966 it became the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet)
- November 16 - Disney launches Epcot Center
- November 20 - UN Security Council recommends that all states stop trading with Rhodesia
- November 23 - Soviet general Mikhail Kazakov becomes commander of Warsaw Pact
- November 24 - Queen Elizabeth of Belgium dies
- November 24 - Congolese lieutenant general Mobutu ousts Joseph Kasavubu and declares himself president
- November 26 - At the Hammaguira launch facility in the Sahara Desert, France launches a Diamant-A rocket with its first satellite, Asterix-1 on board, becoming the third country to enter space.
- November 27 - Vietnam War: The Pentagon tells US President Lyndon B. Johnson that if planned major sweep operations needed to neutralize Viet Cong forces during the next year were to succeed, the number of American troops in Vietnam has to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000
- November 28 - Vietnam War: In response to US President Lyndon B. Johnson's call for "more flags" in Vietnam, Philippines President Elect Ferdinand Marcos announces he will send troops to help fight in South Vietnam.
- November 29 - Canadian satellite Alouette 2 is launched.

December


- December 1 - The Border Security Force is established in India as a special force to guard the borders.
- December 3 - First British aid flight arrive in Lusaka - Zambia has asked for British help against Rhodesia
- December 3 - Members of OAU decide to sever diplomatic relations with United Kingdom unless the British government ends rebellion of Rhodesia by mid-December
- December 5 – Charles De Gaulle re-elected as French president with 10,828,421 votes
- December 8 - Rhodesian prime minister warns that Rhodesia would resist trade embargo by neighboring countries with force
- December 8 - Closing of Second Vatican Council
- December 12 - In baseball, Roy Hofheinz fires manager Lum Harris (record of 65-97). Grady Hatton takes over the Astros.
- December 15 - Tanzania and Guinea sever diplomatic relations with United Kingdom
- December 15 - Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 perform the first controlled rendezvous in Earth orbit
- December 17 - British government begins oil embargo against Rhodesia - USA joins the effort
- December 21 - Soviet Unions announces that it has shipped rockets to North Vietnam
- December 21 - Soviet scientists condemn Trofim Lysenko
- December 21 - Konrad Adenauer resigns from the post of chairman of the Christian Democratic party
- December 22 - Military coup on Dahomey
- December 22 - 70 mph speed limit imposed on British roads
- December 27 - British oil platform Sea Gem collapses in the North Sea
- December 28 - Italian foreign minister Mintore Fanfani resigns
- December 30 - President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia announces that Zambia and United Kingdom have agreed to a deadline before which the Rhodesian white government should be ousted
- December 30 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes President of the Philippines

Unknown dates


- The Council for National Academic Awards is established in the UK
- TAT-4 cable goes into operation.
- Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy completed.
- Desteldonk becomes a part of Ghent (East Flanders, Flanders, Belgium)
- California City, California incorporated.

Births

January-February


- January 9 - Joely Richardson, British actress
- January 11 - Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy and nephew of U.S president John F Kennedy and Edward M Kennedy
- January 14 - Marc Delissen, Dutch field hockey player
- January 15 - Adam Jones, American musician (Tool)
- January 18 - Dave Attell, American comedian
- January 20 - Sophie, Countess of Wessex
- January 20 - John Michael Montgomery, American singer
- January 22 - DJ Jazzy Jeff, American rapper and actor
- January 22 - Diane Lane, American actress
- January 27 - Alan Cumming, Scottish actor
- January 29 - Dominik Hasek, Czech hockey player
- February 1 - Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
- February 1 - Brandon Lee, American actor (d. 1993)
- February 1 - Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
- February 11 - Stephen Gregory, American actor
- February 18 - Dr. Dre, American rapper and music producer
- February 22 - Scott Lowell, American actor
- February 23 - Michael Dell, American computer manufacturer

March-April


- March 1 - Stewart Elliott, Canadian jockey
- March 4 - Gary Helms, American kick-boxer
- March 7 - Jesper Parnevik, Swedish golfer
- March 9 - Benito Santiago, baseball player
- March 10 - Rod Woodson, American football player
- March 11 - Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen, British television presenter
- March 12 - Steve Finley, baseball player
- March 14 - Kevin Brown, baseball player
- March 24 - Mark Calaway, American professional wrestler
- March 25 - Sarah Jessica Parker, American actress
- March 25 - Stefka Kostadinova, Bulgarian high jumper and president of the Bulgarian olympic committee
- April 1 - Robert Steadman, English composer
- April 4 - Robert Downey Jr., American actor
- April 7 - Bill Bellamy, American actor and comedian
- April 15 - Linda Perry, American musician
- April 16 - Martin Lawrence, American actor, comedian, and producer
- April 21 - Ed Belfour, Canadian hockey player
- April 26 - Kevin James, American comedian and actor
- April 28 - Steven Blum, American voice actor

May-June


- May 7 - Owen Hart, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1999)
- May 9 - Steve Yzerman, Canadian hockey player
- May 14 - Eoin Colfer, Irish writer
- May 16 - Krist Novoselic, American bassist (Nirvana)
- May 17 - Trent Reznor, American musician (Nine Inch Nails)
- May 28 - Chris Ballew, American musician
- May 31 - Brooke Shields, American actress
- June 1 - Nigel Short, English chess player
- June 4 - Mick Doohan, Australian motorcycle racer
- June 7 - Mick Foley, American professional wrestler and author
- June 10 - Elizabeth Hurley, English actress
- June 15 - Bernard Hopkins, American boxer
- June 16 - Charika Corea, Sri Lankan autism campaigner

July-August


- July 1 - Harald Zwart, Norwegian film director
- July 11 - Ernesto Hoost, Dutch kickboxer
- July 17 - Craig Morgan, American singer
- July 18 - Michael Sharrett, American actor
- July 19 - Stuart Scott, American sports reporter
- July 20 - Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver nephew of John F Kennedy and son of Sargent Shriver and Eunice Mary Kennedy
- July 21 - Guðni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer
- July 22 - Shawn Michaels, American professional wrestler
- July 23 - Slash, American musician, guitar ledgend, Guns N' Roses
- July 26 - Sandra Bullock, American actress
- July 28 - Lori Loughlin, American actress
- July 31 - J. K. Rowling, English author
- August 10 - Mike Smith, American jockey
- August 10 - John Starks, American basketball player
- August 14 - Emmanuelle Béart, French actress
- August 18 - Koji Kikkawa, Japanese singer
- August 24 - Reggie Miller, American basketball player
- August 28 - Shania Twain, American singer and songwriter

September-December


- September 2 - Lennox Lewis, British boxer
- September 11 - Moby, American musician
- September 21 - Cheryl Hines, American actress
- September 20 - Robert Rusler, American actor
- September 25 - Scottie Pippen, American basketball player
- October 1 - Andreas Keller, German field hockey player
- October 5 - Mario Lemieux, Canadian hockey player
- October 5 - Patrick Roy, Canadian hockey player
- 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 operations - A chronology - NASA report (PDF fomat)]

External links:


- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/toc.htm On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini by Barton C. Hacker and James M. Grimwood]
- [http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/gemini/gemini.htm John F. Kennedy Space Center - The Gemini Program]
- [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/gemini/gemini.html NASA Project Gemini site]
- [http://www.thespaceplace.com/history/gemini2.html Space history: Gemini Program space history - Gemini missions spaceflight]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/gemini.html Project Gemini Drawings and Technical Diagrams]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/diagrams.htm Technical Diagrams and Drawings]
- [http://www.ibiblio.org/mscorbit/document.html Gemini familiarization Manuals (PDF).] Apollo Category:Gemini program Category:Human spaceflight programmes Category:Manned spacecraft ja:ジェミニ計画

X-15

The North American X-15 rocket plane was perhaps the most important of the USAF/USN X-series of experimental aircraft. Although not as famous as the Bell X-1, the X-15 set numerous speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of space and bringing back valuable data that was used in the design of later aircraft and spacecraft. During the X-15 program, 13 flights met the US criterion for a spaceflight by passing an altitude of 50 miles (80 km) and the pilots were accordingly awarded astronaut status by the USAF. Out of these, 2 also qualified for the international FAI definition of a spaceflight by passing the 62.1 miles (100 km) mark.

History

FAI The original Request for Proposals was issued for the airframe December 30, 1954, and for the rocket engine on February 4, 1955. North American received the airframe contract in November 1955, and Reaction Motors contracted in 1956 to build the engines. As with many of the X-aircraft, the X-15 was designed to be carried aloft under the wing of a B-52. The fuselage was long and cylindrical, with fairings towards the rear giving it a flattened look, and it had thick wedge-shaped dorsal and ventral fins. The retractable landing gear consisted of a nose wheel and two skids — to provide sufficient clearance part of the ventral fin had to be jettisoned before landing. The two XLR-11 rocket engines of the initial model X-15A delivered 36 kN (8,000 lbf) of thrust; the "real" engine that came later was a single XLR-99 that delivered 254 kN (57,000 lbf) at sea level, and 311 kN (70,000 lbf) at peak altitude. The first flight was an unpowered test made by Scott Crossfield on June 8, 1959 (making him the first man to go supersonic in a glider), who followed up with the first powered flight on September 17. The first flight with the XLR-99 was on 15 November 1960. Three X-15s were built in all, and they made a total of 199 test flights, the last one on October 24, 1968. Plans were made for a 200th X-15 flight to be launched over Smith Ranch, Nevada. It was scheduled for November 21, 1968 with William J. Knight as the pilot. Various technical and weather delays caused the planned launch to slip at least six times until late December, 1968. Finally after a cancellation on December 20, 1968 due to weather, it was decided there would not be a 200th flight. The X-15 ground crew de-mated the aircraft from the NB-52A, and prepared it for indefinite storage. X-15 #1 was sent to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. X-15 #2 is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. X-15 #3, 56-6672, was destroyed in a crash on November 15, 1967. Twelve test pilots flew the plane, including Neil Armstrong, later the first man on the Moon and Joe Engle who went on to command Space Shuttle missions. In July and August, 1963, pilot Joe Walker crossed the 100 km altitude mark twice, becoming the first person to enter space twice. Test pilot Michael J. Adams was killed on November 15, 1967 when his X-15-3 began to spin on descent and then disintegrated when the acceleration reached 15 g (147 m/s²), scattering wreckage over 50 square miles. On June 8, 2004 a memorial monument was erected at the location of cockpit [http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/X-15A_crash_site.htm crash site] near Randsburg, California. Michael Adams was posthumously awarded astronaut wings for his last flight in the X-15-3, which had attained an altitude of 266,000 feet (81.1 Km). In 1991 Adams' name was added to the Astronaut Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The second X-15A was rebuilt after a landing accident. It was lengthened by about 0.74 m (2.4 ft), received a pair of auxiliary fuel tanks slung under the fuselage, and was given a heat-resistant surface treatment, the result being called the X-15A-2. It first flew June 28, 1964, and eventually reached a speed of 7,274 km/h (4,520 mi/h or 2,021 m/s). The altitudes attained by the X-15 remained unsurpassed by any piloted aircraft except the Space Shuttle until the 3rd spaceflight of SpaceShipOne in 2004. The speeds and altitudes have, also, frequently been exceeded by unpiloted air-launched rockets, such as the Pegasus rocket which has carried several satellites all the way into orbit. The widely reported record achieved by the diminutive X-43A scramjet testbed on November 16, 2004 of nearly Mach 10 (10,621 km/h or 2.95 km/s) at 95,000 ft (29 km) is only a record for an air-breathing jet engine.

Specifications (X-15)

jet engine

General characteristics


- Crew: 1
- Length: 50.7 ft (15.45 m)
- Wingspan: 22.3 ft (6.8 m)
- Height: 13.5 ft (4.12 m)
- Wing area: 200 ft² (18.58 m²)
- Empty: 14,600 lb (6,623 kg)
- Loaded: 34,000 lb (15,422 kg)
- Maximum takeoff: 34,000 lb (15,422 kg)
- Powerplant: 1x Thiokol XLR99-RM-2 liquid-fuel rocket engine, 70,400 lbf (313 kN) thrust (at 30 km)

Performance


- Maximum speed: 4,520 mph (7,274 km/h) Mach 6.72
- Range: 280 miles (450 km)
- Service ceiling: 67 miles (108 km)
- Rate of climb: 60,000 ft/min (18,000 m/min)
- Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
- Thrust/weight:
- Serial Numbers: (Five main aircraft were involved in the X-15 program. The three X-15's and two B-52 carrier aircraft.)
  - X-15A-1 - 56-6670, 82 powered flights
  - X-15A-2 - 56-6671, 53 powered flights
  - X-15A-3 - 56-6672, 64 powered flights
  - NB-52A - 52-003 (retired October 1969)
  - NB-52B - 52-008 (retired November 2004)

Record flights

Highest flights

In the United States there are two definitions of how high a person must go to be referred to as an astronaut. The USAF decided to award astronaut wings to anyone who achieved a altitude of 50 miles (80 km) or more. However the FAI set the limit of space at 100 km. Thirteen X-15 flights went higher than 50 miles (80 km) and two of these reached over 100 km.

Fastest flights

X-15 Pilots


References


- Robert Godwin, ed., X-15 (The NASA Mission Reports), (Apogee Books, 2001) ISBN 1896522653
- Milton O. Thompson and Neil Armstrong, At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992) ISBN 1560981075
- Richard Tregaskis, X-15 Diary: The Story of America's First Space Ship (iUniverse.com, 2000) ISBN 0595002501
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20000068530_2000075022.pdf Hypersonics Before the Shuttle: A Concise History of the X-15 Research Airplane - NASA report (PDF format)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19650010561_1965010561.pdf X-15 research results with a selected bibliography - NASA report (PDF format)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19920075739_1992075739.pdf Flight experience with shock impingement and interference heating on the X-15-2 research airplane 1968 - NASA (PDF format)]
- [http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19680016245_1968016245.pdf Thermal protection system X-15A-2 Design report 1968 - NASA report (PDF format)]
- [http://history.nasa.gov/monograph31.pdf American X-Vehicles: An Inventory X-1 to X-50, SP-2000-4531 - June 2003; NASA online PDF Monograph]

External links


- [http://history.nasa.gov/x15/cover.html NASA's X-15 website]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-60/cover.html X-15 Research Results With a Selected Bibliography (NASA SP-60, 1965)]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/hyperrev-x15/cover.html "Transiting from Air to Space: The North American X-15" (1998)]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/x15conf/cover.html "Proceedings of the X-15 First Flight 30th Anniversary Celebration of June 8, 1989"]
- [http://history.nasa.gov/monograph18.pdf (PDF) Hypersonics Before the Shuttle: A Concise History of the X-15 Research Airplane (NASA SP-2000-4518, 2000)]
- [http://www.x15.com unofficial X-15 website]
- [http://www.x-15.com Another unofficial X-15 website]
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-60/cover.html X-15 Research Results (1964)]
- [http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/X-15/ X-15 photos at Dryden]
- [http://www.astronautix.com/craft/x15a.htm Encyclopedia Astronautica's X-15 chronology]
- [http://www.xb-70.com/wmaa/x15/monument/ Major Michael Adams Monument]
- [http://perso.wanadoo.fr/prototypes.com/x15/index.html X-15 site in french, all missions details]

Related content

Related development: Comparable aircraft: SpaceShipOne Designation series: X-12 - X-13 - X-14 - X-15 - X-16 - X-17 - X-18 See also:
- List of experimental aircraft
- List of rocket planes
- X-plane
- List of X-15 flights
- Dyna-Soar
- List of space disasters Category:Manned spacecraft Category:Rocket-powered aircraft X-15 Category:X-15 program Category:Parasite aircraft Category:U.S. experimental aircraft 1950-1959 Aerospace Legacy Foundation: http://www.aerospacelegacyfoundation.org

Kilometre

A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). It is approximately equal to 0.621 miles, 1094 yards or 3281 feet. Slang terms for kilometre include "klick" (sometimes spelt "click" or "klik") and "kay" (or "k"). All these slang terms can also refer to kilometres per hour.

Metric system

:Main articles: Metric system and Metre Like the kilometre, all units of length in the metric system are based on the metre, by adding an SI prefix that stands for a power of ten, such as hecto for one hundred to form hectometre (= 0.1 kilometre) or mega for one million to form megametre (= 1,000 kilometre). The metre is not only the basis for all units of length in the metric system, but also of units of area (the square metre) and volume (the cubic metre). This extends to the kilometre, so one can have square and cubic kilometres. Unicode has symbols for "km" (㎞), for square kilometre (㎢) and for cubic kilometre (㎦); however, they are useful only in CJK texts, where they are equal in size to one Chinese character.

Pronunciation

In theory, the pronunciation of the word kilometre should have the stress placed on the first syllable, in line with other metric prefixes (as in kilogram, kilojoule and, analogous, kilobyte). However, pronunciation with the stress on the second syllable is usual in English.

See also

hectometre << kilometre << megametre
- Orders of magnitude, 1 E3 m
- SI, SI prefix
- mile, verst Category:Units of length ja:キロメートル zh-min-nan:Kong-lí simple:Kilometre th:กิโลเมตร

Virgil I. Grissom

Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was a U.S. Air Force pilot who became one of the first American astronauts and one of the first to die in the U.S. space program.

Background

Grissom was born in Mitchell, Indiana and graduated from Mitchell High School. He earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1950. He had two children, Scott and Mark, with his wife Betty Moore Grissom.

Career

Military

Grissom was a United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. He received his wings in March, 1951. Over his Air Force career he flew 100 combat missions in Korea in F-86s with the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. Upon returning from Korea, he became a jet instructor at Bryan, Texas. In August 1955, Grissom entered the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to study aeronautical engineering. In October 1956, he entered the Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and returned to Wright-Patterson in May 1957 as a test pilot assigned to the fighter branch.

NASA

In 1959, after physical and psychological tests, Grissom was chosen as one of the seven Project Mercury astronauts, along with:
- Lieutenant Malcolm Scott Carpenter, U.S. Navy
- Captain LeRoy Gordon Cooper, Jr., U.S. Air Force
- Lieutenant Colonel John Herschel Glenn, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps
- Lieutenant Commander Walter Marty Schirra, Jr., U.S. Navy
- Lieutenant Commander Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr., U.S. Navy
- Captain Donald Kent Slayton, U.S. Air Force He was pilot of Mercury-Redstone 4 ("Liberty Bell 7"), the second American (suborbital) spaceflight. Following the Splashdown of "Liberty Bell 7", the hatch ejected prematurely, letting water into the capsule and into Grissom's suit. Grissom nearly drowned but was rescued by helicopter, while the spacecraft sank in deep water. After Alan Shepard was grounded, Grissom was designated command pilot for the first manned Project Gemini mission (Gemini 3), making him the first man to return to space, in addition he was named as backup command pilot for Gemini 6.

Death

Grissom was made commander of Apollo 1, intended to be the first manned Apollo flight. He was killed along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee in the Apollo 1 fire at Cape Kennedy on January 27 1967. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. NASA management wanted one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts to be the first man to eventually walk on the moon. Had Grissom lived, he would very likely have been that man. He logged a total of 4,600 hours flying time, including 3,500 hours in jet aircraft.

Awards and honors


- Posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor
- Posthumously made Honorary Mayor of the City of Newport News, Virginia
- Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in Korea
- Air Medal with cluster for his service in Korea
- Two NASA Distinguished Service Medals
- The NASA Exceptional Service Medal
- The Air Force Command Astronaut Wings
- Honorary Doctorate, Florida Institute of Technology

Tributes


- Grissom Air Reserve Base in Indiana is named after him.
- The Virgil I. Grissom Library in the Denbigh section of Newport News, Virginia is named after him.
- The Virgil I. Grissom High School in Huntsville, Alabama is named after him.
- The Virgil I. Grissom Middle School in Mishawaka, Indiana is named after him.
- The now defunct V.I. Grissom Elementary School in the former Clark Air Base, Philippines was named after him.
- CSI character Gil Grissom is named after him.
- Thunderbirds character Virgil Tracy is named after him.
- Grissom Hall at Purdue University is named after him.
- Grissom Hall at Florida Institute of Technology is named after him.
- The star Epsilon Cassiopeiae was named Navi, "Ivan" backwards, in his honor. Grissom and his crew used the star to calibrate their equipment and recorded the name as a joke, though it eventually stuck.

Film and television

Grissom was depicted in the movie The Right Stuff (1983) by Fred Ward and in the TV mini-series From the Earth to the Moon (1998) by Mark Rolston. In the movie Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, the Federation starship sent to survey the newly formed Genesis Planet was named USS Grissom.

References


-
-
- [http://amfcse.org/honor/grissom.htm Astronaut Memorial Foundation webpage]
- http://www.space.com/spacewatch/star_names_030829.html
- [http://www.fit.edu/walkingtour/memorial.html Florida Institute of Technology - Walking Tour - Challenger Memorial]
- [http://www.floridatoday.com/columbia/columbiastory2A9379A.htm Florida Today, August 17, 2004]

External links


- [http://www.afrc.af.mil/434arw/ Grissom Air Reserve Base]
- [http://www.datamanos2.com/apollo_burning.html Apollo Burning], a tribute to the Apollo 1 astronauts Grissom, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Virgil "Gus" Category:Space Program Deaths Grissom, Virgil "Gus" ja:ガス・グリソム

Apollo 1

Apollo One is the name given to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft after it was destroyed by fire during a training exercise on January 27, 1967, at Pad 34 atop a Saturn IB rocket. Its crew were the astronauts selected for the initial Apollo program mission and all three died in the accident: Command Pilot Virgil I. Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee.

Crew

Roger B. Chaffee and Virgil Grissom.]]

- Virgil Grissom (flew on Mercury 4 & Gemini 3), Command Pilot
- Ed White (flew on Gemini 4), Senior Pilot
- Roger Chaffee (never flew in space), Pilot

Backup Crew


- April - December, 1966
  - James McDivitt, Command Pilot
  - David Scott, Senior Pilot
  - Rusty Schweickart, Pilot This crew became the crew of Apollo 9.
- December, 1966 - January, 1967
  - Walter Schirra, Command Pilot
  - Donn Eisele, Senior Pilot
  - Walter Cunningham, Pilot This crew became the crew of Apollo 7.

The accident

Apollo 7 The Apollo 1 Command Module was a "Block I" design, built for spaceflight but never intended for a trip to the moon, as it lacked the necessary docking equipment. Immediately prior to the accident, the crew members were reclining in their horizontal couches, running through a checklist of things they wou