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Gemini 10

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Agena in orbit
Credit: NASA

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Launched: 1966-07-18. Returned: 1966-07-21. Number crew: 2 . Duration: 2.95 days. Location: Norwegian Technical Museum, Oslo, Norway.

Exciting mission with successful docking with Agena, flight up to parking orbit where Gemini 8 Agena is stored. Collins space walks from Gemini to Agena to retrieve micrometeorite package left in space all those months. Loses grip first time, and tumbles head over heels at end of umbilical around Gemini. Package retrieved on second try.

The Gemini X mission began with the launch of the Gemini Atlas-Agena target vehicle from complex 14. The Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) attained a near-circular, 162- by 157-nautical-mile orbit. Spacecraft No. 10 was inserted into a 145- by 86-nautical-mile elliptical orbit. Slant range between the two vehicles was very close to the nominal 1000 miles. Major objective of the mission was achieved during the fourth revolution when the spacecraft rendezvoused with the GATV at 5 hours 23 minutes ground elapsed time and docked with it about 30 minutes later. More spacecraft propellant was used to achieve rendezvous than had been predicted, imposing constraints on the remainder of the mission and requiring the development of an alternate flight plan. As a result, several experiments were not completed, and another secondary objective - docking practice - was not attempted. To conserve fuel and permit remaining objectives to be met, the spacecraft remained docked with the GATV for about 39 hours. During this period, a bending mode test was conducted to determine the dynamics of the docked vehicles, standup extravehicular activities (EVA) were conducted, and several experiments were performed. The GATV primary and secondary propulsion systems were used for six maneuvers to put the docked spacecraft into position for rendezvous with the Gemini VIII GATV as a passive target. The spacecraft undocked at 44 hours 40 minutes ground elapsed time, separated from the GATV, and used its own thrusters to complete the second rendezvous some three hours later. At 48 hours and 42 minutes into the flight, a 39-minute period of umbilical EVA began, which included the retrieval of a micrometeorite collection package from the Gemini VIII Agena. The hatch was opened a third time about an hour later to jettison extraneous equipment before reentry. After about three hours of stationkeeping, the spacecraft separated from the GATV. At 51 hours 39 minutes ground elapsed time, the crew performed a true anomaly-adjust maneuver to minimize reentry dispersions resulting from the retrofire maneuver. The retrofire maneuver was initiated at 70 hours 10 minutes after liftoff, during the 43rd revolution. The spacecraft landed within sight of the prime recovery ship, the aircraft carrier Guadalcanal, some 5 km from the planned landing point on July 21.

Official NASA Account of the Mission from On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini, by Barton C. Hacker and Charles C. Alexander, Published as NASA Special Publication-4203 in the NASA History Series, 1977.

After the premission review, the traditional meal, and the ritualistic suiting up, Young and Collins left the crew quarters on 18 July 1966 for pad 19 - to begin the most complex manned flight so far. They had been awakened at noon for a 5:20 p.m. takeoff, when a 35-second window offered the best chance for rendezvous with the two Agenas. The Atlas lifted its payload toward space at 3:39 p.m., just two seconds late. One hundred minutes later, the Gemini launch vehicle boosted the spacecraft skyward exactly on time. Except for a slight shaking and a buzzing in their ears, Young and Collins had a nice ride to start chasing their first target.

At entry into orbit, Gemini X trailed its Agena by 1,800 kilometers. Flight Director Lunney told the crew they were all set for a fourth-orbit rendezvous. Collins unstowed a Kollsman sextant to sight on selected stars for an attempt at optical navigation. Young pointed the spacecraft while his crewmate tried to find the horizon. Collins realized that he was using the wrong reference when he saw stars below the line. He had been mistaking the airglow, a band of radiant light from the upper atmosphere, for the horizon. Even after he corrected this, Collins could not get the lens of the sextant to work properly, as the optical image of the stars did not agree with what he had been taught. He laid the Kollsman aside and tried an Ilon instrument, but that was little help as the Ilon had a severely limited field of view.

Young and Collins checked their figures with Lunney, who had been watching their activities carefully through telemetry. When the trio found that the numbers did not agree with those of the ground computers, Gordon Cooper, the Houston CapCom, passed the word that the crew would have to use the ground computations. Young then fired the thrusters to adjust their orbit to 265 by 272 kilometers. When he aligned the platform for the terminal phase, the command pilot did not realize that the spacecraft was turned slightly. As he thrusted toward the target, Young needed two large midcourse corrections. The spacecraft path toward the Agena was not lined up properly. So he had to stop thrusting briefly and take off on a new track. The final translational maneuvers to reach the Agena cost nearly 181 kilograms of fuel, or three times more than any earlier mission. Five hours and 52 minutes after launch, Young reported a rigid dock.

Because too much fuel had been used, Lunney decided to omit docking practice - backing away and returning to the target's cone. Young and Collins wondered if the second rendezvous might also be canceled, but, some six and a half hours into the mission, the ground controllers started giving the crew the data they would need for the burn. Then, an hour later, the CapCom at Hawaii cleared them to try for second rendezvous.

The Agena main engine roared into life exactly on time. For 80 seconds, the target vehicle thrust the spacecraft upward, adding 129 meters per second to their speed. The crew, at the moment flying backward, had little to say about their reactions to a negative one-g force (a shove to the front of the body - "eyeballs out" - rather than a push on their backsides - "eyeballs in" - as during launch). They were thrown forward from the seats against the body straps. Young later described the first ride on a space switch engine:

"At first, the sensation I got was that there was a pop (in front of our eyes), then there was a big explosion and a clang. We were thrown forward in the seats. We had our shoulder harnesses fastened. Fire and sparks started coming out of the back end of that rascal. The light was something fierce, and the acceleration was pretty good. The vehicle yawed off - I don't remember whether it was to the right or to the left - but it was the kind of response that the Lockheed people had predicted we would get. . . . The shutdown on the PPS (primary propulsion system) was just unbelievable. It was a quick jolt. . . and the tailoff. . . I never saw anything like that before, sparks and fire and smoke and lights."

Gemini X reached an orbit that measured 763 kilometers at the top and 294 kilometers at the bottom. The Agena had pushed the spacecraft more than 463 kilometers above its initial apogee. Young and Collins now viewed Earth from a higher elevation than any human beings ever had. Instead of gazing at the Planet in wonderment, however, they confined their attention to their own little, artificial world. They watched spacecraft systems and kept an eye on the radiation dosage readings (which were within tolerable limits). During his technical debriefing, Young only reported, "We took some pictures at apogee. . . . I don't know where it was, but it shows the curvature of the Earth. . . . We took some pictures coming down hill. I think it was the Red Sea area." Thus, in rating one impression over the other - record high altitude versus Agena ignition - Young and Collins were more affected by the firing of the switch engine than they were by the unique vantage point they had reached. This lack of awe at their record height was caused, at least in part, by the fact that the switch engine blocked much of the downward view.

Nine hours into the flight, the pilots bedded down, sleeping fitfully. Both were still wondering if the second rendezvous would be done. Besides, neither was "really bone-tired," Collins said. Charlesworth's shift in Mission Control was busy that night, reviewing alternate plans for adapting the mission to fulfill its objectives.

When Young and Collins opened for business after 18 hours of flight, their spirits lifted as the CapCom at Carnarvon gave them the numbers for the next target vehicle firing. With the Agena/spacecraft combination faced about so the main engine would fire directly into the flight path, Young made a 78-second burn to reduce the velocity by 105 meters per second and lower the apogee to 382 kilometers. The pilots were again pressed forward in their seats, but this time they were impressed more by the firepower of the Agena than by its fireworks. "It may be only l g, but it's the biggest l g we ever saw! That thing really lights into you," Young commented.

Like rendezvous maneuvers in the past, the next Agena burn (and the final one with the main engine) aimed at circularizing the orbit. At 22:37 hours, the target drove the spacecraft along the flight path to add 25 meters per second to the speed. This brought the low point of the orbit up to 377.6 kilometers - only 17 kilometers below Agena 8.

Although rendezvous and docked maneuvers with the Agena were the high point of the first day, the crew also spent a good part of that time on the 14 experiments they carried. Twenty minutes after launch, the crew turned on a switch to start the tri-axis magnetometer (MSC-3). This device was used, as it had been in other flights, to measure the radiation levels in the South Atlantic Anomaly. Two other experiments were also devoted to radiation - MSC-6, beta spectrometer (mounted in the adapter to measure potential radiation doses for future missions), and MSC-7, bremsstrahlung spectrometer (installed in the cabin to detect radiation flux as a function of energy when the spacecraft passed through the South Atlantic Anomaly).

Some of the experiments had to be done outside the spacecraft. Before the third Agena burn, Collins got ready for his first exposure to outer space, a standup EVA. Preparations went well and the hatch opened easily. At sunset, Collins stood in his seat, setting up a 70-mm general-purpose camera for S-13, a photographic study of stellar ultraviolet radiation. Collins aimed the camera at the southern Milky Way, scanning from Beta Crucis to Gamma Velorum, and exposed 22 frames. The entire night pass was devoted to this task. Young helped Collins identify the stars, at the same time controlling the spacecraft and target vehicle combination. With the beginning of daylight, Collins began MSC-8, color patch photography, to see if film could accurately reproduce colors in space. The pilot did not complete this assignment, however, as his eyes began to fill with tears. Young had the same problem. They suspected at first that the anti-fog compound inside their faceplates was irritating their eyes. They closed the hatch at 24:13 hours, about 6 minutes early.

They had noticed a strange odor that they thought might have been the lithium hydroxide used in the environmental control system, but ground engineers finally concluded that their smarting eyes were caused by having both suit fans on at once. They turned one fan off and, at 30 hours elapsed time, began a second sleep period. Bone-tired this time, they rested well.

Young and Collins awakened to a "morning" of increased activity. In addition to normal systems check, the ground network also reminded them of the experiments expected this day - the S-26 ion wake measurement, to study the ion and electron structure of the spacecraft's wake (after it undocked from the Agena), S-5 synoptic terrain, and S-6 synoptic weather photography. The pilots also had to work in two maneuvers to help them catch up with Agena 8.

Their Agena switch engine had accomplished its task, and more. After being hooked to it for 39 hours, however, they were getting a little tired of looking at it. Young said that watching the Agena out his window was

"just like backing down the railroad track in a diesel engine looking at a big boxcar in front of you. . . . The big drawback of having the Agena up there is that you can't see the outside world. The view out of the window with the Agena on there is just practically zilch."

On freeing themselves from their Agena, the crewmen began preparing for Collins' exit from the spacecraft. Young now needed to make the final maneuvers to get the spacecraft close enough to the Agena 8 for Collins to reach it. Collins connected the 15-meter umbilical to his suit and then fastened it out of the way until time to use it.

"45:38. First sighting of Gemini VIII," Young said. "At this minute it's blurry." After the distance between the two vehicles had been calculated, the Houston CapCom (on the remote line through the Canton station) informed Young, "Your range, Gemini X, is 95 (nautical) miles (176 kilometers)." The crew then learned that what they had been looking at was their own Agena just 5.5 kilometers away. Houston offered consolation, "95 miles is a pretty long range," and Young answered, "You have to have real good eyesight for that." They didn't see the Gemini VIII Agena until it was 30 to 37 kilometers from them, looking to Young like "a dim star-like dot until the sun rose above the spacecraft nose." NORAD's constant care had paid off. They found Agena 8 just where it was supposed to be.

At 47:26 hours Young started the final closure, with Collins computing the figures for two midcourse corrections. The crew found the old Agena pretty stable, and Young moved in to stationkeep about 3 meters above it. In less than 30 minutes, he told the Houston CapCom that they were going down for a closer look at the micrometeorite collection package. Back in Mission Control Center, fuel usage during stationkeeping was being very closely watched. When it proved to be reasonable, Gemini X received a go for the next extravehicular exercise. "Glad you said that," Young answered, "because Mike's going outside right now."

Collins emerged from the spacecraft at dawn. Like Cernan on Gemini IX-A, he found that all tasks took longer than he expected. But he picked off the package from the spacecraft exterior. Next, he moved to the adapter to attach his zip gun to the nitrogen fuel supply. Back in the cockpit area once again, he held on while Young moved the spacecraft to within two meters of the Agena.

Collins pushed off from the spacecraft, floated freely in space, and grasped the outer lip of the docking cone on the target. As he clutched at the experiment package, he wished for handholds - or more hands. Cernan had warned him that it would be hard, and it was. He soon lost his grip on the smooth lip and drifted away from the package and from the Agena. He had to decide quickly whether to pull on the umbilical, coiling about like a snake, or to use the hand-held gun. Being about 5 meters away from the spacecraft, Collins chose the gun. It worked, and he propelled himself first to the spacecraft and then back to the Agena, using a series of squirts to get to the package. This time he clung to wire bundles and struts behind the adapter cone and grasped the S-10 experiment. Collins was supposed to attach a replacement device in its place, but he abandoned this idea, fearing he would lose the one he had picked up. Using the umbilical, he pulled himself hand over hand back to the cockpit and gave the S-10 package to Young.

So far, the umbilical had been snubbed so it would extend only 6 meters. The pilot now unsnapped the buckle that released the remaining 9 meters, intending to evaluate the gun. But the gun play stopped before it started. The Hawaii CapCom told Young, "We don't want you to use any more fuel (for stationkeeping)." Young replied, "Well, then, he'd better get back in." To Collins he said, "Come on back in the house."

Getting back into the spacecraft was surprisingly difficult. Collins had gotten himself tangled in the umbilical. Since the pressurized suit made it difficult to see or feel just where the line had wrapped itself about him, he had to wait while Young helped unwind him and got him back into the seat. But fuel remained the big question. Houston called them, "just . . . to confirm that you're not using any fuel." Young replied, "We've got everything shut off."

More was shut off than he realized. He soon discovered that the radio transmitter had also been turned off. By this time, Collins was back in his seat. Young reported that hatch closing had been easy. With the long lifeline coiling all over the cabin, Young thought it made "the snakehouse at the zoo look like a Sunday school picnic." A little over an hour later, the crew reopened the hatch and tossed out the chestpack and umbilical. This operation only took three minutes. McDonnell had done an excellent job on this righthand hatch.

Because of the time spent struggling with the umbilical, Collins and Young had to hurry to get set up for an important maneuver that would make the point of reentry more precise. They carried out an orbit-shaping activity exactly on time, at 51:38 hours. This retrograde firing, of 30 meters per second, brought the spacecraft perigee down 106 kilometers, making the orbital parameters safe for reentry. After another round of experiments - this time synoptic terrain and weather photographs taken as the spacecraft drifted through space - the crew began their third sleep period.

On awakening (about 63 hours into the flight) on homecoming day, Young and Collins spent more time on experiments and did their packing. Then, 70 hours and 10 minutes after liftoff, the crew felt the first retrorocket ignite as they passed over the Canton Island tracking station during their 43rd revolution. Reentry went remarkably well, with Young steering bank angles by computer solutions. Landing in the western Atlantic at 70:46 hours (4:07 p.m., 21 July 1966) was only 5.4 kilometers from the aiming point. The crew of the primary vessel, the Guadalcanal, watched the spacecraft hit the water. Once the swimmers had attached the flotation collar and positioned the raft, Young and Collins climbed out. They were lifted by helicopter to the deck of the recovery ship.

With that part of the mission completed, the flight controllers put the Gemini X Agena through its paces. Over a 12-hour period, the main engine was fired twice and the small engine once. Since the first maneuver was intended to study temperatures at higher altitudes, the controllers sent the Agena up to a 1,390- by 385-kilometer orbit. They watched it for almost seven hours and found that the temperatures varied little from those at lower orbits. The vehicle was then returned to a circular orbit (352 kilometers) that would make it available as an alternate target for later flights.

Gemini IX-A and X had successfully grappled with some of the specific needs of the Apollo program, acquiring operational experience while fostering healthy debates between the two programs on procedures and equipment. Perhaps the greatest benefit to Apollo was the demonstration and practice of several types of rendezvous. Each provided a storehouse of information. In addition, the orbit-shaping maneuvers to the higher altitudes established that the trapped-radiation hazards could be avoided on trips into deep space. Then, too, the very fact that one spaceborne vehicle could meet another, latch onto it, and use it as a kind of space tug offered many possibilities for such space flight concepts as shuttles, space stations, and space laboratories.

There had been problems, but missions IX-A and X had logged a combined total of three hours and 41 minutes open-hatch experience. Although the extravehicular hiatus between the fourth and ninth flights adversely affected both equipment and operational development, Cernan and Collins had shown that tasks outside the spacecraft were feasible. They found that all chores took longer than foreseen and that body positioning was difficult. During technical debriefings, each extravehicular pilot had pointed out the need for more and better restraints and handholds. These aids were being developed. Overall, perhaps, extravehicular activity remained Gemini's greatest problem. It was and is dangerous, difficult, and deceptive, despite its delights.

The ninth and tenth flights also took several steps forward in experiment performance. Despite operational constraints, usually brought on by limited fuel resources, each situation had been modified to wring the utmost from specific experiments. More and more, principal investigators were being brought in to help with modifications and to assist in rescheduling their tasks for later in the missions, if necessary. These realtime flight changes could not have been carried out in an unmanned flight and would not have been done in an earlier Gemini mission. So, in Gemini IX-A and X, the experiments program began to achieve maturity.

By the end of Gemini X, many of the men and women who had worked full time on the program had begun to have a strong feeling of anticlimax and to wonder about their next jobs. Some had already gone on to other fields, but Mathews tried to control this exodus and to hold enough together to finish the flights. Shortly after IX-A, he told his staff that the Gemini Program Office, as such, would not be continued. The people would be absorbed into other MSC activities - mainly Apollo and Apollo Applications. By early August, a personnel placement committee had begun work. It soon arranged four to six interviews for each of the 193 project office people. This allayed any immediate fears, but Mathews still warned his staff to refrain from making personal contacts for new jobs until the committee could complete its arrangements. There were two more flights in the Gemini program, but it already seemed to be heading into history.

Photo Gallery

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Gemini 10 Credit: www.spacefacts.de

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Gemini 10 Agena in high orbit Credit: NASA

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Gemini 10 Agena thrusting Credit: NASA

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Gemini 10 Young in orbit Credit: NASA

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• The program plan for Gemini extravehicular operations was published. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 11, Gemini 12, Gemini 5, Gemini 6, Gemini 7, Gemini 8, Gemini 9. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  Objectives of the operations were to evaluate man's capabilities to perform useful tasks in a space environment, to employ extravehicular operations to augment the basic capability of the spacecraft, and to provide the capability to evaluate advanced extravehicular equipment in support of manned space flight and other national space programs. Additional Details: here....

• Gemini launch vehicle (GLV) 10 in assembly - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 11. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  During the rail trip, leaking battery acid corroded the dome of the stage II fuel tank. The tanks arrived at Martin-Baltimore September 21. The stage II fuel tank was rejected and returned to Denver. It was replaced by the stage II fuel tank from GLV-11, which completed final assembly September 25 and arrived in Baltimore November 3 after being inspected and certified. Fabrication of GLV-10 tanks had begun in April.

• Gemini launch vehicle (GLV) 11 in assembly - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 11. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  Martin-Baltimore received the propellant tanks for Gemini launch vehicle (GLV) 11 from Martin-Denver, which had began fabricating them June 28. They were shipped by rail October 27. The GLV-11 stage II fuel tank was used in GLV-10, and the stage II fuel tank from GLV-12 was reassigned to GLV-11, arriving by air from Martin-Denver January 16, 1966. Aerojet-General delivered the engines for GLV-11 on December 14, 1965. Stage I tank splicing and engine installation was complete by March 31, stage II by April 5. Stage I horizontal tests ended April 12 and stage II, April 25.

• Gemini launch vehicle (GLV) 10 in assembly - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 11. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  The stage I engine had been delivered August 23. Martin-Baltimore completed splicing stage I January 12, 1966; stage II splicing, using the fuel tank reassigned from GLV-11, was finished February 2. Engine installation was completed February 7, and stage I horizontal tests February 11. Stage II horizontal testing ended March 2.

• No sign of Soviets catching up in space - . Nation: Russia. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 11, Gemini 8, Soyuz 1, Soyuz 2A, Voskhod 3, Voskhod 4. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK, Voskhod, Gemini.

  Kamanin reviews the American and Soviet space plans as known to him. In 1965 the Americans flew five manned Gemini missions, and the Soviets, a single Voskhod. In 1966, the Americans plan to accomplish the first space docking with Gemini 8, demonstrate a first-orbit rendezvous and docking with Gemini 10, demonstrate powered flight using a docked Agena booster stage with Gemini 11, and rendezvous with an enormous Pegasus satellite. Against this, the Soviets have no program, no flight schedule. Kamanin can only hope that during the year 2-3 Voskhod flights and 2-3 Soyuz flights may be conducted.

• Gemini Program Office review of possible future mission activities. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 8, Gemini 9. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  At a NASA-McDonnell Management Panel meeting, W. B. Evans of Gemini Program Office reviewed possible future mission activities. Gemini VIII would have three periods of extravehicular activity (EVA) - two in daylight, one in darkness - and would undock during EVA with the right hatch snubbed against the umbilical guide and the astronaut strapped into the adapter section. Additional Details: here....

• Astronaut John W. Young had been selected as the command pilot for Gemini X. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini. The pilot would be Astronaut Michael Collins. The backup crew would be James A. Lovell, Jr., command pilot, and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., pilot..

• Agena D (AD-129) was accepted by the Air Force for delivery to the Gemini program. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle. It was transferred to the final assembly area at Sunnyvale for modification to Gemini Agena target vehicle 5005..

• Gemini launch vehicle 10 tests - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  Stage I of Gemini launch vehicle 10 was erected in the east cell of the vertical test facility at Martin-Baltimore. After completing horizontal testing March 3, stage II was erected March 7. Power was applied to the vehicle for the first time on March 14. Subsystems Functional Verification Tests were completed April 13.

• Gemini Agena target vehicle 5003 systems exercised. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 8. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle.

  Following the early termination of Gemini VIII, Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) 5003 remained in orbit, where its various systems were extensively exercised. The main engine was fired nine times, four more than required by contract, and 5000 commands were received and executed by the command and communications system, as against a contractural requirement of 1000. Additional Details: here....

• NASA announced the astronaut assignments for Gemini XI. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 9. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  The prime crew would be command pilot Charles Conrad, Jr., and pilot Richard F. Gordon, Jr.; backup crew would be Neil A. Armstrong, command pilot, and William A. Andres, pilot. James A. Lovell, Jr., and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., backup crew for the Gemini X mission, were reassigned as backup crew for Gemini IX. Alan L. Bean and Clifton C. Williams, Jr., were named as the new backup crew for Gemini X.

• Acceptance Test (CSAT) of Gemini launch vehicle (GLV) 10 - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  The Combined Systems Acceptance Test (CSAT) of Gemini launch vehicle (GLV) 10 was conducted at Martin-Baltimore. The CSAT was followed by a performance data review, completed April 19. The vehicle acceptance team convened April 26 and accepted GLV-10 on April 29. The vehicle was deerected May 2-4 and formally accepted by the Air Force May 18. Stage I was flown to Cape Kennedy the same day, with stage II following May 20. Both stages were transferred to Hanger L where they were purged and pressurized with dry nitrogen and placed in controlled access storage.

• Launch dates for Gemini X - XII. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 11, Gemini 12. Spacecraft: Gemini. Gemini Program Manager Charles W. Mathews reported the launch dates tentatively scheduled for Gemini X as July 18, for Gemini XI as September 7, and for Gemini XII as October 31, 1966. .

• Lockheed completed Combined Systems Acceptance Test on Gemini Agena target vehicle 5005 in test complex C-10 at Sunnyvale. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle. Lockheed completed Combined Systems Acceptance Test on Gemini Agena target vehicle 5005 in test complex C-10 at Sunnyvale. The vehicle was formally accepted by the Air Force on May 14 and delivered to Eastern Test Range on May 16..

• Gemini spacecraft No. 10 delivered to Cape Kennedy - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  McDonnell delivered Gemini spacecraft No. 10 to Cape Kennedy. Installation of fuel cells was completed May 18, and that of the pyrotechnics, May 25. Preparations for Plan X testing were completed June 1, and the spacecraft was moved to Merritt Island Launch Area June 3.

• Gemini Agena target vehicle 5005 was mated to the target docking adapter (TDA) in Hanger E at Cape Kennedy. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle.

  Gemini Agena target vehicle 5005 was mated to the target docking adapter (TDA) in Hanger E at Cape Kennedy. McDonnell had delivered the TDA on May 4. After mating, interface functional tests were performed, May 25-27. Preparations then began for Plan X testing with spacecraft No. 10 at Merritt Island Launch Area.

• Gemini Agena target vehicle 5005 completed preliminary testing. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 9. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle.

  Gemini Agena target vehicle 5005 completed preliminary testing at Hanger E, Eastern Test Range, and was moved to Merritt Island Launch Area for Plan X tests with spacecraft No. 10. Plan X tests had first been scheduled for May 23 but were rescheduled for June 2-3. Additional Details: here....

• The acceptance meeting for target launch vehicle (TLV) 5305 was held at General Dynamics/Convair in San Diego. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  The acceptance meeting for target launch vehicle (TLV) 5305 was held at General Dynamics/Convair in San Diego. TLV systems test had originally been completed March 25. During the next two months, TLV components were reworked to the latest flight configuration. Systems tests were then rerun, May 26-June 1, followed by composite test June 2-3. Following acceptance, the vehicle was shipped by air on June 9 to Cape Kennedy; this was the first TLV to be transported by air to the Cape, and it arrived the same day.

• Gemini launch vehicle 10 was removed from storage and erected at complex 19. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini. Umbilicals were connected and power applied June 9. Subsystems Reverification Tests (SSRT) began immediately. SSRT ended June 16, and the Prespacecraft Mate Verification Combined Systems Test was conducted June 17..

• The launch vehicle acceptance test of Gemini launch vehicle (GLV) 11 was conducted. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  The vehicle acceptance team convened June 20 and accepted GLV-11 June 24. The vehicle was deerected June 29 and formally accepted by the Air Force on July 11. Stage I was delivered by air to Cape Kennedy the same day and stage II on July 13. Both stages were transferred to Hanger U where the tanks were purged and pressurized. The stages remained in controlled access storage until the launch pad was revalidated after the launch of Gemini X; revalidation was completed July 21.

• Gemini spacecraft No. 10 was moved to complex 19 and hoisted to the top of its launch vehicle. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini. Cabling for test was completed June 13. Premate verification, as well as fuel cell activation and deactivation, were completed June 16. Preparation for integrated tests with the launch vehicle was accomplished the following day..

• Combined Interface Tests(CIT) of Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) 5005 began. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle. CIT was completed June 22, with no significant anomalies detected. Primary and secondary propulsion system functional checks were completed June 30. The GATV was then moved to complex 14..

• Atlas 5305, target launch vehicle for Gemini X, was erected at launch complex 14. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini. Electrical power was applied June 17, and subsystem testing was completed June 28. During propellant system checks, a leak was discovered in the fuel start tank. Access to repair the leak required removing the sustainer engine and the fuel tank apex cone..

• Gemini X prime crew to be Young and Collins. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 8. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle.

  NASA announced that the Gemini X mission had been scheduled for no earlier than July 18, with John W. Young, command pilot, and Michael Collins, pilot, as the prime crew. Alan L. Bean, command pilot, and Clifton C. Williams, pilot, would be the backup crew. Mission plans would include rendezvous, docking, and extravehicular activity. The spacecraft was scheduled to rendezvous and dock with an Agena target vehicle which was to be launched the same day. If possible, Gemini X would also rendezvous with the Agena launched in the March 16 Gemini VIII mission.

• Gemini launch vehicle 10 and spacecraft No. 10 were electrically mated at complex 19. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini. The Electrical Interface Integrated Validation and Joint Guidance and Control Test was conducted June 20-21. Following a data review, the Joint Combined Systems Test was run June 23..

• The tanking test of Gemini launch vehicle (GLV) 10 was conducted. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  During the post-tanking cleanup and systems testing of the GLV, spacecraft No. 10 hypergolics were serviced (June 27-28), spacecraft Final Systems Tests were conducted (June 28-July 1), crew stowage was evaluated, and the extravehicular life support system was checked (July 1). Additional Details: here....

• Gemini Agena target vehicle 5005 was transferred to complex 14 and mated to target launch vehicle 5305. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle.

  Gemini Agena target vehicle 5005 was transferred to complex 14 and mated to target launch vehicle 5305. Joint Flight Acceptance Composite Test was completed July 8. Complex 14 systems tests were completed July 12 with the Simultaneous Launch Demonstration.

• Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) 5006 was mated to target docking adapter (TDA) 6. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 11, Gemini 8. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle. McDonnell had delivered TDA-6 to Cape Kennedy July 7. The interface functional test was completed July 21. The next day GATV 5006 was moved to the Merritt Island Launch Area for integrated tests with spacecraft No. 11 and extravehicular equipment..

• Gemini 10 Agena Target - . Payload: TDA 1A/Agena D 5005 GATV. Mass: 3,175 kg (6,999 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Houston. Class: Manned. Type: Manned logistics spacecraft. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft Bus: Agena. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle. Decay Date: 1966-12-29 . USAF Sat Cat: 2348 . COSPAR: 1966-065A. Apogee: 296 km (183 mi). Perigee: 290 km (180 mi). Inclination: 28.90 deg. Period: 90.40 min.

  An Air Force Titan Gemini Launch Vehicle placed the Gemini 10 (GT-10) spacecraft into orbit for the three-day mission of Astronauts John Young and Michael Collins. Rendezvous and docking were accomplished with the Gemini Agena Target Vehicle (GATV) that had been launched from Cape Kennedy aboard an Atlas Booster just ahead of GT-10. Using the GATV-10 Primary Propulsion System (PPS), the docked vehicles achieved a manned-flight altitude record of 476 miles. Reentry was accomplished on 21 July and recovery was made 544 miles east of Cape Canaveral. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).

• Gemini 10 - . Call Sign: Gemini 10. Crew: Collins, Young. Backup Crew: Bean, Williams, Clifton. Payload: Gemini SC10. Mass: 3,763 kg (8,295 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Houston. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini. Duration: 2.95 days. Decay Date: 1966-07-21 . USAF Sat Cat: 2349 . COSPAR: 1966-066A. Apogee: 259 km (160 mi). Perigee: 160 km (90 mi). Inclination: 28.90 deg. Period: 88.70 min.

  An Air Force Titan Gemini Launch Vehicle placed the Gemini 10 (GT-10) spacecraft into orbit for the three-day mission of Astronauts John Young and Michael Collins. Rendezvous and docking were accomplished with the Gemini Agena Target Vehicle (GATV) that had been launched from Cape Kennedy aboard an Atlas Booster just ahead of GT-10. Using the GATV-10 Primary Propulsion System (PPS), the docked vehicles achieved a manned-flight altitude record of 476 miles. Reentry was accomplished on 21 July and recovery was made 544 miles east of Cape Canaveral. Exciting mission with successful docking with Agena, flight up to parking orbit where Gemini 8 Agena is stored. Collins space walks from Gemini to Agena to retrieve micrometeorite package left in space all those months. Loses grip first time, and tumbles head over heels at end of umbilical around Gemini. Package retrieved on second try.

  The Gemini X mission began with the launch of the Gemini Atlas-Agena target vehicle from complex 14. The Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) attained a near-circular, 162- by 157-nautical-mile orbit. Spacecraft No. 10 was inserted into a 145- by 86-nautical-mile elliptical orbit. Slant range between the two vehicles was very close to the nominal 1000 miles. Major objective of the mission was achieved during the fourth revolution when the spacecraft rendezvoused with the GATV at 5 hours 23 minutes ground elapsed time and docked with it about 30 minutes later. More spacecraft propellant was used to achieve rendezvous than had been predicted, imposing constraints on the remainder of the mission and requiring the development of an alternate flight plan. As a result, several experiments were not completed, and another secondary objective - docking practice - was not attempted. To conserve fuel and permit remaining objectives to be met, the spacecraft remained docked with the GATV for about 39 hours. During this period, a bending mode test was conducted to determine the dynamics of the docked vehicles, standup extravehicular activties (EVA) were conducted, and several experiments were performed. The GATV primary and secondary propulsion systems were used for six maneuvers to put the docked spacecraft into position for rendezvous with the Gemini VIII GATV as a passive target. The spacecraft undocked at 44 hours 40 minutes ground elapsed time, separated from the GATV, and used its own thrusters to complete the second rendezvous some three hours later. At 48 hours and 42 minutes into the flight, a 39-minute period of umbilical EVA began, which included the retrieval of a micrometorite collection package from the Gemini VIII Agena. The hatch was opened a third time about an hour later to jettison extraneous equipment before reentry. After about three hours of stationkeeping, the spacecraft separated from the GATV. At 51 hours 39 minutes ground elapsed time, the crew performed a true anomaly-adjust maneuver to minimize reentry dispersions resulting from the retrofire maneuver.

• EVA Gemini 10-1 - . Crew: Collins. EVA Duration: 0.0347 days. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Collins. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini. Stand-Up External Vehicular Activity. Photographed earth and stars..

• EVA Gemini 10-3 - . Crew: Collins. EVA Duration: 0.0007 days. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Collins. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini. Internal Vehicular Activity. Threw excess equipment out of spacecraft..

• EVA Gemini 10-2 - . Crew: Collins. EVA Duration: 0.0271 days. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Collins. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini. Retrieved micrometeoroid collector from Agena..

• Gemini Agena target vehicle made three orbital maneuvers under ground control. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 10, Gemini 11. Spacecraft: Gemini Agena Target Vehicle.

  Following the reentry of spacecraft No. 10, Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) 5005 made three orbital maneuvers under ground control. Its primary propulsion system (PPS) fired to put the vehicle in a 750.5 by 208.6 nautical mile orbit in order to determine the temperature effects of such an orbit on the vehicle. Additional Details: here....

• Landing of Gemini 10 - . Return Crew: Collins, Young. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Collins, Young. Flight: Gemini 10. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  The retrofire maneuver was initiated at 70 hours 10 minutes after liftoff, during the 43rd revolution. The spacecraft landed at 21:06 GMT within sight of the prime recovery ship, the aircraft carrier Guadalcanal, some 5 km from the planned landing point on July 21.

• Voskhod 3 still on? - . Nation: Russia. Program: Voskhod. Flight: Gemini 10, Voskhod 3. Spacecraft: Gemini.

  Following the meeting with Mishin, Kamanin promises that the Voskhod 3 mission will be quickly revived and that the crews should refresh their training with the objective of a flight by 15 September. Kamanin notes the successful completion of the very ambitious Gemini 10 mission, which clearly shows the American intention to master space.