Gemini 3

{{About|the American space mission in the mid-1960s|the model of double-decker bus body|Wright Eclipse Gemini 3}}

{{Infobox spaceflight

| name = Gemini 3

| image = G3C spacesuit Gemini 3.jpg

| image_caption = Astronauts John Young and Gus Grissom walk up the ramp leading to the elevator that will carry them to the spacecraft for the first crewed Gemini mission

| mission_type = Test flight

| operator = NASA

| COSPAR_ID = 1965-024A

| SATCAT = S001301

| mission_duration = 4 hours, 52 minutes, 31 seconds

| distance_travelled = {{cvt|128748|km|mi nmi}}

| orbits_completed = 3

| spacecraft = Gemini SC3

| manufacturer = McDonnell

| launch_mass = {{cvt|3237|kg}}

| landing_mass =

| launch_date = {{start-date|March 23, 1965, 14:24:00|timezone=yes}} UTC

| launch_rocket = {{nowrap|Titan II GLV,}} {{nowrap|s/n 62-12558}}

| launch_site = Cape Kennedy LC-19

| landing_date = {{end-date|March 23, 1965, 19:16:31|timezone=yes}} UTC

| landing_site = {{coord|22|26|N|70|51|W|type:event|name=Gemini 3 splashdown}}

| recovery_by = {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|6}}

| orbit_epoch = March 23, 1965{{cite web|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|title=SATCAT|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt|publisher=Jonathan's Space Pages|access-date=March 27, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031011062901/https://planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt| archive-date = October 11, 2003 | url-status = dead}}

| crew_size = 2

| crew_members = {{Unbulleted list|Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom|John W. Young}}

| crew_callsign = Molly Brown

| orbit_reference = Geocentric orbit

| orbit_regime = Low Earth orbit

| orbit_periapsis = {{cvt|161|km|mi nmi}}

| orbit_apoapsis = {{cvt|225|km|mi nmi}}

| orbit_inclination = 32.6°

| orbit_period = 88.35 minutes

| apsis = gee

| insignia = Gemini III patch.png

| insignia_alt = Gemini III Insignia

| insignia_caption = Mission patch

| crew_photo = Astronauts Virgil I. Grissom (left) and John W. Young.jpg

| crew_photo_caption = Grissom and Young

| previous_mission = Gemini 2

| next_mission = Gemini 4

| programme = Project Gemini

}}

Gemini 3 was the first crewed mission in NASA's Project Gemini and was the first time two American astronauts flew together into space. On March 23, 1965, astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young flew three low Earth orbits in their spacecraft, which they nicknamed Molly Brown. It was the first U.S. mission in which the crew fired thrusters to change the size and shape of their orbit, a key test of spacecraft maneuverability vital for planned flights to the Moon. It was also the final crewed flight controlled from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station in Florida, before mission control functions were moved to a new control center at the newly opened Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas.

Crew

{{Spaceflight crew

|terminology = Astronaut

|position1 = Command Pilot

|crew1_up = Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom

|flights1_up = Second and last

|position2 = Pilot

|crew2_up = John W. Young

|flights2_up = First

}}

=Backup crew=

{{Spaceflight crew

|terminology = Astronaut

|position1 = Command Pilot

|crew1_up = Walter M. Schirra

|position2 = Pilot

|crew2_up = Thomas P. Stafford

|notes=This was the prime crew on Gemini 6.}}

=Original crew=

{{Spaceflight crew

|terminology = Astronaut

|position1 = Command Pilot

|crew1_up = Alan B. Shepard

|position2 = Pilot

|crew2_up = Thomas P. Stafford

|notes=The crew of Gemini 3 was changed after Shepard was grounded with an inner ear disorder in late 1963.}}

=Support crew=

Roger B. Chaffee (Houston CAPCOM){{cite web|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/gemini/gemini-3/gemini-3.html|title=Gemini 3 (3)|access-date=September 20, 2016|date=August 25, 2000|website=Kennedy Space Center: Science, Technology, and Engineering|archive-date=March 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304102608/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/gemini/gemini-3/gemini-3.html|url-status=dead}}
L. Gordon Cooper Jr. (Cape CAPCOM)

Mission parameters

Mass: {{cvt|3236.9|kg|lb}}
Perigee: {{convert|161.2|km|sp=us}}
Apogee: {{convert|224.2|km|sp=us}}
Inclination: 32.6 degrees
Period: 88.3 minutes

Objectives

File:Gemini water egress training - GPN-2006-000029.jpg

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 Soviet Union launched a three-person crew on Voskhod 1 in 1964 and a two-person crew just a few days earlier on Voskhod 2, upstaging the two-person Gemini and three-person Apollo programs), and the first crewed reentry where the spacecraft was able to produce lift to change its touchdown point.

The mission also tested a system that had originally been designed for the cancelled Mercury-Atlas 10 mission, in which water was injected into the plasma sheath surrounding the capsule during re-entry. This had the effect of improving communications with the ground.[https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-024A NASA: Gemini 3]

First orbital maneuver by crewed 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 reverse delta-V of {{convert|15.5|m/s|ft/s|sp=us}}, which changed the orbit from {{convert|161.2|by|224.2|km|nmi|abbr=off|sp=us}} (with a period of 88.3 minutes), to an orbit of {{convert|158|by|169|km|nmi|sp=us}} (period of 87.8 minutes). This was the first orbital maneuver made by any crewed spacecraft.

Flight

File:Gemini 3.jpg

File:Roger B. Chaffee at a console in the Mission Control Center, Houston, during the Gemini-Titan 3 flight.jpg is shown at console in the Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas during Gemini 3's flight]]

Grissom, hoping to avoid duplication of the experience with his Mercury flight Liberty Bell 7 in which the capsule sank after splashdown, came up with the nickname Molly Brown, in a playful reference to the Broadway musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

{{Cite news

| last1 = Jones

| first1 = Clarence

| title = The 'Molly' Bit ...

| work = The Miami Herald

| publisher = Knight Ridder

| issn = 0898-865X

| date = 24 March 1965

| page = 1

| url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-that-molly-bit/168744629/

| access-date = 24 March 2025

| via = Newspapers.com

}} Grissom and Young decided on Gemini 3 as the spacecraft's official name, and Molly Brown became its unofficial nickname.

{{Cite news

| last1 = Wilder

| first1 = Paul

| title = Humphrey Hails Space Feat, Takes Needling From Press

| work = The Tampa Tribune

| publisher =

| date = 24 March 1965

| page = 5A

| url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune-humphrey-hails-space-f/168745408/

| access-date = 24 March 2025

| via = Newspapers.com

}}

The only major incident during the orbital phase involved a contraband corned beef sandwich that Young had smuggled on board, hiding it in a pocket of his spacesuit (though Director of Flight Crew Operations Deke Slayton wrote in his autobiography that he gave Young permission to do so). Grissom found this to be highly amusing, saying later, "After the flight our superiors at NASA let us know in no uncertain terms that non-man-rated corned beef sandwiches were out for future space missions. But John's deadpan offer of this strictly non-regulation goodie remains one of the highlights of our flight for me."

{{Cite news

| last1 = Grissom

| first1 = Gus

| last2 = Young

| first2 = John

| title = Astronauts'Own Story

| work = The Miami News

| publisher = Cox Enterprises

| date = April 2, 1965

| pages = [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-astronauts-own-story/168746947/ 1A],4A

| url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-our-gemini-astronauts-tel/168746836/

| access-date = 24 March 2025

|via=Newspapers.com

}}

The crewmen each took a few bites before the sandwich was restowed. The crumbs it released could have wreaked havoc with the craft's electronics, so the crewmen were reprimanded when they returned to Earth. Other crews were warned not to pull the same type of stunt.{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/Apollo204/zorn/grissom.htm|title=NASA History: Detailed Biographies of Apollo I Crew - Gus Grissom|access-date=January 20, 2009|publisher=NASA}}

Two small failures occurred in-flight. 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 16 mm camera.

Early in the flight, the crew noticed the craft gradually yawing left:

00 18 41 (Command Pilot) I seem to have a leak. There must be a leak in one of the thrusters, because I get a continuous yaw left.

00 18 53 (CapCom) Roger. Understand that you get a continuous yaw left.

00 18 57 (Command Pilot) Very slight. Very slow drift.{{cite web |url=http://gemini3.spacelog.org/00:00:18:41/00:00:18:57/#log-line-1121 |title=Gemini III radio transcript on Spacelog |publisher=National Astronaut and Space Administration |date=April 1965 |access-date=2011-05-01 |archive-date=2014-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026181226/http://gemini3.spacelog.org/00:00:18:41/00:00:18:57/#log-line-1121 |url-status=dead }}

First attributed to a stuck thruster, the problem was traced to a venting water boiler.French, Francis and Burgess, Colin. "In the Shadow of the Moon". University of Nebraska Press, 2007, p. 11.

The crewmen made their first orbit change an hour and a half into the flight. The burn lasted 75 seconds and moved them from a {{convert|122|by|175|km|nmi|adj=on|sp=us|abbr=off}} orbit to a nearly circular one with a drop in speed of {{cvt|15|m/s|ft/s}}. The second burn, changing the orbital inclination by 0.02 degrees, was made 45 minutes later. The last burn, during the third orbit, lowered the perigee to {{cvt|72|km|nmi}}. This was made so, in case the retrorockets had failed, the spacecraft would still have reentered the atmosphere. The experience of reentry initially matched expectations, with even the color and pattern of the plasma sheath that enveloped the capsule matching those produced for ground simulations. However, it soon became clear that Molly Brown was off course and would land {{cvt|69|km|nmi}} off target. Though wind tunnel studies had suggested the spacecraft could maneuver to make up for the discrepancy, Gemini's real lift was far less than predicted, and Grissom was unable to significantly adjust course. Molly Brown ultimately landed {{cvt|84|km|nmi}} short of its intended splashdown point.{{cite book |last1=Hacker|first1=Barton|last2=Grimwood|first2=James|date=1966 |title=On the Shoulders of Titans |location=Washington D.C. |publisher=NASA |page=236 }}

This was not the only unexpected event of the short descent: After its parachutes were deployed, the spacecraft shifted from a vertical to horizontal attitude. The change was so sudden that Grissom cracked his faceplate (made of acrylic) on the control panel in front of him. Later Gemini spacesuits and all Apollo and Space Shuttle (both launch-entry and EVA suits) used polycarbonate plastic.

File:HH-52A USCG over Gemini 3 capsule 1965.jpeg

Upon landing, the astronauts 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-hour in a spacecraft not designed to be a boat. Due to unexpected smoke from the thrusters, the astronauts decided to deviate from the post landing checklist and to keep their helmets on with the face plates closed for some time after splashdown. {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|6}} recovered the craft and crew.

{{Cite news

| last1 = Lyons

| first1 = Richard

| title = 2 Gemini Firsters Touch All Bases

| work = Daily News

| publisher = News Syndicate Co. Inc.

| location = New York

| date = March 24, 1965

| page = 3

| url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-2-gemini-firsters-touch-all-b/168619813/

| access-date = March 22, 2025

| via = Newspapers.com

}} The Gemini III mission was supported by 10,185 personnel, 126 aircraft and 27 ships from the United States Department of Defense.

Insignia

File:Gemini 3 Flown Silver Fliteline Medallion.jpg]]

The mission insignia was not worn by the flight crew as a patch, like those from Gemini 5 onwards. The Gemini 3 The Molly Brown emblem was designed and minted on gold-plated, sterling silver, {{convert|1|in|mm|adj=on}} medallions. The crew carried a number of these medallions into space to give to their families and friends. The same design was printed on the cover of Grissom's book Gemini!: A Personal Account of Man's Venture Into Space. Young was seen wearing the emblem as a patch, produced post-flight, on his flightsuit as late as 1981.

Spacecraft location

The spacecraft is on display within the Grissom Memorial of Spring Mill State Park, two miles east of Grissom's hometown of Mitchell, Indiana.

References

{{Cite book

| last1 = Hacker

| first1 = Barton C.

| last2 = Grimwood

| first2 = James M.

| title = On The Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini

| publisher = National Aeronautics and Space Administration

| series = The NASA Historical Series

| id = NASA SP-4203

| location = Washington, D.C.

| year = 1977

| url = http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/cover.htm

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031207111557/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/cover.htm

| archive-date = December 7, 2003

| url-status = dead

}}

{{Cite web

| last1 = Garrett

| first1 = Russ

| last2 = Ogle

| first2 = Matthew

| title = Gemini III radio transcripts

| work = Spacelog

| year = 2011

| url = http://gemini3.spacelog.org/

| access-date = March 27, 2025

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110505174210/http://gemini3.spacelog.org/

| archive-date = May 5, 2011

| url-status = dead

}}

{{cite press release

|author = NASA PAO

|id = Release No.: 65-81

|date = March 17, 1965

|title = NASA Gemini 3 Press Kit

|url = https://mira.hq.nasa.gov/history/ws/hdmshrc/all/main/DDD/39983.pdf

|format = PDF

|location = Washington, D.C.

|publisher = National Aeronautics and Space Admininstration

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090621231250/https://mira.hq.nasa.gov/history/ws/hdmshrc/all/main/DDD/39983.pdf

|archive-date = June 21, 2009

|access-date = March 27, 2025

|quote =

}}

External links

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2YLeEjWUIs&list=PLZ4LzWgVGYi0n0VGYv-zBX9Ou3S3kphQb&index=4 "GEMINI 3 Launch to Staging"] on YouTube
[http://www.genedorr.com/patches/Intro.html Spaceflight Mission Patches]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060501114220/http://www.johnwyoung.com/ Astronaut John W. Young tribute website]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160313090204/http://www.americanspacecraft.com/pages/gemini/gt-3.html Gemini 3 at A Field Guide To American Spacecraft]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100324191944/http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/40312/the-space-race-gemini-3 slideshow] by Life magazine