3.5 Entering the Age of Space Flight
157
with a conical configuration, a total length of 5.7 m, a maximum diameter of 3.05 m
and lift-off weight of 3.0−3.9 metric tons. In the Gemini Spacecraft, the escape tower
was canceled while replaced with the ejection life-saving seat design. The Spacecraft
had two major units, the reentry module with the crew cabin and heat shield, as well
as the adapter composed of two sections, in which the equipment section carried
fuel, oxygen and power supplies, and the retro-grade section carried retro-rockets
that slowed the spacecraft to make it fall out of orbit. By using small rockets on the
adapter, the astronauts could not only change their orientations in space but also their
orbital paths. Before the Spacecraft reentered into the atmosphere, the adapter was
discarded. The nose as the rendezvous and recovery component came off when the
main parachute was deployed, and finally, the crew cabin splashed down horizontally,
with the two hatches on the top. The Gemini rocket was derived from the U.S. Air
Force Titan-2 intercontinental Ballistic Missile, generally known as Titan-2 GLV
(Gemini Launch Vehicle), with a height of 33 m, a lift-off thrust of 193,500 kgf and
a launch capability of 3.62 metric tons (for an orbital altitude of 384 km).
From April 1964 to November 1966, a total of 12 GT series spacecrafts from
the complexes of the Gemini spacecrafts with the Titan rockets were developed and
launched sequentially under the leadership of NASA, among which the GT-1 and
GT-2 were unmanned test spacecrafts and each of the spacecrafts from GT-3 to
GT-12 took two astronauts to carry out the technological tests like space walking,
long-term orbit flight and rendezvous and docking. On June 3, 1965, two astronauts
James McDivitt and Edward H. White by the GT-4 spacecraft were launched into
orbit, of which White carried out the space walking test for 23 min. As the target
vehicle Agena failed to launch into orbit in time, the GT-7 and GT-6 conducted
the rendezvous and docking tests in space on December 15, 1965, and a joint body
formed by the two spacecrafts flew together for 5 h and 19 min.
On July 18, 1966, the GT-10 spacecraft with the astronauts John Yong and Michael
Collins was launched from the Kennedy Space Center and respectively followed by
the tracking and rendezvous and docking tests with the upper stage target vehicles,
Agena-10 and Agena-8, which were launched into the orbits by the Atlas rockets in
advance. The Agena-10 was docked with the GT-10 in an orbit with an altitude of
298 km, and the joint body formed by both had flown along the orbit for 4 h before
both were separated. Subsequently, the astronauts manipulated the GT-10 again to
track and approach the Agena-8 spacing 37 km apart. At 3 m away from each other,
Collins walked out of the GT-10’s crew capsule to arrive at the Agena-8 by using the
mechanism system and achieved the sampling and returning test task. The GT-10’s
astronauts returned to the ground safely on July 21 and successfully completed all
test tasks including the space rendezvous and docking and the orbital maneuver. At
this time, the United States had surpassed the Soviet Union in the field of manned
space flight technology, clearing the key technical obstacles for the manned landing
on the Moon.
On September 12 and November 11, 1966, two manned spacecrafts GT-11 and
GT-12 were launched respectively to further test and verify the technologies of the
space rendezvous and docking and the extravehicular space walking, and to carry out
the experimental researches on gravity gradient, artificial gravity and long-term space
157
with a conical configuration, a total length of 5.7 m, a maximum diameter of 3.05 m
and lift-off weight of 3.0−3.9 metric tons. In the Gemini Spacecraft, the escape tower
was canceled while replaced with the ejection life-saving seat design. The Spacecraft
had two major units, the reentry module with the crew cabin and heat shield, as well
as the adapter composed of two sections, in which the equipment section carried
fuel, oxygen and power supplies, and the retro-grade section carried retro-rockets
that slowed the spacecraft to make it fall out of orbit. By using small rockets on the
adapter, the astronauts could not only change their orientations in space but also their
orbital paths. Before the Spacecraft reentered into the atmosphere, the adapter was
discarded. The nose as the rendezvous and recovery component came off when the
main parachute was deployed, and finally, the crew cabin splashed down horizontally,
with the two hatches on the top. The Gemini rocket was derived from the U.S. Air
Force Titan-2 intercontinental Ballistic Missile, generally known as Titan-2 GLV
(Gemini Launch Vehicle), with a height of 33 m, a lift-off thrust of 193,500 kgf and
a launch capability of 3.62 metric tons (for an orbital altitude of 384 km).
From April 1964 to November 1966, a total of 12 GT series spacecrafts from
the complexes of the Gemini spacecrafts with the Titan rockets were developed and
launched sequentially under the leadership of NASA, among which the GT-1 and
GT-2 were unmanned test spacecrafts and each of the spacecrafts from GT-3 to
GT-12 took two astronauts to carry out the technological tests like space walking,
long-term orbit flight and rendezvous and docking. On June 3, 1965, two astronauts
James McDivitt and Edward H. White by the GT-4 spacecraft were launched into
orbit, of which White carried out the space walking test for 23 min. As the target
vehicle Agena failed to launch into orbit in time, the GT-7 and GT-6 conducted
the rendezvous and docking tests in space on December 15, 1965, and a joint body
formed by the two spacecrafts flew together for 5 h and 19 min.
On July 18, 1966, the GT-10 spacecraft with the astronauts John Yong and Michael
Collins was launched from the Kennedy Space Center and respectively followed by
the tracking and rendezvous and docking tests with the upper stage target vehicles,
Agena-10 and Agena-8, which were launched into the orbits by the Atlas rockets in
advance. The Agena-10 was docked with the GT-10 in an orbit with an altitude of
298 km, and the joint body formed by both had flown along the orbit for 4 h before
both were separated. Subsequently, the astronauts manipulated the GT-10 again to
track and approach the Agena-8 spacing 37 km apart. At 3 m away from each other,
Collins walked out of the GT-10’s crew capsule to arrive at the Agena-8 by using the
mechanism system and achieved the sampling and returning test task. The GT-10’s
astronauts returned to the ground safely on July 21 and successfully completed all
test tasks including the space rendezvous and docking and the orbital maneuver. At
this time, the United States had surpassed the Soviet Union in the field of manned
space flight technology, clearing the key technical obstacles for the manned landing
on the Moon.
On September 12 and November 11, 1966, two manned spacecrafts GT-11 and
GT-12 were launched respectively to further test and verify the technologies of the
space rendezvous and docking and the extravehicular space walking, and to carry out
the experimental researches on gravity gradient, artificial gravity and long-term space