Life, Missouri History Today
Missouri History Today July 18, 1966: McDonnell-Douglas’ Gemini X spacecraft carried John Young and Michael Collins into space.
The primary goals of Project Gemini included proving the techniques needed for the Apollo Program, to fulfill President John F. Kennedy’s goal: Land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth before the end of the 1960s.
One crucial technique to prove was rendezvous and docking, required for the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous method NASA chose for the Moon landing missions.
Additional Gemini goals included proving that astronauts could work outside their spacecraft during spacewalks, and ensuring that spacecraft and astronauts could function for at least eight days, the minimum time for a roundtrip mission to the Moon back then.
This post was contributed by Ross Malone. A historian and a retired school teacher, Ross has authored many books about Missouri’s history, weird facts, and folk tales. He has also written children’s historical fiction. Visit his website, and buy his books in the Missouri Life store.
Photo credit: NASA
Written By
Missouri Life
