The prime crew for the Gemini-V mission,
The prime crew for the Gemini-V mission,
The Crews for the Gemini-V mission was selected on February 8, 1965. Astronauts L. Gordon Cooper Jr. and Charles Conrad Jr. would be the prime crew, and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Elliot See would be back-up.
Gemini-V was launched from Cape kennedy at 9:00 am EST, August 21, 1965. Major objectives of the Gemini-V mission were:
-To demonstrate and evaluate performance of the Gemini spacecraft for a period of 8 days.
-To evaluate the performance of the rendezvous guidance and navigation systems, using radar.
-To evaluate the effects of prolonged exposure of the crew to the space environment.
In addition to that, a total of 17 experiments were assigned to the flight. Gemini-V als marked the first flight on wich fuel cells were used to provide electrical power.
The early phases of the flight went according to plan but a rapid drop in pressure in the cryogenic storage thanks which supplied the fuel cells required that many of the planned activities be curtailed or abandoned.
Flight Director Chistopher C. Kraft, Jr., decided to have Gemini-V perform a rendezvous with a "phantom Agena" target during the third day of the mission. Astronauts Cooper and Conrad were instructed to perform four maneuvers during a period of two revolutions. These maneuvers were accomplished and ground tracking indicated that the simulated rendezvous maneuver would have placed the spacecraft within three-tenths of a mile of the target.
During the flight Gemini-V attained a maximum apogee of 188.9 miles. Following retrofire the Gemini-V spacecraft touched down in the western Atlantic approximately 90 miles short of the predicted impact point. The touchdown time was 7:55:14 am EST, August 29, following a flight wich had lasted 190 hours, 55 minutes and 14 seconds. The crew was recovered at 9:26 am and the Gemini-V spacecraft was picked up by the prime recovery ship, the USS Lake Champlain, at 11:50 am.
Astronaut Elliot See in the Gemini simulator.