The prime crew for the Gemini-VII mission: James A. Lovell and Frank Borman
The prime crew for the Gemini-VII mission: James A. Lovell and Frank Borman
Astronauts Frank Borman and James A. Lovell,Jr., were selected as primecrew for the Gemini-VII mission on July 01, 1965. The back-up crew members were, Edward H. White and Micheal Collins.
Gemini-VII, a 14-day long mission, was primarily designed to conduct long duration flight and to evaluate the effects on the crew. In addition, they provided a target for Gemini-VI-A, and conducted station keeping with the Gemini-VI-A spacecraft. The crew performed some 20 experiments during the mission. The crew wore lightweight pressure suits during the flight, a first.
Gemini-VII was launched from Cape Kennedy at 2:30:03 pm EST, December 04, 1965. During the flight, Gemini-VII attained a maximum apogee of 177.1 miles and a low perigee of 87.2 miles. Lovell removed his pressure suit on the second day in orbit, and from that time until the end of the flight either one or both of the crewmen were out of their suits most of the time.
Landing of the Gemini-VII spacecraft came on December 18, 1965, In the western Atlantic recovery zone, just 6.4 miles from the planned landing point at 9:05:34 am EST, after a flight which had lasted 330 hours, 35 minutes, and 1 second. The USS Wasp recovered the second crew of Gemini astronauts within a three-day period. Borman and Lovell went aboard the USS Wasp in a helicopter at 9:37 am, and their spacecraft was taken aboard at 10:08 am. The total elapsed time of the flight was about twice that anticipated necessary for a lunar landing mission.
The left photo shows the prime and back-up crew for the Gemini-7 mission, and the right
photo shows the back-up crew Michael Collins and Ed White.