Gemini 6: The NASA Mission Reports: Apogee Books Space Series 8 (Paperback)

by Robert Godwin (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...(the series) will serve as an invaluable reference tool for aficionados of human spaceflight." -- Astronomy, July, 1999

"...buddingTsiolkovskys, Goddards, and von Brauns will devout each title." -- Booklist, July, 1999

"Highly recommended for space buffs who want detailed information on thes flights." -- Choice, November, 1999

Product Description
Lost in the glare of Apollos success, the Gemini program is often forgotten. Without the ten successful manned Gemini missions NASA could not have accomplished Kennedys seemingly impossible goal of landing a man on the moon in the 1960s.

Gemini 6 was the fifth manned flight of Americas two-man spacecraft. Aboard were Commander Wally Schirra and rookie pilot Tom Stafford. Their original mission flight plan was to attempt the first ever docking and rendezvous in space, an essential step if the pilots flying Apollo would ever be able to meet up in orbit around the moon.

The Soviet Union had claimed the first space rendezvous but many felt that unless the pilot was in control and able to maneuver around the accompanying vehicle it could not truly be called a rendezvous.

On October 25th 1965 the target vehicle, known as Atlas/Agena failed to make orbit and so the crew of Gemini 6 were suddenly presented with a totally revised and audacious flight plan. The long duration Gemini 7 mission was already scheduled for launch and so the crew of Gemini 6 were told that NASA would attempt a double manned mission and rendezvous.

This was undoubtedly a risky proposition which would stretch the NASA infra-structure to its limits.

On December 15th 1965 ace pilot Schirra and rendezvous maestro Stafford closed to within a meter of Gemini 7 and America was one step closer to the moon.

Includes: Windows CD-ROM featuring :
Over 50 minutes of 16mm film footage of Gemini 6.
Over 180 still pictures from Gemini 6.
Two movies about the Gemini program. Nearly one hour of MPEG video.
An exclusive interview with Gemini 6 Commander Wally Schirra.
The NASA Mission Reports is a series of books that will include all of the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle, International Space Station and Selected Unmanned Missions.


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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing Inc (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1896522610
• ISBN-13: 978-1896522616
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #707,104 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 8 in The Apogee Books Space Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting ready for the moon, April 2, 2000

By	Kevin W. Parker (Greenbelt, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gemini 6? What's the big deal about Gemini 6? One word: rendezvous.

Before Gemini 6 (and 7), no two spacecraft had met in space. For the moon missions, which required not only a meeting in space but a meeting in lunar orbit, this was a critical issue. And space rendezvous is a far from simple process. If you're behind someone in orbit, you'd think you could blast your rockets and zoom ahead. No, if you do that, you just put yourself in a higher orbit and get farther behind. The paradoxical solution is to slow down, get into a lower, faster orbit, and catch up that way.

But enough technospeak: the bottom line is that it's tough, and Gemini 6 was to be the first. The original plan was to use an Agena. When the Agena failed, then the target became Gemini 7. And that almost became a problem when the Titan II launch vehicle for Gemini 6 shut down right at liftoff. Only Schirra's cool hand, staying off the abort switch, made a successful launch possible a few days later.

You can find all this information in this excellent book. It has the press kit, the pre-launch briefing for the NASA administrator, transcripts of press conferences, and, most interesting for me, the post-mission debriefing with the astronauts - something never before shared with the public. You get to hear what Wally Schirra really thought of some of the decisions made by McDonnell Douglas (the spacecraft manufacturer) and NASA management.

In addition to the fascinating text, there's also a marvelous CD. It's advertised as Windows-only, but I didn't have any significant problems accessing it (via Netscape) on my Macintosh. It's got movies from the mission, a ton of still photos, and an interview with Wally Schirra. I've only checked out part of it so far, so I can't comment too much, but what I've seen has been very interesting.

I look forward to acquiring the rest of the books in this series. Highly recommended for those with a strong interest in America's space program.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Addendum on Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, April 16, 2000

By	Kevin W. Parker (Greenbelt, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I completely neglected to mention in my initial review that this fascinating little book includes some of the key memos and reports covering the decision to implement the lunar landing using lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR). Those familiar with the history of Project Apollo will know that John Houboult, a middle manager at NASA's Langley facility, put his job on the line by writing a letter to NASA Associate Administrator Robert Seamans, skipping at least half-a-dozen layers of bureaucracy in a desperate attempt to get someone to address the issue. Well, you will find that memo here, followed by von Braun's report acquiescing that LOR is the way to go.

5.0 out of 5 stars Gemini the R & D Flights for the Moon Landing, March 17, 2007

By	Franklin H. Neal III (Castle Rock, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gemini is the often forgotten program. Mercury proved man could survive in space, and Apollo landed us on the moon. Gemini is the series that proved and developed all the technology for the trip to the moon. Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford were two of the best. Gemini 6 was the mission that that performed the rendezvous with Gemini 7. Beyond the press kit, operations reports, and post flight debriefs are the Houbolt memos. These were the memos that John Houbolt wrote to NASA management arguing for the use of lunar orbit rendezvous. Many people thought that even the suggestion of this was no more than a crazy stunt. It ended up being a mix of Earth obit and lunar orbit rendezvous that got us to the moon. This was the perfect inclusion in the book that shows us the mission where NASA first figured out how to bring two ships together in orbit.