Gemini 10

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Mission emblem
Mission emblem Gemini 10
Mission dates
Mission: Gemini 10
COSPAR-ID : 1966-066A
Spacecraft: Gemini 10
Launcher: Titan II Gemini 62-12565
Crew: 2
Begin: July 18, 1966, 22:20:27  UTC
JD : 2439325.4308681
Starting place: LC-19 , Cape Canaveral
Landing: July 21, 1966, 21:07:06 UTC
JD : 2439328.3799306
Landing place: Atlantic , 26 ° 45'N / 71 ° 57'W
Flight duration: 2d 22h 46 m 39s
Earth orbits: 43
Recovery ship: USS Guadalcanal
Orbit inclination : 28.87 °
Apogee : 268.9 km, later 763 km
Perigee : 159.9 km
Team photo
from left John W. Young and Michael Collins
from left John W. Young and Michael Collins
◄ Before / After ►
Gemini 9
(manned) 		Gemini 11
(manned)

Gemini 10 (GT-10) was a manned space flight under the American Gemini program .

crew

The commander of Gemini 10 was John Young , who was already in space with Gemini 3 and thus undertook his second space flight. Michael Collins was chosen as the pilot . Special preparation for this flight began for the crew in January 1966.

The Gemini 10 backup team initially consisted of Jim Lovell and Edwin Aldrin . However, the deaths of Elliot See and Charles Bassett on February 28, 1966, who were designated as the main crew for Gemini 9 , led to some changes in the team assignments over the next month: Tom Stafford and Eugene Cernan , the previous substitute for Gemini 9, became the new main team. Lovell and Aldrin, the previous substitute for Gemini 10, became the new substitute for Gemini 9. The new substitute for Gemini 10 were Alan L. Bean and Clifton Williams .

Mercury veterans Gordon Cooper and Edwin Aldrin were the liaison spokespersons for this flight .

preparation

So far, the Gemini flights had only succeeded once in coupling the spaceship to a target satellite, but Gemini 8 ran into great difficulties; with Gemini 9 the coupling had been quite impossible. For this reason, Gemini 10 placed great emphasis on coupling with the Agena satellite.

Another highlight should be a Michael Collins space exit.

The Gemini spaceship number 10 was delivered by McDonnell on May 13, 1966 in Cape Kennedy , the Titan rocket set up on June 7. Two days later the spaceship could be mounted on the launcher.

Flight history

Gemini 10 - start from single images

The Gemini 10 mission began on July 18, 1966 at 20:39 UTC with the launch of the Agena satellite GATV-10 (Gemini Agena Target Vehicle) by an Atlas Agena rocket .

At 22:20 UTC the Gemini spacecraft followed with a titanium rocket. Upon reaching Earth orbit , Gemini 10 was 1,600 km from GATV-10. The astronauts' optical navigation failed because the values ​​determined did not match those of the ground stations.

Gemini 10 approached the target satellite and docked on July 19 at 04:13 UTC without any problems. Due to different orbits, several course corrections were necessary, which already consumed a large part of the fuel supply, which is why further coupling maneuvers, which were originally planned, had to be dispensed with.

The GATV-10's engine fired, placing Gemini 10 into higher orbit. It was the first time in the history of manned space travel that a spaceship not only docked with another missile, but also used its propulsion system. With this change in orbit, the astronauts flew with their backs to the direction of flight and were pushed forward into the belts by the acceleration.

With 763 km, the altitude record, which had been held by the crew of Woschod 2 with 475 km, was far exceeded.

Mike Collins performed the mission's first spaceboard activity on July 19 at 21:44 UTC by standing in the open hatch and photographing stars and the earth for 49 minutes. This type of extravehicular activity, in which the astronaut does not leave the spaceship, is called Stand-Up EVA (abbr .: SEVA).

Gemini 10 - The Agena target satellite

After further course corrections, Gemini 10 was placed in the same orbit as GATV-8, the target satellite launched for Gemini 8 in March. The batteries of GATV-8 were empty, so that the radar responder did not work and the crew had to rely on optical navigation.

The approach to GATV-8 worked without any problems. Young steered Gemini 10 to within two meters of the target. Collins left the Gemini spaceship on July 20 at 23:07 UTC and climbed to the Agena to fetch a plate from there to determine the activity of the micrometeorites. On the first attempt it slipped on the smooth surface and staggered into space, but was able to stabilize its position. On the second attempt he was able to successfully dismantle the plate, but lost his Hasselblad camera in the process. As he stepped back into the spaceship, he got tangled in the safety line.

landing

The next day (July 21), Gemini 10 fired the brake rocket at 20:31 UTC and landed 36 minutes later in the West Atlantic , 5.4 kilometers from the target point. The astronauts were brought aboard a helicopter to the recovery ship USS Guadalcanal .

Importance to the Gemini program

Overall, Gemini 10 could be rated as a success. The rendezvous with two different target satellites worked without any problems, as did the docking and ignition of the Agena engine. The extravehicular activities remained a problem, during which the astronaut was able to work far less efficiently than planned. More time and breaks had to be planned for further flights.

For the still functioning Agena (GATV-10), the mission was not yet over after the landing of the Gemini return capsule. The NASA technicians lit the engine by remote control and brought it to a different track to the temperatures at various intervals to measure the earth.

Trivia

The measurement of the heart rate of the astronaut Michael Collins during the launch showed a pulse of 144 beats per minute, which indicates an increased state of arousal. In contrast, Commander John Young's pulse was only 70 beats per minute during take-off. This earned John Young the title of "most emotionless person in the world" among his colleagues.

See also

Web links

Commons : Gemini 10  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files