Gemini SC-2

Gemini SC-2 (Spacecraft No. 2) was the second NASA Project Gemini full-up space capsule built. This McDonnell Gemini capsule was the first space capsule to be reused, flying twice into suborbital space. No.2 flew on missions Gemini-Titan 2 and Manned Orbiting Laboratory Gemini-B flight. The capsule is currently on display at the Air Force Space and Missile Museum at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the Space Coast of Florida, United States.[1]

SC-2
Gemini SC-2 on display
Type Space capsule
Test article
Manufacturer McDonnell
Manufactured 1964
First flight Gemini-Titan 2 (January 19. 1965)
Last flight MOL Gemini-B 1 (November 3, 1966)
Flights 2
Preserved at National Air & Space Museum

Spacecraft history

The capsule is part of the collection of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.[2]

On 19 January 1965, the Gemini-Titan 2 suborbital test mission was launched, with the second prototype Gemini capsule.[3][4]

In March 1965, NASA approved the transfer of the Gemini 2 capsule to the USAF for modification into the first prototype of the Gemini B capsule.[5]

On 3 November 1965, the first Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) and Gemini B suborbital test mission was launched.[5] Thus, if you don't count the Mercury capsule used on flights Mercury-Redstone 1 and Mercury-Redstone 1A, the Mercury capsule used on test flights Little Joe 5A and Little Joe 5B, or the Mercury capsule used on flights Mercury-Atlas 3 and Mercury Atlas 4, it became the only Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo, capsule to be reflown.[6] It is also the first capsule to ever be flown twice in space.[7]

The capsule was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, as part of the National Air and Space Museum collection.[2]

The a mock-up of the Gemini B capsule was put on display in the Allan and Malcolm Lockheed and Glenn Martin Space Gallery at the National Museum of the USAF in 2016.[2]

The flown Gemini SC-2 capsule was put on display in the exhibit hall of the Air Force Space and Missile Museum of the USAF in 2017.[3]

Flight history
Flight # Mission Launch date (UTC) Liftoff Landing Notes
1 Gemini 2 19 January 1965 NASA Mission [3][4][5]
2 OPS 0855 3 November 1966 USAF Mission; first spacelaunch reuse of a previously spacelaunched vehicle [3][4][5]

See also
  • Falcon 9 booster B1021 – the first Falcon 9 first stage booster to be reused for a space launch mission
  • McDonnell Douglas DC-X – Prototype single-stage-to-orbit rocket
  • New Shepard – Rocket developed by Blue Origin
  • SpaceShipOne – Suborbital air-launched spaceplane
  • Dragon C106 – the first Dragon capsule to be reused for a spaceflight mission

References
  1. USAF (23 May 2020). "Gemini Spacecraft". National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
  2. USAF (4 April 2016). "Gemini Spacecraft". National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
  3. USAF (2017). "Gemini Capsule". Air Force Space and Missile Museum.
  4. "Gemini-B: NASA-Gemini's Air Force Twin" (PDF). Historic Space Systems Infosheet. No. 1. Historic Space Systems. September 1996.
  5. Amy Shira Teitel (3 November 2015). "The Manned Orbiting Laboratory the Air Force Failed to Launch". Popular Science.
  6. James Dean (3 November 2016). "50 years ago, Air Force 'MOL' program launched only mission". Florida Today.
  7. Terry Roen (3 November 2016). "Air Force celebrates 50th anniversary of Gemini launch". Orlando Rising.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.