EDITORIAL INFORMATION

Gemini, the second U.S. human spaceflight program, was announced in January 1962 and flown in 1965 and 1966. Its two-astronaut crew gave it its name, Gemini, for the third constellation of the Zodiac and its twin stars, Castor and Pollux. Gemini involved twelve spaceflight, including two robotic flight tests of the equipment. It might be considered a middle child in the human spaceflight family, bracketed by two more famous efforts. Sandwiched between Project Mercury (1961-1963), which gets great credit for being first, and Apollo (1968-1972), which receives sustained attention because it went to the Moon, Gemini accomplished much. The Gemini Program was conceived after it became evident to NASA officials that an intermediate step was required between Project Mercury and the Apollo Program. One of the NASA History Series, this book is an outstanding work that both informs and entertains readers seeking to understand the evolution of human spaceflight in the United States, as well as those interested in the development of modern technology.

(Extracted from the Preface.)

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Foreword.

-Contents.

-Preface.

-I. Between Mercury and Apollo.

-II. The Transmutation of Mercury.

-III. From Spacecraft to Project.

-IV. Organizing Project Gemini.

-V. Expansion and Crisis.

-VI. Challenge and Change.

-VII. The Darkest Hour.

-VIII. Gemini Rising.

-IX. A Taste of Sucess.

-X. The Last Hurdle.

-XI. Pillars of Confidence.

-XII. "Spirit of '76".

-XIII. Agena On Trial.

-XIV. Charting New Space Lanes.

-XV. The Final Curtain.

-Summing Up.

-Gemini Earth Photographs: An Epilogue.

-Source Notes.

-Bibliographical Note.

-Appendix A: Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms.

-Appendix B: Flight Data Summary.

-Appendix C: Astronaut Flight Assignments.

-Appendix D: Experiments.

-Appendix E: Cost.

-Appendix F: Worldwide Tracking Network.

-Appendix G: Department of Defense Support

-Index.