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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Gemini | 2/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Gemini | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T12:50:41.219775+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Gemini Ferry == Several Gemini Ferry spacecraft were proposed to provide transportation of crews and cargo to NASA and USAF space stations in low Earth orbit. NASA contracted McDonnell to conduct a study into what modifications would be needed to allow the Gemini spacecraft to support this. Three spacecraft were envisioned; a spacecraft to transport crew to the stations, a spacecraft with a cargo module for both crew and cargo delivery, and a dedicated uncrewed spacecraft to resupply the station every three or four months. The studies looked at minimizing required modifications to the Gemini spacecraft. Three docking methods were considered. The first was use of the existing docking system used on Gemini-Agena missions. This would have allowed the mission to be accomplished with little modification to the Gemini spacecraft needed, however crew transfer could only have been accomplished by means of an extra-vehicular activity (EVA). Changes that would have been required included strengthening the nose, installing two solid rockets to be used for a separation burn, adding the necessary equipment to perform the transfer EVA, and providing provisions for flight to and from the station. The number of retro-rockets would have been increased from four to six. A second method would have seen the spacecraft dock in the same way, but after docking, the spacecraft would be swung round and attached to the side of the space station. A tunnel would then have been placed over the Gemini's hatches, allowing the crew to transfer to the station without performing an EVA. Some modifications to the hatches would have been required. The final proposed docking method was to use a port mounted on the rear of the equipment module, which would have allowed the crew to transfer directly between the spacecraft and space station, through the docking port. A modified version of the spacecraft was proposed, which would have included a cargo module attached to the back of a modified equipment module. The spacecraft would have approached the station, and docked backwards using a port on the rear of the cargo module. If one of the forward docking configurations had been used for the Gemini itself, the docking would have been controlled remotely from the station, with the Gemini then separating from the cargo module and flying around the station to dock normally on a different port. The rear-docking Gemini would have simply remained attached to the cargo module, with the crew boarding the station through it. Its docking would have been controlled by its own crew, from a station at the back of the cargo module. Two Gemini-derived spacecraft were considered for uncrewed resupply flights. The first of these would have involved a Gemini spacecraft, with all systems for crewed flight, re-entry and landing removed. The spacecraft would have docked using a port at the front of the spacecraft. Cargo would have been transferred through the nose of the spacecraft, where the re-entry attitude control system was located on the crewed spacecraft. The spacecraft was equipped with a liquid propellant engine to perform rendezvous, and to reboost the space station. The other proposal was for a new spacecraft to be built for uncrewed missions, but re-using as many Gemini systems as possible. It would have had a higher cargo capacity than the stripped-down version of the Gemini spacecraft. Crew-only or cargo-only supply missions would have been launched aboard a Titan II, and the Saturn I or Saturn IB would have been used for the combined crew and cargo spacecraft. Because of the increased power of the Saturn I, the Gemini spacecraft's ejection seats would not have been able to propel the crew far enough in the event of an explosion, so a launch escape tower was proposed, based on the one used on the Mercury spacecraft. The Titan IIIM was also considered to launch the heavier spacecraft.
== Big Gemini ==