Earth To The Moon

The Missions

Gemini III

Gemini IV

Gemini V

Gemini VII

Gemini VI-A

Gemini VIII

Gemini IX-A

Gemini X

Gemini XI

Gemini XII

G-XI Collection

Medallion

Heatshield

"Whoop-de-doo! ... The biggest thrill of my life."

Astronaut Richard Gordon autographed this photo of the launch of Gemini Titan XI in person for me.
Photo Credit: NASA

Launch Of Gemini Titan XI Autographed By Richard Gordon

The rendezvous techniques used on the previous missions required multiple revolutions of the Earth before rendezvous was achieved.

The plan for Gemini XI was to rendezvous within a single revolution. This was important because that is what was planned when a lunar landing would be attempted in the Apollo program.

Another goal for Gemini XI was to fly higher than any manned spacecraft had ever flown in history. This was to be accomplished through the use of the main engine on the Agena docking target vehicle.

The commander selected for Gemini XI was veteran astronaut Charles (Pete) Conrad, Jr. His pilot would be Richard F. Gordon, Jr.

Gemini Titan XI was launched on September 12, 1966. The Titan performed nominally and a very accurate orbital insertion was achieved.

Since the goal was to achieve rendezvous with the target Agena within one orbit, the crew was very busy during their first orbit. They made onboard calculations to determine what thruster firings were required for achieving rendezvous. 85 minutes after launch, Conrad and Gordon achieved a single orbit rendezvous over the coast of California.

Docking with the Agena went very well. In fact the mission up to this point had gone so smoothly that Conrad and Gordon had a chance to practice undocking and docking with the Agena. Each man undocked and docked with the Agena twice, once in sunlight and once in darkness.

The crew rested for the night. The next morning, the first task was an EVA by astronaut Gordon. Preparation for the EVA did not go very smoothly. The crew was ahead of the time line and Gordon ended up getting overheated in his EVA gear while waiting to leave the cabin.

One of Gordon's objectives for the EVA was to attach a tether between the Gemini spacecraft and the Agena. This tether would later be used for artificial gravity experiments. Gordon encountered some difficulty in positioning himself between the junction of the Gemini and Agena. To free his hands for the tethering operation, Gordon put a leg on each side of the Gemini's nose. At this point astronaut Gordon resembled a space age cowboy trying to subdue an unruly steed.

As the EVA progressed, Gordon got hotter and hotter from the exertion. Sweat was stinging his eyes but he did manage to secure the tether. Gordon then moved to the back of the Gemini spacecraft and was nearly blind from the sweat getting in his eyes. Commander Conrad called Gordon back in and the EVA was terminated early.

Once again the environment of space proved much different than the training exercises on the Earth. Although it was a simple task during training, it proved to be a monumental challenge during the EVA. Even the micro gravity training on NASA's zero-g airplane was insufficient when it came to the actual mission. The difficulties encountered on the Gemini EVAs up to this point did not instill much confidence in the Apollo mission planners.

The next day Conrad and Gordon prepared the Gemini and Agena vehicles for an extended duration burn by the Agena's main rocket engine. This burn was to propel them into an orbit higher than any orbit ever achieved by a manned spacecraft.

The rocket engine burned for 26 seconds. It must have been quite a ride because Conrad exclaimed "Whoop-de-doo! ... The biggest thrill of my life." The spacecraft was now in an orbit whose highest point was 850 nautical miles above the Earth. From this vantage point the view of the Earth was much different. The curvature of the Earth was much more apparent than it was before.

After two orbits, the Agena main engine was fired again. This time it was to bring the Gemini and Agena down into a lower orbit. There was some concern about remaining in the high orbit too long as the Van Allen radiation belts could subject the crew to dangerous radiation.

The next task for the crew was a standup EVA by Gordon. This time he would not exit the spacecraft but merely stand up in his seat to take photographs of star fields. In contrast with his first EVA, Gordon experienced no difficulty with the stand up EVA. In fact it was so leisurely that at one point Gordon catnapped while floating in the open hatch of the Gemini spacecraft.

The crew undocked from the Agena but remained connected to it through the 30 meter tether that Gordon had attached during his first EVA. The goal was to back the Gemini away from the Agena so that the tether would become taught. After the slack was out of the tether, a rotation would be imparted in the tethered vehicles to produce centrifugal force to act as artificial gravity.

Making the tether taught in the micro gravity environment proved to be a difficult task. It did not want to stay tight and oscillations were induced in two vehicles. The experiment however was successful and after some time in this configuration the Gemini spacecraft jettisoned the tether.

The re-entry of Gemini XI would also be a first in space. It was the first time that the spacecraft would control itself by autopilot without human intervention. On September 15 and after 44 orbits Gemini splashed down 2.8 miles away from the recovery aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Guam. The automatic re-entry was successful and very accurate.

Gemini XI's flight duration was 2 days, 23 hours, 17 minutes, and 8 seconds.