Echoes Among the Stars: The Original Website
Echoes Among the Stars — Chapter Three
Project Gemini: A Bridge to the Moon
“Liberated from every earthly constraint but his protective suit and the thin tether, White reveled in his solo flight. Moving from one direction to the next via a handheld “gun” that propelled him by shooting pressurized oxygen, he thoroughly enjoyed the EVA and playfully bounced around while McDivitt recorded his actions in a series of remarkable photographs...” -- page 42
• Topics Covered in This Chapter
• Topics for Discussion
• Historical Context
• Possible Writing Assignments
Topics Covered in This Chapter
• Political Context of Space Program: Impact of Kennedy and Khrushchev
• Soviets First to Walk in Space
• Gemini Technology
• Gemini 3: Teamwork
• Astronaut Culture
• Gemini 4: An American Spacewalk
• Gemini 5: Pushing the Boundaries
• Geminis 6 and 7: Rendezvous and Long Duration
• U.S. and Soviet Programs: Losses on Both Sides
• Gemini 8: Near-Disaster
• Gemini 9: The “Alligator” and the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit
• Gemini 10: On Target
• Gemini 11: Apollo in Miniature
• Gemini 12: Solving the EVA Dilemma
• Gemini Role in the Apollo Program
Topics for Discussion
Some exploration of how a corporate culture is adapted to fit the needs and desired ends of a hugely complex venture like the space program might provide a good background for study of the infrastructure that NASA put in place during the Mercury and Gemini projects.
Historical Context
The Johnson Administration
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Start of the Vietnam War
Warren Commission report
China conducts its first test of nuclear weapons
1964 Presidential Election
Widening of American Involvement in Vietnam
Possible Writing Assignments
College
Do some light research on the goals and aims of the Gemini project, and write an essay that provides at least three concrete examples of Gemini’s importance to the later Apollo moon landings.
High School
In a short essay, explain why the names “Mercury,” “Gemini,” and “Apollo” were given to the spacecraft involved in each of those programs.
K-8
Choose the one person who you would want to take with you on a short trip into space, like the missions that the Gemini astronauts made. Explain why you would want to take that person rather than anyone else.
Historical Context
The Johnson Administration
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Start of the Vietnam War
Warren Commission report
China conducts its first test of nuclear weapons
1964 Presidential Election
Widening of American Involvement in Vietnam
Possible Writing Assignments
College
Do some light research on the goals and aims of the Gemini project, and write an essay that provides at least three concrete examples of Gemini’s importance to the later Apollo moon landings.
High School
In a short essay, explain why the names “Mercury,” “Gemini,” and “Apollo” were given to the spacecraft involved in each of those programs.
K-8
Choose the one person who you would want to take with you on a short trip into space, like the missions that the Gemini astronauts made. Explain why you would want to take that person rather than anyone else.
