Gemini V
Gemini V, flown by astronauts L. Gordon Cooper and Charles “Pete” Conrad, was the third crewed flight in NASA’s Gemini series. The mission’s primary goals were to evaluate a long-duration space flight of eight days and test rendezvous capabilities.
Mission Type
mission duration
Launch
Landing
Objectives
Gemini V, carrying astronauts L. Gordon Cooper Jr. and Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. was the third crewed Earth-orbiting spacecraft of the Gemini series. The flight was designed to last eight days and test rendezvous procedures. The major objectives of this mission were to demonstrate a long-duration crewed flight, evaluate the effects of long periods of weightlessness on the crew, and test rendezvous capabilities and maneuvers using a rendezvous evaluation pod. Secondary objectives included demonstration of all phases of guidance and control systems to support rendezvous and controlled reentry guidance, to evaluate the fuel cell power system and rendezvous radar, to test the capability of either pilot to maneuver the spacecraft in orbit to close proximity with another object, and to conduct 17 experiments.
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Mission Facts
Crew: L. Gordon Cooper Jr. (Command Pilot) and Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. (Pilot)
Backup Crew: Neil A. Armstrong and Elliot M. See Jr.
Payload: Gemini 5
Mass at launch: 3,605 kg
Launch Date: Aug. 21, 1965, 8:59:59 a.m. EST (13:59:59 UT)
Launch Site: Complex 19, Cape Canaveral, United States
Launch Vehicle: Titan II
Revolutions Completed: 120
Duration: 190 hours, 55 minutes, 14 seconds (7 days, 22 hours, 55 minutes, 14 seconds)
Landing Date: Aug. 29, 1965, 7:55:13 EST (12:55:13 UT)
Landing Site: Western Atlantic, 29.73° N, 69.75° W
Recovery Ship: U.S.S. Lake Champlain
L. Gordon Cooper Jr.
Command Pilot
Colonel Cooper was selected as a Mercury astronaut in April 1959. He piloted the “Faith 7” spacecraft, the final flight of Project Mercury. Cooper served as command pilot of the Gemini V mission, logging a total of 222 hours in space. He retired from the Air Force and NASA in 1970.
Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr.
Pilot
Selected in 1962 as a member of NASA’s second group of astronauts, Conrad’s first flight to space was on Gemini V. He went on to command three additional missions—Gemini XI, Apollo 12, and Skylab 2—logging more than 1,200 hours in space.
Mission Overview
Gemini V was launched from Complex 19 on Aug. 21, 1965, at 8:59:59 a.m. EST (13:59:59.518 UT) and inserted into a 162.0 x 350.1 km Earth orbit at 9:05:55. The rendezvous evaluation pod (REP), a 34.5 kg optical and electronic duplicate of the Agena planned for use in later Gemini rendezvous missions was deployed two hours into the flight on the second revolution. About 36 minutes into the evaluation of the rendezvous system, the crew noticed the pressure in the oxygen supply tank of the fuel cell system was dropping. At some point earlier in the flight the oxygen supply heater element had failed, and the pressure dropped from nominal pressure of 850 psia to a low of 65 psia 4 hours and 22 minutes into the flight. This was still above the 22.2 psia minimum but it was decided to cancel the REP exercise and power the spacecraft down. An analysis was carried out on the ground and a powering up procedure was started on the seventh revolution. Over the rest of the mission the pressure slowly rose in the fuel cells and sufficient power was available at all times.
Four rendezvous radar tests were conducted during the mission, starting on revolution 14 on the second day. On the third day, a simulated rendezvous with a phantom Agena was conducted. On day five, thruster number 7 became inoperative and maneuvering system operation became sluggish. Thruster number 8 failed the next day and the system became increasingly erratic. Limited experimental and operational activities continued throughout the remainder of the mission. Retrofire was made on revolution 120 (one revolution early due to a threatening tropical storm near the landing area) at 7:27:42 a.m. EST on Aug. 29. Splashdown occurred at 7:55:13 in the western Atlantic at 29.73° N, 69.75° W after a total mission time of 190:55:14. Splashdown was 169 km short of the target due to a ground-based computer program error. The crew arrived onboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lake Champlain at 9:26 and the spacecraft was recovered at 11:50.
All objectives were achieved except rendezvous with the REP and pilot tests associated with the rendezvous and the demonstration of controlled reentry to a predetermined landing point. Scientific studies included zodiacal light, synoptic terrain, synoptic weather photography, and a cloudtop spectrometer experiment. In addition, five medical and seven technological experiments were performed during the mission. One photography experiment was cancelled because of cancellation of the rendezvous maneuver. The mission demonstrated human ability to adapt to weightlessness over an extended period and then readapt to normal gravity and was considered successful.
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During the summer of 1965, the United States began to pull even in the space race with the Soviet Union. The eight-day Gemini V endurance mission doubled America’s spaceflight record set two months earlier. It also tested technology that would…
