Gemini 11

Gemini 11, officially called Gemini XI, was the ninth crewed spaceflight mission of NASA's Project Gemini. It flew from September 12 to 15, 1966. This mission was the 17th crewed American flight and the 25th spaceflight overall up to that time, including flights by the X-15.

The astronauts, Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon, did something very important: they performed the first direct-ascent rendezvous with an Agena Target Vehicle. They docked with it just 1 hour and 34 minutes after launching.

During the mission, they used the Agena rocket engine to reach a record high point, or apogee, in Earth's orbit. They also created a small amount of artificial gravity by spinning the two spacecraft together using a tether. Dick Gordon also did two spacewalks, called extra-vehicular activities, for a total of 2 hours and 41 minutes.

Crew

Backup crew

Support crew

• Clifton C. Williams Jr. (Cape CAPCOM)
• John W. Young (Houston CAPCOM)
• Alan L. Bean (Houston CAPCOM)

Mission parameters

The Gemini 11 mission had a mass of 3,798 kilograms (8,374 lb). It reached its highest orbit twice, with a closest point to Earth of 298 kilometers (185 mi; 161 nmi) and a farthest point of 1,374 kilometers (854 mi; 742 nmi). The orbit was tilted at 28.85° and took 101.52 minutes to complete one loop around Earth.

The spacecraft docked on September 12, 1966, at 16:16:00 UTC and undocked on September 14, 1966, at 16:55:00 UTC. Astronaut Gordon had two spacewalks. The first started on September 13, 1966, at 14:44:00 UTC and ended at 15:17:00 UTC, lasting 33 minutes. The second began on September 14, 1966, at 12:49:00 UTC and ended at 14:57:00 UTC, lasting 2 hours and 8 minutes.

Objectives

The Gemini 11 mission had several important goals. First, it aimed to meet up directly with a special vehicle called the Agena Target Vehicle on the very first orbit around Earth. This was to practice for future moon landings. The mission also wanted to use the Agena’s engine to push the spacecraft into a very high orbit.

Other goals included testing spacewalks, showing how two linked spacecraft could spin to create a feeling of gravity, doing science experiments, and landing very precisely in the ocean at the end of the flight.

Flight

Gemini 11 launched on a Titan II GLV rocket, with an Atlas rocket sending an Agena target vehicle into space for the mission. The crew, Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon, connected their spacecraft to the Agena just over an hour and a half after launch with little help from the ground.

Using the Agena's rocket, Gemini 11 reached the highest point ever flown by people at that time—853 miles above Earth. The lowest point of their orbit was 179 miles, and they traveled at speeds up to nearly 18,000 miles per hour. The crew connected and disconnected from the Agena four times and still had fuel left for more.

During spacewalks, Dick Gordon attached a long tether between the spacecraft. Though this didn’t work as planned to create steady movement, they were able to make a tiny bit of artificial gravity by slowly spinning the connected ships. Gordon also did a second spacewalk to take pictures of Earth, clouds, and stars, which went well and lasted over two hours.

Scientific experiments

The crew carried out 12 experiments, including studying how radiation affects blood cells, taking pictures of Earth’s surface and weather, observing stars in ultraviolet light, and measuring cosmic rays. These helped scientists learn more about space and Earth.

Reentry

Gemini 11 landed perfectly thanks to a computer, coming down just under 3 miles from their waiting ship, the USS Guam. The United States Navy helped recover the astronauts.

Insignia

Since Conrad and Gordon were both members of the US Navy, the embroidered mission patch was designed in Navy colors: blue and gold. Stars are used to show the big moments of the mission. The first orbit meeting with the Agena vehicle is shown by a small gold star above the Earth. The meeting with the Agena is shown by a large star on the left. The star at the top shows the very high point Gemini 11 reached in space. The star on the right shows Dick Gordon’s spacewalk. The meeting, the high point, and the spacewalk are also shown on the patch by the Agena, the path they took, and the astronaut doing the spacewalk.

Potential lunar missions

Gemini 11's high altitude was inspired by ideas about reaching the Moon. As early as 1961, some people thought Gemini spacecraft could reach the Moon before Apollo. They suggested using special rockets to send Gemini on a path around the Moon or even to land on it.

Pete Conrad liked these ideas and wanted Gemini 11 to try a Moon mission, but NASA decided to focus on the Apollo program instead. However, they did let Gemini 11 reach a very high orbit, which was the only part of the Moon mission plan that happened.

Spacecraft location

The Gemini 11 capsule can be seen at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California. It is displayed there for people to visit and learn about this important space mission.