The Titan II

The words

1. Aerojet

   Aerojet-General supplied the engines for Gemini’s Titan II rockets. The first flight engines were installed at Martin’s Baltimore plant in May 1963, followed by wiring checks and ground testing.

   NASA chronology: Titan manufacture and tests (opens a new tab)

2. Baltimore

   Martin’s Baltimore operation assembled and tested Gemini launch vehicles. A vertical test tower opened there in May 1963, allowing checks before the rockets were sent to Cape Kennedy.

   NASA chronology: Titan manufacture and tests (opens a new tab)

3. Denver

   Martin’s Denver plant manufactured and checked the propellant tanks and skirt assemblies for Gemini’s Titan II rockets. The hardware then went to Baltimore for launch-vehicle assembly.

   NASA chronology: Titan manufacture and tests (opens a new tab)

4. Gemini

   Gemini was NASA’s two-person program between Mercury and Apollo. Its crews practiced changing orbit, staying in space for longer missions, spacewalking, rendezvous and docking.

   Did you know?

   The name Gemini came from the Latin word for twins. It reflected the program’s two-person spacecraft and the pilots who would fly together.

   NASA: Gemini’s program and Pad 19 (opens a new tab)

5. Hydrazine

   Hydrazine was one ingredient in Titan II’s fuel blend, which ignited on contact with its oxidizer. The chemical’s toxicity made propellant handling a serious hazard.

   NASA history: qualifying Titan for Gemini (opens a new tab) · NIOSH: hydrazine’s health hazards (opens a new tab)

6. Hypergolic

   Titan II’s fuel and oxidizer burned when they met, so the rocket needed no separate ignition system. Both liquids could be stored at ordinary temperatures.

   p. 41 · NASA history: qualifying Titan for Gemini (opens a new tab)

7. Interstage

   The interstage was the joining section between Titan II’s first and second stages. It formed part of the rocket structure around the stage-separation area.

   Cutaway, p. 43 · NASA history: qualifying Titan for Gemini (opens a new tab)

8. Man Rating

   Qualifying a rocket to carry people.

   Man-rating Titan II meant meeting stricter requirements for vibration, engine stability and reliability. Tests supported the first crewed flights, while some engine improvements were introduced later in Gemini.

   pp. 167–169 · NASA history: qualifying Titan for Gemini (opens a new tab)

9. Martin

   Martin’s Denver and Baltimore operations shared the work of building Gemini’s Titan II rockets. Denver supplied tank assemblies, while Baltimore combined the hardware and tested the launch vehicles.

   NASA chronology: Titan manufacture and tests (opens a new tab)

10. Pad Nineteen

    Titan II launched the Gemini crews from Launch Pad 19 at Cape Kennedy. Gus Grissom and John Young began the crewed series there on March 23, 1965.

    NASA: Gemini’s program and Pad 19 (opens a new tab)

11. Pogo

    Titan II vibrated lengthwise during early test flights. This pogo motion threatened astronauts’ ability to respond in an emergency and had to be reduced for Gemini.

    p. 104 · NASA history: qualifying Titan for Gemini (opens a new tab)

12. Standpipe

    A standpipe was part of the Titan II fix for pogo vibration. Together with a fuel surge chamber, it reduced pressure pulses in the propellant system.

    NASA chronology: Titan manufacture and tests (opens a new tab)

13. Static Test

    Before revised Titan II hardware flew, engineers tested it in ground firings. These static tests helped investigate the link between the rocket’s structure and its propulsion system.

    NASA chronology: Titan manufacture and tests (opens a new tab)

14. Titan

    An Air Force Titan II missile design was adapted for Gemini. The modified launcher carried all ten crewed missions in 1965 and 1966.

    Did you know?

    The photograph shows Gemini 1, an uncrewed test. It flew in April 1964, before a second uncrewed mission in January 1965 and the first astronaut crew.

    Smithsonian: Gemini-Titan II history (opens a new tab) · NASA: Gemini’s program and Pad 19 (opens a new tab)

15. Two Stage

    Titan II had a lower first stage and an upper second stage. After the stages separated, the upper stage continued carrying Gemini toward orbit.

    Smithsonian: Gemini-Titan II history (opens a new tab) · NASA history: qualifying Titan for Gemini (opens a new tab)