Gemini 3

The words

1. Blackout

   Ionized gas around Gemini 3 interrupted radio contact during reentry. The mission included a communications experiment to investigate this temporary blackout.

   NASA: Gemini 3’s first crewed flight (opens a new tab) · NASA history: the cockpit and first flight (opens a new tab)

2. Command Pilot

   The commander of the two-person Gemini crew.

   Gus Grissom served as command pilot on Gemini 3, bringing experience from his Mercury flight. John Young occupied the other seat as pilot.

   NASA: the crew and mission overview (opens a new tab)

3. Corned Beef

   John Young brought an unauthorized corned-beef sandwich and offered some to Grissom. The brief inflight meal later prompted questions in Congress about flight discipline.

   Did you know?

   Wally Schirra, the backup command pilot, picked up the sandwich for Young before launch. It came from a local restaurant.

   NASA: the unauthorized sandwich (opens a new tab)

4. Corpus Christi

   The Corpus Christi station in Texas belonged to Gemini’s tracking network. The crew performed its first orbit-changing maneuver while passing over the station.

   NASA: Corpus Christi and the sunrise (opens a new tab)

5. Crumbs

   The sandwich’s rye bread began breaking apart. Grissom put it away to limit loose crumbs, which could drift toward their eyes or behind instruments.

   NASA Ames: crumbs and the egg experiment (opens a new tab)

6. Faceplate

   During descent under parachute, the capsule shifted abruptly into its landing attitude. The jolt broke Grissom’s helmet faceplate and scratched Young’s before the spacecraft touched water.

   p. 236 · NASA history: the cockpit and first flight (opens a new tab)

7. Gemini Three

   Gemini 3 carried Grissom and Young into orbit on March 23, 1965. Their three-orbit mission was the first crewed test of the new spacecraft.

   Did you know?

   An American flag carried on Gemini 3 was raised at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston and flown there during subsequent Gemini missions.

   NASA: Gemini 3’s first crewed flight (opens a new tab)

8. Gusmobile

   An informal name for Gemini, after Gus Grissom.

   Grissom worked closely with McDonnell’s engineers on Gemini’s cockpit. Early cabins fitted his relatively small frame, and larger astronauts needed changes to their seats and hatches.

   p. 220 · NASA history: the cockpit and first flight (opens a new tab)

9. John Young

   John Young piloted Gemini 3 alongside Mercury veteran Grissom. The flight made Young the first member of NASA’s second astronaut group to reach space.

   NASA: Gemini 3’s first crewed flight (opens a new tab)

10. Molly Brown

    The nickname came from the Broadway musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown. After Liberty Bell 7 sank, Grissom favored an unsinkable name for his next spacecraft.

    p. 233 · NASA history: the cockpit and first flight (opens a new tab)

11. Orbit Change

    Gemini 3 changed both the shape and tilt of its orbit. These controlled maneuvers tested a capability later crews would need for rendezvous and docking.

    NASA: Gemini 3’s first crewed flight (opens a new tab)

12. Sea Urchin

    Sea-urchin eggs were carried to study cell growth in weightlessness. The experiment could not be completed because its operating handle broke.

    NASA Ames: crumbs and the egg experiment (opens a new tab) · NASA: the crew and mission overview (opens a new tab)

13. Space Food

    Gemini 3 tested food packaging, including rehydration and disposal of used containers. Its approved menu included chicken bites, applesauce, drinks, and compressed brownie bites.

    NASA: the unauthorized sandwich (opens a new tab)

14. Sunrise

    During the first orbit, Grissom pointed out the sunrise and prompted Young to take pictures. Earth observation accompanied the crew’s tests of the new spacecraft.

    NASA: Corpus Christi and the sunrise (opens a new tab)

15. Titanic

    When NASA questioned Molly Brown’s dignity as a spacecraft name, Grissom offered Titanic as his second choice. Molly Brown remained the mission’s unofficial nickname.

    p. 233 · NASA history: the cockpit and first flight (opens a new tab)