Gemini SC-2

Gemini SC-2 (Spacecraft No. 2) was the second NASA Project Gemini full-up reentry capsule built. This McDonnell Gemini capsule was the first space capsule to be reused, flying twice in suborbital flights. SC-2 flew on Gemini 2 and OPS 0855 flights. The capsule is currently on display at the Air Force Space and Missile Museum at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.[1]

SC-2
Gemini SC-2 on display
TypeReentry capsule
Test article
ClassGemini
ManufacturerMcDonnell
Manufactured1964
Flight history
First flightGemini 2
January 19, 1965
Last flightOPS 0855
November 3, 1966
Flights2
Preserved atAir Force Space and Missile Museum

Spacecraft history

The capsule is part of the collection of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.[2]

On 19 January 1965, the Gemini 2 suborbital test mission was launched, with the second prototype Gemini capsule.[3][4]

In March 1965, NASA approved the transfer of the Gemini 2 capsule to the USAF for modification into the first prototype of the Gemini B capsule.[5]

On 3 November 1965, the first Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) and Gemini B suborbital test mission was launched.[5] Thus, if one doesn't count the Mercury capsule used on flights Mercury-Redstone 1 and Mercury-Redstone 1A, the Mercury capsule used on test flights Little Joe 5A and Little Joe 5B, or the Mercury capsule used on flights Mercury-Atlas 3 and Mercury Atlas 4, it became the only reentry capsule of the United States to be reflown.[6] It is also the first capsule to ever be flown twice in space.[7]

The capsule was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, as part of the National Air and Space Museum collection.[2]

The a mock-up of the Gemini B capsule was put on display in the Allan and Malcolm Lockheed and Glenn Martin Space Gallery at the National Museum of the USAF in 2016.[2]

The flown Gemini SC-2 capsule was put on display in the exhibit hall of the Air Force Space and Missile Museum of the USAF in 2017.[3]

Flight history
Flight № Mission Launch date (UTC) Launch Landing Notes
1 Gemini 2 19 January 1965 NASA Mission [3][4][5]
2 OPS 0855 3 November 1966 USAF Mission; first reflight of a previously flown reentry capsule [3][4][5]

See also
  • Falcon 9 booster B1021 – the first Falcon 9 first stage booster to be reused for a space launch mission
  • McDonnell Douglas DC-X – Prototype single-stage-to-orbit rocket, 1990s
  • New Shepard – Rocket developed by Blue Origin
  • SpaceShipOne – Suborbital air-launched spaceplane
  • Dragon C106 – the first Dragon capsule to be reused for a spaceflight mission

References
  1. USAF (23 May 2020). "Gemini Spacecraft". National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
  2. USAF (4 April 2016). "Gemini Spacecraft". National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
  3. USAF (2017). "Gemini Capsule". Air Force Space and Missile Museum.
  4. "Gemini-B: NASA-Gemini's Air Force Twin" (PDF). Historic Space Systems Infosheet. No. 1. Historic Space Systems. September 1996.
  5. Amy Shira Teitel (3 November 2015). "The Manned Orbiting Laboratory the Air Force Failed to Launch". Popular Science.
  6. James Dean (3 November 2016). "50 years ago, Air Force 'MOL' program launched only mission". Florida Today.
  7. Terry Roen (3 November 2016). "Air Force celebrates 50th anniversary of Gemini launch". Orlando Rising.

Further reading
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