Tag Archives: Gemini
Three Canopies into the Pacific: Coming Home during Project Apollo
Since July 24 is the 48th anniversary of the return from space of Apollo 11, here is a short account the return via parachutes of the Apollo spacecraft. For all of the earlier work on the Gemini Earth landing system … Continue reading
Remembering the Gemini Program
Since it is the fiftieth anniversary of the the end of the Gemini program in 1966, with the flight of Gemini XII on November 12-15, I thought it appropriate to reflect on what I refer to as the middle child … Continue reading
Humanity and the Extreme Environment of Space
Although microbial life might survive the extreme conditions of space, for Homo sapien sapiens the space environment remains remarkably dangerous to life. One space life scientist, Vadim Rygalov, remarked that ensuring human life during spaceflight was largely about providing the … Continue reading
Recalling the First Rendezvous in Space
It seems hard to believe but 50 years ago the first rendezvous in space took place in December 1965 when Gemini VI and Gemini VII met in orbit. Those were heady times; the U.S. was on the way to the Moon and … Continue reading
A Short History of Reentry and Recovery from Space in Less than 1,000 Words
The atmosphere surrounding the Earth and supporting life here makes spaceflight harder than it would be if it did not exist. It is said, only half-jokingly, that getting to orbit is like getting “halfway to anywhere” because of the energy … Continue reading
Covering Apollo: Jules Bergman at ABC News
The son of New York business people Irving and Ruth B. Bergman, Jules Verne Bergman was born to cover the Apollo program in the 1960s and early 1970s. Educated in journalism Bergman went to work for CBS, then Time magazine, … Continue reading
A Chronology of Key Space Anniversaries for 2014
There are many anniversaries every year, some truly significant and others of a more mundane nature. What follows is a short chronology of anniversaries taking place in 2014 relating to the spaceflight community. It is not an exhaustive list, but … Continue reading
International Prestige and Soft Power in the History of Spaceflight
Almost from the beginning of thought about the potential of flight in space, theorists believed that the activity would garner worldwide prestige for those accomplishing it. For example, in 1946 the newly-established RAND Corporation published the study, a Preliminary Design … Continue reading
Roger Launius's Blog 