Project Gemini and the Apollo Moon Deadline

Astronaut Ed White floats in the microgravity of space outside the Gemini IV spacecraft. Behind him is the brilliant blue Earth and its white cloud cover. White is wearing a specially-designed space suit. The visor of the helmet is gold plated to protect him against the unfiltered rays of the sun. In his left hand is a Hand-Held Self-Maneuvering Unit with which he controls his movements in space. Credit: NASA/Jim McDivitt.

Project Mercury led to Project Gemini and this is where we continue our historical series of the Apollo program on the Terranauts podcast.

In this episode of Terranauts we are back to talking about Project Gemini.  With the accolades from Ed White’s stunning spacewalk still ringing in their ears, the team needed to go back to work to continue their mission of getting NASA ready for the Apollo program and its date with destiny on the surface of the Moon.  By the time Gemini IV landed less than 4 and half years remained for NASA to meet President Kennedy’s deadline.  And there were a lot of things NASA did not yet know how to do.

About Iain Christie

Founder and CEO at SideKickSixtyFive Consulting and host of the Terranauts podcast. Iain is a seasoned business executive with deep understanding of the space business and government procurement policy. Iain worked for 22 years at Neptec including as CEO. He was a VP at the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, is a mentor at the Creative Destruction Lab and a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management.

Leave a Reply