Gemini 1

Gemini 1

Launch of Gemini 1
Mission type	Test flight
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1964-018A
SATCAT no.	782
Mission duration	4 hours 50 minutes
Distance travelled	1,733,541 miles (2,789,864 km)
Orbits completed	63
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Gemini SC1
Manufacturer	McDonnell
Launch mass	7,026 pounds (3,187 kg) (11,400 pounds (5,170 kg) with 2nd stage)
Start of mission
Launch date	April 8, 1964, 16:01:01.69 (1964-04-08UTC16:01:01Z) UTC
Rocket	Titan II GLV, s/n 62-12556
Launch site	Cape Kennedy LC-19
End of mission
Disposal	Uncontrolled reentry
Decay date	April 12, 1964, 15:00:00 (1964-04-12UTC16Z) UTC
Landing site	Middle of South Atlantic Ocean
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	84 nautical miles (155 km)
Apogee altitude	146 nautical miles (271 km)
Inclination	32.5 degrees
Period	88.76 minutes
Epoch	April 10, 1964[1]
Project Gemini Gemini 2 →

Gemini 1 was the first mission in NASA's Gemini program.^[2] An uncrewed test flight of the Gemini spacecraft, its main objectives were to test the structural integrity of the new spacecraft and modified Titan II launch vehicle. It was also the first test of the new tracking and communication systems for the Gemini program and provided training for the ground support crews for the first crewed missions.^[3]

Originally scheduled for launch in December 1963, difficulties in the development of both the spacecraft and its booster caused four months of delay. Gemini 1 was launched from Launch Complex 19 at Cape Kennedy (now Canaveral), Florida on April 8, 1964. The spacecraft stayed attached to the second stage of the rocket. The mission lasted for three orbits while test data were taken, but the spacecraft stayed in space for almost 64 orbits until its orbit decayed due to atmospheric drag. The spacecraft was not intended to be recovered, and holes were drilled through its heat shield to ensure it would not survive re-entry.