Gemini 3

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Gemini 3

Astronauts John Young and Gus Grissom walk up the ramp leading to the elevator that will carry them to the spacecraft for the first crewed Gemini mission
Mission type	Test flight
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1965-024A
SATCAT no.	1301
Mission duration	4 hours, 52 minutes, 31 seconds
Distance travelled	128,748 kilometers (80,000 mi)
Orbits completed	3
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Gemini SC3
Manufacturer	McDonnell
Launch mass	3,237 kilograms (7,136 lb)
Crew
Crew size	2
Members	Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom John W. Young
Callsign	Molly Brown
Start of mission
Launch date	March 23, 1965, 14:24:00 (1965-03-23UTC14:24Z) UTC
Rocket	Titan II GLV, s/n 62-12558
Launch site	Cape Kennedy LC-19
End of mission
Recovered by	USS Intrepid
Landing date	March 23, 1965, 19:16:31 (1965-03-23UTC19:16:32Z) UTC
Landing site	22°26′N 70°51′W / 22.433°N 70.850°W / 22.433; -70.850 (Gemini 3 splashdown)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	161 kilometers (87 nmi)
Apogee altitude	225 kilometers (121 nmi)
Inclination	32.6 degrees
Period	88.35 minutes
Epoch	March 23, 1965[1]
Gemini III Patch (L-R) Grissom, Young Project Gemini ← Gemini 2 Gemini 4 →

Gemini 3 was the first crewed mission in NASA's Project Gemini and was the first time two American astronauts flew together into space. On March 23, 1965, astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young flew three low Earth orbits in their spacecraft, which they nicknamed Molly Brown. It was the first U.S. mission in which the crew fired thrusters to change the size and shape of their orbit, a key test of spacecraft maneuverability vital for planned flights to the Moon. It was also the final crewed flight controlled from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station in Florida, before mission control functions were moved to a new control center at the newly opened Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas.