Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in ... - The Black Vault

38 First Steps into Space: Projects Mercury and Gemini
The Gemini program emerged full-blown in October 1961 from a working group
of NASA and McDonnell engineers. They developed a detailed project development
plan that incorporated the following philosophy as central to the effort (I-49):
In general, the philosophy used in the conception of this project is
to make maximum use of available hardware, basically developed for
other programs, modified to meet the needs of this project. In this way,
requirements for hardware development and qualification are minimized
and timely implementation of the project is assured.
Another fundamental concept is that in the design of the spacecraft,
all systems will be modularized and made independent of each other as
much as possible. In this way, an evolutionary process of product improvement
and mission adaptation may be implemented with a minimum
of time and effort. Thus, it will be possible to use equipment of varying
degrees of sophistication as it becomes available and as the mission
requirements are tightened. It is important that a minimum of lead time
can be obtained by making use of the latest hardware developments. This
concept will make possible the attainment of mission and permits reasonable
compromises to be made in the face of difficulties rather than excessive
delays that otherwise might be required to meet the full objectives.
This project will provide a versatile spacecraft/booster combination
which will be capable of performing a variety of missions. It will be a
fitting vehicle for conducting further experiments rather than be the
object of experiments. For instance, the rendezvous techniques developed
for the spacecraft might allow its use as a vehicle for resupply or
inspection of orbiting laboratories or space stations, orbital rescue, personnel
transfer, and spacecraft repair. 120
It took only a little longer for the Gemini name to be attached to the program;
by early January 1962 the new program received its official moniker, chosen
because of its reference to classical mythology and the “twins,” which D. Brainerd
Holmes, NASA’s Director of Manned Spaceflight, thought most appropriate for
the two-person spacecraft. Associate Administrator Robert Seamans presented
a bottle of Scotch whiskey to the first person to suggest Gemini as the project’s
name, engineer Al Nagy (I-50, I-51). 121
The Gemini spacecraft was a marked improvement on the Mercury capsule. It
was 19 feet long (5.8 meters), 10 feet (3 meters) in diameter, and weighed about
120. NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, “Project Development Plan for Rendezvous Development
Utilizing the Mark II Two Man Spacecraft,” 8 December 1961. Folder 18674, NASA Historical
Reference Collection, NASA History Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.
121. Al Nagy, NASA, to George Low, NASA, 11 December 1961; D. Brainerd Holmes, NASA
Director of Manned Spaceflight Programs, Memorandum for NASA Associate Administrator,
“Naming Mercury-Mark II Project,” 16 December 1961; D. B. Holmes, Director of Manned
Spaceflight, NASA, Memorandum for the Associate Administrator, NASA, “Naming the Mercury
Mark II Program,” 2 January 1961. Folder 18674, NASA Historical Reference Collection, NASA
History Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.