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

48 First Steps into Space: Projects Mercury and Gemini
Conclusion
By the end of the Gemini program in the fall of 1966, orbital rendezvous and
docking had become routine: astronauts could perform spacewalks; it seemed
clear that humans could live, work, and stay healthy in space for several weeks
at a time. Above all, the program had added nearly 1,000 hours of valuable
spaceflight experience in the years between Mercury and Apollo, which by 1966
was nearing flight readiness. In every instance, NASA had enhanced the role
of the astronauts as critical fliers of spacecraft, a role that would become even
more significant in the accomplishment of the Moon landings between 1969
and 1972. Additionally, as a technological learning program, Gemini had been
a success with 52 different experiments performed on the 10 missions. The bank
of data acquired from Gemini helped to bridge the gap between Mercury and
what would be required to complete Apollo within the time constraints directed
by the President (I-72, I-73). 149
149 Robert C. Seamans, Jr., Deputy Administrator, NASA, Memorandum for Associate
Administrators, Assistant Associate Administrators, and Field Center Directors, NASA, “Gemini
Program; Record of Accomplishments, Attached,” 17 January 1967, with attached: “Project Gemini
Summary”; George E. Mueller, Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, NASA, “Gemini
Summary Conference,” 1–2 February 1967. Folder 18674, NASA Historical Reference Collection,
NASA History Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC; Gemini Summary Conference
(Washington, DC: NASA SP-138, 1967); Linda Ezell, NASA Historical Data Book, Vol. II, pp. 149–170.