OTD in Space – March 31: NASA Approves Gemini Spacecraft Design

On March 31, 1962, NASA approved the design of the new Gemini spacecraft. [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com]

This small capsule could carry two astronauts into space at a time. NASA created the Gemini program to help the U.S. get ready for the Apollo missions that would later send astronauts to the moon. The Gemini spacecraft was designed by the Canadian engineer Jim Chamberlin and built by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. The design was pretty much a bigger version of the capsules NASA used for Project Mercury. Each capsule was shaped like a bell and measured about 19 feet long and 10 feet wide. Over the course of 10 missions, 16 astronauts flew to space in these cramped capsules.