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Gemini B RM
Part of MOL

Gemini B Hatch

Gemini B Hatch
View of Gemini B hatch in heat shield, as seen from the interior. Compare it with the equivalent hatch in the Soviet TKS manned spacecraft.
Credit: © Peter Bednar

American manned spacecraft. Cancelled 1969. Gemini was extensively redesigned for the MOL Manned Orbiting Laboratory program. The resulting Gemini B, although externally similar, was essentially a completely new spacecraft. Reentry capsule.

AKA: Reentry Module. Status: Cancelled 1969. Gross mass: 1,983 kg (4,371 lb). Unfuelled mass: 1,950 kg (4,290 lb). Specific impulse: 283 s. Height: 3.35 m (10.99 ft). Diameter: 2.32 m (7.61 ft).

Gemini B was not designed to fly separately, but rather was launched with the crew aboard attached to the manned orbiting laboratory. After reaching orbit, the crew would shut down the capsules systems and put them into hibernation. They would crawl through an 0.635 m diameter hatch in the heat shield, leading to a tunnel that accessed the MOL itself. After thirty days of operations, the crew would return to the Gemini B, separate from the MOL, and reenter the atmosphere. Gemini B had only 14 hours of 'loiter capability' for autonomous operations after separation from the MOL.

Many changes were made from the original NASA Gemini, including:

Gemini B would have been flown alone, without an active MOL, unmanned, in two qualification test launches of the Titan 3M booster prior to the first manned MOL flight.

Crew Size: 2. Orbital Storage: 40 days. Habitable Volume: 2.55 m3. Structure: 638 kg (1,406 lb). Heat shield: 144 kg (317 lb). Reaction Control System: 133 kg (293 lb). Recovery Equipment: 98 kg (216 lb). Navigation Equipment: 63 kg (138 lb). Telemetry Equipment: 51 kg (112 lb). Electrical Equipment: 126 kg (277 lb). Communications Systems: 26 kg (57 lb). Crew Seats and Provisions: 426 kg (939 lb). Crew: 144 kg (317 lb). Miscellaneous Contingency: 100 kg (220 lb). RCS Fine No x Thrust: 16 x 98 N. RCS specific impulse: 283 sec. RCS total impulse: 90 kgf-sec. Electric System: 4.00 kWh. Battery: 180.00 Ah.



Family: Manned spacecraft, Space station orbit. People: McDonnell. Country: USA. Spacecraft: MOL. Launch Vehicles: Titan. Propellants: N2O4/MMH. Agency: USAF. Bibliography: 137, 2174.
Photo Gallery

MOLMOL
Manned Orbiting Laboratory, Final Design
Credit: © Mark Wade


Gemini BGemini B
Gemini B cross-section
Credit: McDonnell Douglas


Gemini B PanelGemini B Panel
Gemini B control panel, as would be used in the MOL project, showing numerous changes from NASA Gemini.
Credit: Glen Swanson


Gemini B InteriorGemini B Interior
View of Gemini B control panel. The panel differs substantially from that of NASA's Gemini spacecraft for the MOL mission.
Credit: © Peter Bednar


Gemini B HatchGemini B Hatch
View of Gemini B hatch in heat shield. A prototype was tested on the reflight of Gemini 2; it melted shut during re-entry, providing the validity of the rather scary concept...
Credit: © Peter Bednar



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