craft.
While there were no serious proposals for sending the Gemini spacecraft to the moon after 1965, a few more in-house studies did take place; there was some discussion of using the Gemini spacecraft as a potential landing vehicle to provide a rescue capability for a stranded Apollo lander. Similar studies suggested the use of the Gemini capsule in a logistic role. Both faltered on the illogic of developing two lunar landing systems when by then, the Apollo landing system was well-developed.
The studies commissioned between 1961-65 did prove definitively that a Lunar Gemini project was feasible. The reality of the situation was that those who rejected the plan were quite correct – it would have adversely affected the work taking place on Apollo. If a cheaper lunar alternative existed, especially one that promised to get America to the moon earlier than the more expensive Apollo, then enormous pressure would have been imposed on the NASA Administration to adopt the plan.
Obviously, the effect on NASA during the 1960s would have been extremely wide-ranging. While Apollo would not necessarily have been cancelled – its more advanced capabilities being obvious – it would certainly have experienced considerable delay, intended instead as a longer-term replacement for the Gemini. Running two lunar programs in parallel would have proven extremely difficult; even with the required funding, the trained and experienced manpower for both programs would have been difficult to obtain. One more likely casualty would have been the Saturn V; nothing larger than the Saturn IB would have been required for the Lunar Gemini program, and the only perceived mission for the Saturn V was the lunar flight.
The Gemini flights could have been divided into two stages. The first stage would have appeared similar to the flights as planned; it is highly unlikely that the abbreviated Gemini program could have accomplished all the needed goals, so the longer program would have been required. These first flights would have needed to satisfy the same requirements for rendezvous and docking, as well as proving the durational flights. It can be assumed that these flights would have flown between 1965-66.
The second series of flights would have used an upgraded Gemini model, referenced in the planning documents as 'Gemini L'. This would have had a strengthened heat shield, and probably an improved computer to allow for navigation across the translunar void. The original study called for two launches, the second sending the Centaur stage into orbit as a booster, but the other option – using a Saturn IB to send the complex around the moon in a single launch – was also realistic. Given the conflicting Air Force requirements for the Titan, and the advanced development work on the Saturn IB, it seems likely that the latter option would have been employed; 1967 could have seen American astronauts flying around the moon, probably at least twice. A lunar orbital mission could have followed early in the following year, a requirement before a landing mission could have taken place.
As for the landing on the moon, the 1961 plan called for the creation of a 'stripped-down' landing craft. The Apollo LM was redesigned constantly in order to save weight; a Gemini LM would have had to be even lighter, little more than a skeleton with a propulsion system attached to it. It is probable that it would have been an 'open' lander, something along the lines of the Surveyor, with no pressurised cabin. This would have provided a magnificent view for the astronaut as he descended to the moon, but there would have been very little margin of error as he descended, and his stay time would have been considerably reduced.
Chamberlin's original proposal called for the lunar landing to take place on Gemini 16; this seems extremely unlikely; in Apollo, there were two lunar module test flights, one in Earth orbit and one in Lunar orbit. Unless some sort of a
While there were no serious proposals for sending the Gemini spacecraft to the moon after 1965, a few more in-house studies did take place; there was some discussion of using the Gemini spacecraft as a potential landing vehicle to provide a rescue capability for a stranded Apollo lander. Similar studies suggested the use of the Gemini capsule in a logistic role. Both faltered on the illogic of developing two lunar landing systems when by then, the Apollo landing system was well-developed.
The studies commissioned between 1961-65 did prove definitively that a Lunar Gemini project was feasible. The reality of the situation was that those who rejected the plan were quite correct – it would have adversely affected the work taking place on Apollo. If a cheaper lunar alternative existed, especially one that promised to get America to the moon earlier than the more expensive Apollo, then enormous pressure would have been imposed on the NASA Administration to adopt the plan.
Obviously, the effect on NASA during the 1960s would have been extremely wide-ranging. While Apollo would not necessarily have been cancelled – its more advanced capabilities being obvious – it would certainly have experienced considerable delay, intended instead as a longer-term replacement for the Gemini. Running two lunar programs in parallel would have proven extremely difficult; even with the required funding, the trained and experienced manpower for both programs would have been difficult to obtain. One more likely casualty would have been the Saturn V; nothing larger than the Saturn IB would have been required for the Lunar Gemini program, and the only perceived mission for the Saturn V was the lunar flight.
The Gemini flights could have been divided into two stages. The first stage would have appeared similar to the flights as planned; it is highly unlikely that the abbreviated Gemini program could have accomplished all the needed goals, so the longer program would have been required. These first flights would have needed to satisfy the same requirements for rendezvous and docking, as well as proving the durational flights. It can be assumed that these flights would have flown between 1965-66.
The second series of flights would have used an upgraded Gemini model, referenced in the planning documents as 'Gemini L'. This would have had a strengthened heat shield, and probably an improved computer to allow for navigation across the translunar void. The original study called for two launches, the second sending the Centaur stage into orbit as a booster, but the other option – using a Saturn IB to send the complex around the moon in a single launch – was also realistic. Given the conflicting Air Force requirements for the Titan, and the advanced development work on the Saturn IB, it seems likely that the latter option would have been employed; 1967 could have seen American astronauts flying around the moon, probably at least twice. A lunar orbital mission could have followed early in the following year, a requirement before a landing mission could have taken place.
As for the landing on the moon, the 1961 plan called for the creation of a 'stripped-down' landing craft. The Apollo LM was redesigned constantly in order to save weight; a Gemini LM would have had to be even lighter, little more than a skeleton with a propulsion system attached to it. It is probable that it would have been an 'open' lander, something along the lines of the Surveyor, with no pressurised cabin. This would have provided a magnificent view for the astronaut as he descended to the moon, but there would have been very little margin of error as he descended, and his stay time would have been considerably reduced.
Chamberlin's original proposal called for the lunar landing to take place on Gemini 16; this seems extremely unlikely; in Apollo, there were two lunar module test flights, one in Earth orbit and one in Lunar orbit. Unless some sort of a
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