America's initial manned program was project Mercury, where each flight carried a single astronaut. Early on, after the decision to go to the moon had been made, work was begun on the Apollo spacecraft, which were designed for three astronauts. Along the way it was decided that an intermediate program was needed, hence the Gemini program was born. As indicated by the program name, Gemini carried two astronauts. Since it began after the other programs, the Gemini spacecraft were actually more technologically advanced than the following Apollo capsules which went to the moon.
Posted by Ted at January 9, 2005 10:12 AM | TrackBackAs much of a "moon race nut" as I am, I actually did not know the Gemini craft were designed after Apollo. See...I alweays learn stuff here!