Gemini Program History Propelled by the Titan Launch Vehicle

HACKER, Barton C. and GRIMWOOD, James M. On the Shoulders of Titans, A History of Project Gemini. NASA SP-4203. Washington: 1977. xx, 308 pp. 9 3/4 by 6 3/4 inches. Original green printed wrappers.

SIGNED and INSCRIBED on the half-title page: “BUZZ ALDRIN, GT 12; RICHARD GORDON, GT-XI” and “JIM ELMS.” SIGNED and INSCRIBED on the frontispiece: “GORDON COOPER, Gemini V Cdr; CHARLES CONRAD, Gemini V & XI; WALLY SCHIRRA, GT VI” and “TOM STAFFORD, Gemini VI, IX.” These include the signatures from the Gemini 5, 6, and 11 flight crews.

Related lots: 75 & 76

Describes the need for a flight program to bridge the gap between Mercury and the Apollo lunar landing program. Covers spacecraft and launch vehicle development with their associated management challenges. Extensive descriptions of each manned flight are included plus the operations with the Agena target vehicle that allowed rendezvous and docking critical to Apollo development. Numerous color photographs with drawings and diagrams. Several appendixes cover astronaut flight assignments, experiment data, program costs, data tracking network, and Department of Defense support.