I am a retired engineer in the aerospace industry and a student of space history. I started my career at McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis and was able to obtain a lot of old material from their Mercury and Gemini programs. This website is devoted to my research into Gemini missions and concepts that never materialized.
Most space buffs are familiar with the Gemini B that the USAF planned to use as part of the Manned Orbiting Lab (MOL). There was also the early plan to bring Gemini missions back to dry land via a parasail landing system. Neither of these were much different from the NASA version but neither came to be.
But there were also many studies for Gemini versions like:
- Big G – a six-person (or more) Gemini intended for space station logistics.
- Winged Gemini – a standard capsule with a wing based on the ASSET shape.
- Lunar Rescue Gemini – various concepts for lunar missions.
My goal is to discover the details of the story behind these concepts. Who worked on them, were they government-funded or purely in-house studies, were they related to each other, etc. Anyone with any info on these programs is welcome to contact me at:
mike at spaceinminiature dot com
The Lost Missions of Gemini 