Gemini III launched with two astronauts onboard. The Gemini Program was initiated in January 1962 as the intermediate step between the Mercury and Apollo Programs. The Gemini Program was developed to determine astronauts’ reaction to long duration flights, develop rendezvous and docking methods, and establish landing and reentry techniques. Gemini III tested the new upgraded Manned Space Flight Network (the Mercury Space Flight Network renamed and upgraded to the Manned Space Flight Network), as well as the UHF and C-band antennas during the black out of communications. Computers were becoming a more prominent part of the network and began to streamline the data acquisition process. This relieved the need for a person to stand next to the machine and analyze the data.
› Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon› SCaN History of the 1960’s