Original NASA Project Gemini Training Console
Taking place between 1961 and 1966, Project Gemini's purpose was to develop space travel techniques for the Apollo mission to land astronauts on the Moon. The project produced 12 flights, 10 of them manned, carrying icons like Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. Before the astronauts boarded the spacecraft, they trained at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston on this attitude and maneuver control system. The console mimicked the instruments inside Gemini and simulated the systems so crew members could control the spacecraft before liftoff. Built by Burtek Inc. for McDonnell in 1963, the console features an 8-foot wide instrument panel, a gimbal system, central joystick, and instructor's control panel all mounted on a 6 x 3 foot base with casters.
Photos: Bonhams
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