Gemini 3 (GT-3), launched on March 23, 1965, was the first crewed mission of the Gemini program, carrying astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John Young. The flight focused on testing the maneuverability of the new Gemini spacecraft. During the mission, the crew completed three low Earth orbits in their capsule, named "Molly Brown". Although Gemini 3 marked the first U.S. spaceflight with two astronauts, it followed the Soviet Union’s
Voskhod 1 mission, which had already carried a three-person crew into space in late 1964.
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| A GT-3 launch cover from "Orbit Covers" postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on March 23, 1965, signed by Gus Grissom and John Young. - RegencyStamps |
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| Photo: John Young and Gus Grissom inspect the booster of the Gemini-Titan rocket. |
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| A cover depicts the prime and backup crew of the first Gemini flight, postmarked at Houston, Tex on April 13, 1964. |
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| Photo: Gemini 3 prime crew members Gus Grissom and John Young, alongside backup crew astronauts Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford. |
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| Photo: Gemini 3 astronauts John Young and Gus Grissom reviewing weather charts the day before launch. |
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| A GT-3 launch cover from "Centennial", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on March 23, 1965. |
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| Photo: Gus Grissom having breakfast before his Gemini orbital mission. |
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| Photo: The Gemini 3 crew preparing for launch on March 23, 1965. |
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| A GT-3 launch cover from "Astro Covers", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on March 23, 1965. |
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| Photo: Liftoff of the first crewed Gemini spaceflight on March 23, 1965. |
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| A GT-3 launch cover from "Astro Covers", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on March 23, 1965. |
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| Photo: U.S. President Johnson observing the launch of the Gemini 3 spaceflight. |
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| A GT-3 tracking station cover from "Manned Space Flight Tracking Network", postmarked at Corpus Christi with a machine cancel on March 23, 1965. During the first orbit over Corpus Christi, Texas, Grissom carried out the first orbital maneuver by a crewed spacecraft, achieving a nearly circular orbit of about 158 x 169 km. |
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| Photo: Technicians and scientists in mission control center monitoring the astronauts during their spaceflight. |
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| Photo: Images of Earth captured by John Young during the Gemini 3 mission. |
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| A GT-3 tracking station cover from "Herbert M. Buran", postmarked at Grand Turk Island with a hand cancel on March 23, 1965. |
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| Photo: The Gemini 3 capsule, Molly Brown, splashing down north of Grand Turk Island on March 23, 1965. |
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| A GT-3 splashdown cover from "Astro Covers", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on March 23, 1965. |
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| Photo: "Molly Brown" being hoisted from the ocean onto the recovery ship USS Intrepid. |
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| A GT-3 recovery cover featuring a magenta “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Intrepid with an extremely rare hand cancel, dated March 23, 1965. |
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| A GT-3 recovery cover featuring a magenta “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Intrepid with an extremely rare hand cancel, dated March 23, 1965. This recovery ship cover is distinguished by two significant rarities: the hand cancel and the exceptionally rare crew signatures of Gus Grissom and John Young. - RRAuction |
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| A GT-3 recovery cover featuring a magenta “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Intrepid with a machine cancel on March 23, 1965, signed by the commanding officer, Captain J. G. Smith. |
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| A GT-3 Crew Cover (Type B) from "Morris Beck", postmarked aboard USS Intrepid with a machine cancel on March 23, 1965. Only 25 covers with this printed cachet without the "B" number exist. |
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| Photo: Aboard the USS Intrepid, astronaut Virgil Grissom cuts a large piece of cake with a saber, entertaining Rear Admiral Donald M. White, commander of the recovery forces that retrieved the astronauts and their capsule after the Atlantic splashdown on March 23, 1965. |
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| A GT-3 Crew Cover (Type 2) on ship's stationery from the USS Intrepid featuring a magenta “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Intrepid with a machine cancel on March 23, 1965. |
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| A GT-3 recovery cover featuring an illustrated Gemini spacecraft, postmarked aboard the USS Intrepid with a machine cancel on March 23, 1965. |
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| A cover depicts Grisson and Young return to Cape Kennedy, postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base with a machine cancel on March 25, 1965. |
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| Photo: Gemini 3 astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young meeting U.S. President Johnson at the White House on March 26, 1965. |
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| Photo: On March 29, 1965, John Young and Gus Grissom were presented with United Nations “Peaceful Uses of Outer Space” stamps, signed by U.N. Secretary-General U Thant. |
(Reference from
Gemini 3)
