Gemini 5 (GT-5), launched on August 21, 1965, was the third crewed flight of the Gemini program, piloted by Gordon Cooper and Charles "Pete" Conrad. This mission doubled the U.S. space-flight record set by Gemini 4, lasting eight days—the same duration required for a lunar mission, including landing and returning. This achievement was made possible by new fuel cells that provided sufficient electricity for longer missions, marking a crucial advancement for future Apollo flights, in contrast to the chemical batteries used in earlier crewed spacecraft. Additionally, Gemini 5 became the first American crewed mission to hold the world record for flight duration, surpassing the Soviet Union's Vostok 5 record set in 1963 on August 26, 1965. The mission was cut short, however, due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Betsy.
 |
| A Gemini 5 cover from "Orbit Covers," featuring a launch day postmark. The Gemini 5 mission doubled the U.S. space-flight record set by Gemini 4, achieving eight days in space—approximately the time it would take to fly to the Moon, land, and return. This cover is signed by Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad and was canceled in Cape Canaveral on launch day, August 21, 1965. |
 |
| Photo: Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad in space suits during training for the Gemini 5 flight. |
Cooper and Conrad were scheduled to conduct a practice space rendezvous with a "pod" released from the spacecraft. However, issues with the electrical supply necessitated a switch to a simpler "phantom rendezvous," where the Gemini craft maneuvered to a predetermined location in space instead.
 |
 |
| Photo: Charles Conrad and Gordon Cooper explaining the concept of the Radar Evaluation Pod (REP). |
 |
| A Gemini 5 launch cover, postmarked at Cape Canaveral on August 21, 1965. |
 |
| Photo: Technicians getting the Gemini 5 crew and their spacecraft ready for launch on August 21, 1965. |
 |
| Photo: US President Johnson watching the launch of the Gemini 5 space flight on August 21, 1965. |
 |
| Two Gemini 5 official NASA cachet covers are featured here: one with a Kennedy Space Center machine cancel and the other with a hand cancel. This represents the first NASA cachet used for manned flight. |
 |
| Photo: The Gemini 5 crew captured this photo of the eastern coast of Florida and the Bahama Islands, with Cape Kennedy positioned at the tip of the coastline's bulge. |
 |
 |
| Photo: The fuel cell on the Gemini 5 spacecraft experienced electrical supply issues, leading to a power loss that threatened to shorten the flight.
|
 |
| Photo: Leading officials at the Manned Spacecraft Center—Christopher C. Kraft, Dr. Robert H. Gilruth, and George Low—decided to extend the Gemini 5 mission to 33 orbits. |
 |
| Photo: John Stonesifer (NASA Captain), R. F. Menge (Chief of Staff of Carrier Division 20), and Captain R. Smith map out the recovery area for the conclusion of Gemini 5's eight-day flight. |
 |
| Photo: John Llewellyn, the retro-fire control officer, indicates a designated recovery area for the Gemini 5 crew's splashdown on August 29, 1965. |
 |
| Photo: Charles Conrad and Gordon Cooper splash down in the Atlantic Ocean on August 29, 1965, awaiting recovery as frogmen attach a flotation collar to the Gemini capsule. |
 |
 |
| Photo: Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad were lifted aboard the recovery helicopter. |
 |
| A Gemini 5 recovery ship cover from the USS Lake Champlain, featuring a Beck rubber-stamped cachet and a machine cancel postmarked on August 29, 1965. This cover is signed by Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad. |
 |
 |
| Two Gemini 5 recovery ship covers from the USS Lake Champlain, both featuring a Beck rubber-stamped cachet and the less common hand cancel. The top cover is signed by the ship's commanding officer, Captain James Longino, Jr. |
 |
| Photo: Charles Conrad and Gordon Cooper inspecting the recovered Gemini 5 capsule on the USS Lake Champlain, August 29, 1965. |
 |
| A rare Gemini 5 USS Lake Champlain Beck CREW Cover, of which only 25 covers without the "B" number printed exist. |
 |
| Photo: Gordon Cooper dines aboard the USS Lake Champlain with Bruce Adams from Minneapolis on August 29, 1965. |
 |
| A Gemini 5 recovery ship cover from the USS Lake Champlain, which includes a letter addressed to Dwight Owen Coons, the Deputy Medical Director at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center. |
 |
| An "Artopages" cover featuring a postmark from the USS Lake Champlain dated August 29, 1965. |
 |
| Photo: A cake-cutting ceremony for the Gemini 5 crew took place onboard the USS Lake Champlain on August 29, 1965. |
 |
| An unused Navy Press Card intended for a journalist or an officer aboard the USS Lake Champlain. |
 |
 |
| Photo: Charles Conrad and Gordon Cooper are seen admiring a cartoon presented to Conrad during a news conference. The cartoon illustrates Conrad's observation of his four sons playing on the roof of their house while he and Cooper orbited the Earth aboard Gemini 5. |
(Reference from
Gemini 5)
