Mockup, Capsule, Gemini Reentry Module

This artifact is a full-scale mockup of the Gemini spacecraft reentry vehicle, but lacks the white adapter modules of the complete orbital spacecraft. This mockup is a non-functional model recreating the basic appearance of the vehicle and was used for astronaut training. The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, transferred title to the Smithsonian in 1975.

The Gemini program was the second U.S. human spaceflight program. In preparation for the Apollo lunar landings, it had as its the aim launching a series of two-man spacecraft into Earth orbit to practice rendezvous, long duration flight and space walking (EVAs). Ten manned Gemini missions achieved all of these objectives in 1965-66.