Mockup, Crew Station, Gemini

This Gemini Crew Station was used at the Manned Spacecraft Center (now Johnson Space Center) in Houston for crew training in the techniques for in-flight docking with the Agena target vehicle. A separate Agena mockup was mounted on air bearings to allow horizontal and vertical translations, as well as pitch, roll, and yaw maneuvers. Either the pilots or computers could control the relative motion between the Agena mockup and the simulated Gemini capsule. The Gemini Crew Station did not itself move, as all relative motions were simulated through the movements of the Agena mockup. The Smithsonian received this artifact from NASA in Houston via the manufacturer, Ling-Temco-Vought, in 1968.