Object Details
Manufacturer
North American Aviation Inc.
Summary
At the start of the Gemini program in 1961, NASA considered having the two-man Gemini capsule land on a runway after its return from space, rather than parachute into the ocean. This controlled descent and landing was to be accomplished by deploying an inflatable paraglider wing of the type invented by Francis Rogallo and NASA's Langley Research Center. Although never used to recover a manned spacecraft, the Paraglider Landing System Program proved useful in developing alternate landing techniques.
This full-scale, manned Test Tow Vehicle (TTV) was built to test the Gemini paraglider wing in flight. It served as the first of two TTVs flown to perfect maneuvering, control, and landing techniques. Eight times a helicopter released the TTV, wings deployed, over the dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base, where it landed.
NASA transferred the TTV-1 to the Smithsonian in 1975.
Alternate Name
Gemini TTV-1 Paraglider Capsule
Credit Line
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Inventory Number
A19750833000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
SPACECRAFT-Crewed-Test Vehicles
Materials
Steel
Dimensions
Overall: 115 × 92 3/8 in., 4300lb., 304.8cm (292.1 × 234.6cm, 1950.5kg, 10 ft.)
Other (wheel to wheel): 92 in. (233.7cm)
Other (capsule): 103 7/8 in. (263.8cm)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
Location
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
Exhibit Station
Human Spaceflight
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nasm_A19750833000