ABSTRACT
The late president Johnson's influence was certainly felt on the first American space efforts following his death. Project Gemini has been announced by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during his presidency, in December 1961. The Soviet model represented a far different approach from the Gemini extravehicular activity (EVA) route, in which a hatch was opened, exposing the capsule's innards, and both astronauts, to the vacuum of space. Alexei Leonov's amazing achievement had again put the Soviets ahead of the United States in the space race. The first Gemini mission was scheduled for the week following the return of Voskhod 2. Alan Shepard and Tom Stafford were initially chosen for the first manned Gemini flight. Mercury veteran Gordon Cooper was paired with Charles Pete Conrad for Gemini 5. By the end of 1966, Gemini had made the planned journey to the moon an increasingly likely reality, and a goal that seemed an appropriately hopeful symbol of American aspirations on earth.
