In 1983, The Right Stuff movie premiered claiming to tell the story of test pilots and those who became America’s first astronauts. The film received acclaim from the majority of the critics who wrote reviews. But, as an accurate chronicle of efforts to pave the road to space, it failed. Astronaut Wally Schirra summed it up best: “The movie was fun. It was well-produced and the acting is great. But as history, it‘s merely ‘Animal House’ in space.’”
Building on the success of the first piloted Gemini mission, NASA prepared to launch its most ambitions flight to date – Gemini IV. During June 1965, two astronauts would not only stay in orbit four days, one would attempt America’s first spacewalk. It was another example of advancing technology enabling new avenues of exploration.
Project Gemini is often referred to as the “bridge to the Moon.” It spanned the period between Project Mercury, America’s first efforts to determine if humans could survive in space, and the Apollo lunar landing flights. Looking back across a half-century, Gemini proved to be a bridge to the future.