Country of Origin: United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 10 ft. 10 in. tall x 7 ft. 5 in. diameter (330.2 x 226.06cm)
Materials:
Steel
This Gemini boilerplate, nicknamed "El Kabong I," was used for soft-landing drop tests as part of the Para-Sail program. Dropped from an aircraft, the Gemini capsule was suspended from a Para-Sail as it descended to a landing site at Fort Hood, TX in August 1965. At 12.5 feet above the ground, altitude sensors fired landing rockets and the vehicle skidded to a stop on its landing gear. The system was never man-rated or used for actual Gemini flights.
In 1977 NASA transferred title to "El Kabong I" to the Smithsonian Institution.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
