Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

This pressure altimeter would have given Gemini astronauts an indication of their altitude as they returned to Earth from space. It was used for testing and was not flown. The altimeter is similar to those used on aircraft, and can measure altitudes up to 80,000 feet (24 km). Early plans for Gemini were to have the capsule return to a runway, using a folding wing designed by Francis Rogallo. The capsule would therefore have required a suite of instruments similar to those of a winged saircraft. After testing, however, the wing was abandoned in favor of a parachute desent into the ocean, like the previous Mercury and subsequent Apollo spacecraft returned.

NASA transferred this altimeter to the Museum in 1973.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type INSTRUMENTS-Flight Management Manufacturer Kollsman Instrument Company
 Dimensions 3-D: 8.3 x 12.7 x 8.3cm (3 1/4 x 5 x 3 1/4 in.)
 Materials Glass
Paint
Non-Magnetic Metal Alloy
Plastic
 Inventory Number A19730731000 Credit Line Transferred from NASA Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Open Access (CCO)
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.