Gemini rotisserie mode?

Did Gemini spacecraft ever do a rotisserie mode in Earth orbit? I mean,
they were in nightside half the time, but I was wondering if they
needed to be rolled much for even heating.

Apart from Gemini 8, of course...

TVDad Jim wrote:
Did Gemini spacecraft ever do a rotisserie mode in Earth orbit? I mean,
they were in nightside half the time, but I was wondering if they
needed to be rolled much for even heating.

I don't know for sure, but I know that Gemini's
were purposely rolled for testing purposes.
Gemini 7 was rolled for awhile while being
observed by Gemini 6, for example. On several
flights, the crews simply let the spacecraft drift
after thruster failures limited their on-orbit
control - or to conserve propellant. I think the
Gemini's tended to tumble slowly while drifting.

- Ed Kyle

"Ed Kyle" wrote in message
oups.com...
TVDad Jim wrote:
Did Gemini spacecraft ever do a rotisserie mode in Earth orbit? I mean,
they were in nightside half the time, but I was wondering if they
needed to be rolled much for even heating.

I don't know for sure, but I know that Gemini's
were purposely rolled for testing purposes.
Gemini 7 was rolled for awhile while being
observed by Gemini 6, for example. On several
flights, the crews simply let the spacecraft drift
after thruster failures limited their on-orbit
control - or to conserve propellant. I think the
Gemini's tended to tumble slowly while drifting.

- Ed Kyle


Ed -

One the successful Agena dockings - didn't they perform the "rotisserie
mode" at times in mission when docked with Agena?

gb