Gemini 2

Gemini 2 was the second unmanned test flight of the 2-seat Gemini spacecraft. It was launched into a suborbital flight on January 19, 1965.

This flight was the first monitored from NASA's new Mission Control Center at the Cape. Shortly after launch, the Mission Control Center lost all power and blacked out. This failure was traced to overloaded electrical circuits from the network television equipment that was brought in to cover the flight!

The Gemini 2 capsule was the first US spacecraft that was reused in a subsequent spaceflight. After its mission, the capsule was in good enough shape that it was fitted with a new heat shield and new instrumentation - and flown as a test vehicle for the US Air Force's "Blue Gemini" (Manned Orbital Laboratory) program. It was the only Gemini vehicle that ever flew with USAF insignia.