Editing Space Race (section)

===First crewed spacecraft===
Focused by the commitment to a Moon landing, in January 1962 the US announced Project Gemini, a two-person spacecraft that would support the later three-person Apollo by developing the key spaceflight technologies of [[space rendezvous]] and [[docking and berthing of spacecraft|docking of two craft]], flight durations of sufficient length to go to the Moon and back, and [[extra-vehicular activity]] to perform work outside the spacecraft.<ref>{{cite web
 |last1       = Loff
 |first1      = Sarah
 |title       = Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon
 |url         = http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/gemini/#.VKi1GsaWt78
 |website     = Gemini: Bridge to the Moon
 |publisher   = National Aeronautics and Space Administration
 |access-date  = 2015-01-04
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141221151510/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/gemini/
 |archive-date = 2014-12-21
 |location    = Washington, DC
 |date        = 2013-10-21
 
}}</ref>{{sfn|Siddiqi|2003a|p=383}}

Meanwhile, Korolev had planned further long-term missions for the Vostok spacecraft, and had four Vostoks in various stages of fabrication in late 1963 at his [[S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia|OKB-1]] facilities.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2003a|pp=384–86}} The Americans' announced plans for Gemini represented major advances over the Mercury and Vostok capsules, and Korolev felt the need to try to beat the Americans to many of these innovations.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2003a|pp=384–86}} He had already begun designing the Vostok's replacement, the next-generation [[Soyuz (spacecraft)|Soyuz]], a multi-cosmonaut spacecraft that had at least the same capabilities as the Gemini spacecraft.{{sfn|Schefter|1999|p=149}} Soyuz would not be available for at least three years, and it could not be called upon to deal with this new American challenge in 1964 or 1965.{{sfn|Schefter|1999|p=198}} Political pressure in early 1964{{snd}}which some sources claim was from Khrushchev while other sources claim was from other Communist Party officials{{snd}}pushed him to modify his four remaining Vostoks to beat the Americans to new space firsts in the size of flight crews, and the duration of missions.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2003a|pp=384–86}}

====Voskhod====
{{Main|Voskhod programme}}

[[File:Vostok and Voskhod crew seating.png|thumb|Korolev modified the one-person Vostok capsule into carrying three people, or two plus an airlock for spacewalk capability.]]

Korolev's conversion of his surplus Vostok capsules to the [[Voskhod spacecraft]] allowed the Soviet space program to beat the Gemini program in achieving the first spaceflight with a multi-person crew, and the first "spacewalk". Gemini took a year longer than planned to make its first flight, so [[Voskhod 1]] became the first spaceflight with a three-person crew on October 12, 1964.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Space Troika on Target
| author = Special
| agency = UPI
| newspaper = [[The Toronto Star]]
| publisher = [[Torstar]]
| location = Toronto
| date = October 13, 1964
| page = 1}}</ref> The USSR touted another "technological achievement" during this mission: it was the first space flight during which cosmonauts performed in a shirt-sleeve-environment.{{sfn|Schefter|1999|pp=199–200}} However, flying without spacesuits was not due to safety improvements in the Soviet spacecraft's environmental systems; rather this was because the craft's limited cabin space did not allow for spacesuits. Flying without spacesuits exposed the cosmonauts to significant risk in the event of potentially fatal cabin depressurization.{{sfn|Schefter|1999|pp=199–200}} This was not repeated until the US [[Apollo Command Module]] flew in 1968; the command module cabin was designed to transport three astronauts in a low pressure, pure oxygen [[shirt-sleeve environment]] while in space.

On March 18, 1965, about a week before the first piloted Project Gemini space flight, the USSR launched the two-cosmonaut [[Voskhod 2]] mission with [[Pavel Belyayev]] and [[Alexei Leonov]].<ref name="NYT650319">{{cite news
| title = Russian Floats in Space for 10 Minutes; Leaves Orbiting Craft With a Lifeline; Moscow Says Moon Trip Is 'Target Now'
| first = Henry
| last = Tanner
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0318.html?scp=2&sq=Voskhod%202&st=cse
| newspaper = [[The New York Times]]
| location = New York
| date = March 19, 1965
| page = 1}}</ref> Voskhod 2's design modifications included the addition of an inflatable airlock to allow for [[extravehicular activity]] (EVA), also known as a spacewalk, while keeping the cabin pressurized so that the capsule's electronics would not overheat.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2003a|p=448}} Leonov performed the first-ever EVA as part of the mission.<ref name="NYT650319" /> A fatality was narrowly avoided when Leonov's spacesuit expanded in the vacuum of space, preventing him from re-entering the airlock.{{sfn|Schefter|1999|p=205}} To overcome this, he had to partially depressurize his spacesuit to a potentially dangerous level.{{sfn|Schefter|1999|p=205}} He succeeded in safely re-entering the spacecraft, but he and Belyayev faced further challenges when the spacecraft's atmospheric controls flooded the cabin with 45% pure oxygen, which had to be lowered to acceptable levels before re-entry.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2003a|pp=454-460}} The reentry involved two more challenges: an improperly timed retrorocket firing caused the Voskhod 2 to land {{convert|386|km|mi|sp=us}} off its designated target area, the city of [[Perm, Russia|Perm]]; and the instrument compartment's failure to detach from the descent apparatus caused the spacecraft to become unstable during reentry.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2003a|pp=454-460}}

By October 16, 1964, [[Leonid Brezhnev]] and a small cadre of high-ranking Communist Party officials deposed Khrushchev as Soviet government leader a day after Voskhod 1 landed, in what was called the "Wednesday conspiracy".<ref>{{cite news
| title = Kremlin summit probably greased skids for Mr. K
| last = Gayn
| first = Mark
| newspaper = [[The Toronto Star]]
| publisher = [[Torstar]]
| location = Toronto
| date = October 16, 1964
| page = 11}}</ref>
The new political leaders, along with Korolev, ended the technologically troublesome Voskhod program, canceling Voskhod 3 and 4, which were in the planning stages, and started concentrating on reaching the Moon.{{sfn|Siddiqi|2003a|pp=510–11}} Voskhod 2 ended up being Korolev's final achievement before his death on January 14, 1966, as it became the last of the space firsts that the USSR achieved during the early 1960s. According to historian Asif Siddiqi, Korolev's accomplishments marked "the absolute zenith of the Soviet space program, one never, ever attained since."{{sfn|Siddiqi|2003a|p=460}} There was a two-year pause in Soviet piloted space flights while Voskhod's replacement, the Soyuz spacecraft, was designed and developed.{{Sfn|Schefter|1999|p=207}}

==== Gemini ====
{{Main|Project Gemini}}

[[File:Gemini 7 in orbit - GPN-2006-000035.jpg|thumb|Rendezvous of Gemini 6 and 7, December 1965]]

Though delayed a year to reach its first flight, Gemini was able to take advantage of the USSR's two-year hiatus after Voskhod, which enabled the US to catch up and surpass the previous Soviet superiority in piloted spaceflight. Gemini had ten crewed missions between March 1965 and November 1966: [[Gemini 3]], [[Gemini 4]], [[Gemini 5]], [[Gemini 6A]], [[Gemini 7]], [[Gemini 8]], [[Gemini 9A]], [[Gemini 10]], [[Gemini 11]], and [[Gemini 12]]; and accomplished the following:

* Every mission demonstrated the ability to adjust the crafts' inclination and apsis without issue.
* Gemini 5 demonstrated eight-day endurance, long enough for a round trip to the Moon. Gemini 7 demonstrated a fourteen-day endurance flight.
* Gemini 6A demonstrated rendezvous and [[orbital station-keeping|station-keeping]] with Gemini 7 for three consecutive orbits at distances as close as {{convert|1|ft|m|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite web
 |title       = The World's First Space Rendezvous
 |work        = Apollo to the Moon; To Reach the Moon – Early Human Spaceflight
 |publisher   = Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
 |url         = http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/attm/rm.ey.g7.3.html
 |access-date  = September 17, 2006
 
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071116112847/http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/attm/rm.ey.g7.3.html
 |archive-date = November 16, 2007
 }}</ref> Gemini 9A also achieved rendezvous with an [[Agena Target Vehicle]] (ATV).
* Rendezvous and [[docking and berthing of spacecraft|docking]] with the ATV was achieved on Gemini 8, 10, 11, and 12. Gemini 11 achieved the first direct-ascent rendezvous with its Agena target on the first orbit.
*[[Extravehicular activity]] (EVA) was perfected through increasing practice on Gemini 4, 9A, 10, 11, and 12. On Gemini 12, [[Edwin Aldrin|Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin]] spent over five hours working comfortably during three (EVA) sessions, finally proving that humans could perform productive tasks outside their spacecraft.
* Gemini 10, 11, and 12 used the ATV's engine to make large changes in its orbit while docked. Gemini 11 used the Agena's rocket to achieve a crewed Earth orbit record [[apogee]] of {{convert|742|nmi|km|sp=us}}.

Gemini 8 experienced the first in-space mission abort on March 17, 1966, just after achieving the world's first docking, when a stuck or shorted thruster sent the craft into an uncontrolled spin. Command pilot [[Neil Armstrong]] was able to shut off the stuck thruster and stop the spin by using the re-entry control system.{{sfn|Gatland|1976|p=176}} He and his crewmate [[David Scott]] landed and were recovered safely.<ref name="Gemini 8 Crew and PJs">{{cite web |url=http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~7~7~32671~136538:Gemini-8-crew-stands-on-deck-of-rec |title=Gemini8 Crew and PJs |access-date=2010-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727151042/http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~7~7~32671~136538%3AGemini-8-crew-stands-on-deck-of-rec |archive-date=2011-07-27 }}</ref>

Most of the novice pilots on the early missions would command the later missions. In this way, Project Gemini built up spaceflight experience for the pool of astronauts for the Apollo lunar missions. With the completion of Gemini, the US had demonstrated many of the key technologies necessary to make Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the Moon, namely crewed spacecraft docking, with the exception of developing a large enough launch vehicle.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-27 |title=Gemini Pioneered the Technology Driving Today's Exploration - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/missions/gemini/gemini-pioneered-the-technology-driving-todays-exploration/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Space Race 1957-1975 black text.png|center|thumb|upright=2.0|Progress in the Space Race, showing the US passing the Soviets in 1965]]