New Exhibit at Museum of Flight Explores Spaceflight Fifty Years Ago

SEATTLE – On Aug. 21, The Museum of Flight opens a new exhibit about the first crewed spaceflight that dared to fly for a week, NASA’s Gemini V mission.

The “8 Days or Bust” exhibit opens on the fiftieth anniversary of the launch of Gemini V. The 2-person mission was designed to see if astronauts can survive in space long enough to fly to the Moon and back. In those early days of space exploration, every safe day was another triumph. “8 Days or Bust -The 50th Anniversary of Gemini V” celebrates this flight, and includes artifacts from Gemini V astronaut Pete Conrad’s personal collection, and unique pieces from the Gemini program. The exhibit is free, and runs through September.

Gemini V was the second NASA mission for one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, L. Gordon Cooper. It was the first spaceflight for Charles “Pete” Conrad. Gemini V together shattered the previous in-space duration record set by the Soviet Union’s Vostok 5 mission in 1963. Cooper and Conrad’s beautiful new photos of the Earth were a sensation, and they also helped with NASA’s lunar aspirations by testing the fuel cell technology necessary to power round-trips to the Moon.

For general Museum information, please call 206-764-5720 or visit www.museumofflight.org