65 a
Ralph Morse

Gus Grissom and John Young inside the Molly Brown spacecraft before liftoff

Gemini III, March 23, 1965

Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with NASA HQ caption numbered “65- H-439” on the verso

65 b
Ralph Morse

John Young and Gus Grissom, the first two-man crew of the space program, inside the Molly Brown spacecraft before liftoff

Gemini III, March 23, 1965

Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with NASA HQ caption numbered “65- H-447” on the verso

65 c
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

Photomontage showing the launch of the Titan rocket carrying John Young and Gus Grissom together with a portrait of the astronauts

Gemini III, March 23, 1965, 000:00:02 GET

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso

65 d
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

Launch of the first two-man crew of the American space program

Gemini III, March 23, 1965, 000:00:04 GET

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA-S-65-4192”, dated “March 23, 1965” and captioned “GT-3 Launch” next to image
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)

65 b
Life, April 2, 1965, p. 34; Mason, p. 88.

65 d
Chaikin, Space, p. 56.

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Lot Essay

65 a
This view was taken through the window of the open hatch on Grissom’s side of the Gemini spacecraft just before the hatches were closed.

65 b
This view was taken through the window of the open hatch on Young’s side of the Gemini spacecraft just before the hatches were closed.
The Gemini capsule was tiny, astronauts had less space than a driver and passenger in a sports car.

65 c
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0
000:00:00 Capcom (Mission Control): Bolts and lift-off.
000:00:02 Grissom: Roger. Clock is started.
000:00:12 Grissom: There’s the roll program.
000:00:13 Capcom: Roger. Roll.
000:00:22 Grissom:Okay. Roll is completed,
000:00:23 Capcom:Roger. Roll complete.
000:00:25 Grissom: There goes the pitch.
000:00:26 Capcom: Roger. Pitch. You’re on your way, Molly Brown.
000:00:29 Grissom: Yeah man!

65 d
Gemini Titan III lifted off from Pad 19 on March 23, 1965 and successfully completed three orbits. Unlike Redstone or Atlas of the Mercury Project, Gemini Titan’s rocket was two rockets in one. The first stage lifted the rocket from the launch pad to a height of 64 km (40 miles), before dropping away to allow the second stage to blast off into orbit. The flight had an apogee of 140 miles and perigee of 100 miles.