"Gemini spacecraft landing gear for land landing with the paraglider."

"Manned Spacecraft Center directed North American to design and develop an emergency parachute recovery system for both the half-scale and full-scale flight test vehicles required by Phase II-A of the Paraglider Development Program and authorized North American to subcontract the emergency recovery system to Northrop Corporation's Radioplane Division, Van Nuys, California. North American awarded the $225,000 subcontract to Radioplane on March 16. This was one of two major subcontracts led by North American for Phase II-A. The other, for $227,000, went to Goodyear to study materials and test fabrics for inflatable structures."

Date March 8, 1962

Message, Bailey to NAA-SID, Mar. 8, 1962; memo, Robert L Kline to H L Watkins, Subj: Renegotiation Board Information for Contract NAS 9-167, Aug. 17, 1963; Change Notice No. 1, NAS 0-167, Mar. 8, 1962; NAA letter 62MA3530, Subj: Contract NAS 9-167, Paraglider Development Program, Phase II-A, Monthly Progress Letter No. 4, Mar. 29, 1962. link

A mockup of the 12-man “Big G” spacecraft at McDonnell Douglas's factory in St Louis, Missouri.

Date: April 14, 1969

"Sketch of the parasail landing system proposed for the Gemini spacecraft."

"Gemini Project Office (GPO) reported that it was investigating the use of a parasail and landing rocket system to enable the Gemini spacecraft to make land landings. Major system components were the parasail, drogue parachute, retrorocket, control system, and landing rocket. Unlike the conventional parachute, the parasail was capable of controlled gliding and turning. Landing rockets, fired just before touchdown, reduced the spacecraft terminate rate of descent to between 8 and 11 feet per second. Research and development testing was being conducted by the Landing and Impact System Section of Systems Evaluation and Development Division at Manned Spacecraft Center, while McDonnell had just completed a limited study of the advantages and disadvantages, including time required, of incorporating the new landing system on the spacecraft. GPO briefed NASA Headquarters on the system September 6, when it was decided that no further action would be taken on the parasail."

Date: August 31, 1963

"The proposed sequence of events in deploying the paraglider to land the Gemini spacecraft."

"Manned Spacecraft Center concurred in McDonnell's proposed sequencing of the paraglider recovery system. In a normal mission, the drogue parachute (a small parachute to pull the recovery compartment away from the spacecraft and strip the paraglider from the recovery compartment) would deploy at 60,000 feet, followed by the release of the rendezvous and recovery section at 50,000 feet. Starting at 10,000 feet, all reaction control system propellant remaining after the paraglider had been deployed would be dumped. The paraglider wing itself would be jettisoned shortly after touchdown. At this point, plans called for the paraglider to be used on all Gemini missions except the first."

Date: May 23-24, 1962

NASA ID: link, link

"Orbiting Stations: Stopovers to Space Travel" by Irwin Stambler.

"Carefully watching the displays on their instrument panel, two astronauts in their Gemini ferry prepare to rendezvous with the MOL."

G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1965