Question about Gemini

[G'th]

Was the equipment module left in space? And why? I've been putting together subassemblies for all of FASA's parts and this ocurred to me as I was putting together the capsule. (and seeing as I seldomly even use the Gemini parts it never occurred to me before)

I've tried finding information on it, but there doesn't seem to be anything that actually discusses why its, apparently, left in orbit. Obviously its not like they were going to stay up there forever, but still. Seems odd that they'd design the spacecraft like that.

[gooddog15]

They left it there as they had to ignite the retro rockets, which were enclosed between the equipment module and the capsule. Also it has no real use after the mission was more or less finished, as everything in it has been expended or was non functional by that point, so they left it in orbit until it was brought back down by atmospheric drag a little while later.

[G'th]

How could it be jettisoned after deorbit if you have to jettison to not have a wacky time deorbiting?

And while it makes sense why they'd jettison it, it just seems odd to not deorbit it. Makes me wonder why they chose to design it this way.

[gooddog15]

The equipment module was jettisoned before retrofire. FASA's easy equipment module parts aren't like the realistic ones.

Also why waste Delta v on something that will eventually come down on it's own anyway?

[Voidryder]

Just to expand a bit on gooddog15's answer, you have to remember that at the time of Gemini, the idea was to get an astronaut on the moon fast. While there were plenty of concepts about reusable spacecraft at the time, the drive was to get there "firstest with the leastest." Weight was the demon to overcome. Design it simple to do exactly what was asked.

So spacecraft were designed to shed all used stages when no longer needed. Once a stag is depleted, don't haul it around, kick it loose. Gemini was the same way. Don't bring that weight back to Earth or you have to design more powerful retro's (heavier) and larger parachutes (again heavier). Heavier isn't good, especially for the power of the launch vehicles back in the day. Just like KSP, design light to get the most out of your launch vehicle.

Of course, with the Space Shuttle in 1970's and SpaceX with others today the approach is reusable spacecraft. Make 'em last several missions. Times change as do mission profiles. There isn't a Space Sprint anymore. Now it's an Ironman challenge -- multi-roles needing multi-purpose crafts.

And gooddog15 is right, it eventually deorbited on it's own, so why waste fuel, etc on it. They weren't going to reuse it again.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Voidryder

[Nibb31]

Gemini used solid retro rockets, like Mercury, to deorbit, with the RCS as a backup (they ended the mission when they had just enough RCS fuel to deorbit in case the solid motors failed).

Deorbiting the capsule plus the service module would have required much larger and heavier deorbit motors, as well as more reserve RCS fuel, than for just the capsule, which would be less efficient, require a bigger rocket or reduce payload capacity. Why bother deorbiting it when drag will eventually pull it down anyway?

Edited June 3, 2015 by Nibb31

[Capt. Hunt]

Yeah, you gotta remember that the real life atmosphere doesn't just end at a certain height like in game, nearly everything in LEO is subject to some atmospheric drag.