Space History Photo: Rendezvous Docking Simulator

A multiple exposure image of the Rendezvous Docking Simulator during training.
A multiple exposure image of the Rendezvous Docking Simulator in action. (Image credit: NASA | William Salyer)

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, a multiple exposure image of Rendezvous Docking Simulator is shown on Feb. 7, 1964. The Gemini spacecraft was supported in a gimbal system by an overhead crane and gantry arrangement which provided 6 degrees of freedom - roll, pitch, yaw, and translation in any direction - all controllable by the astronaut in the spacecraft. The controls fed into a computer which in turn provided an input to the servos driving the spacecraft so that it responded to control motions in a manner which accurately simulated the Gemini spacecraft.

Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).

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