Wasp or Hornet?
Author
Discussion

Simpo Two

Original Poster:

89,317 posts

281 months

Monday 26th May
quotequote all
My logic has failed... according to this page the Apollo 11 astronauts went to both... Eric!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin

Pachydermus

1,069 posts

128 months

Monday 26th May
quotequote all
According to that Aldrin went to both - wasp for Gemini 12 and hornet for Apollo 11.

Simpo Two

Original Poster:

89,317 posts

281 months

Monday 26th May
quotequote all
Aha thanks, I was tired and couldn't piece it together without spending a day on it!

Eric Mc

124,021 posts

281 months

Wednesday 28th May
quotequote all
The USS Hornet was used for the recovery of Apollo 11.

Armstrong's one and only Gemini flight was Gemini 8. As this experienced an in-orbit emergency, it had to perform a re-entry and splashdown in the Pacific rather than the intended Atlantic. The recovery ship was therefore a destroyer, the USS Leonard F Mason, rather than the usual aircraft carrier.

Beati Dogu

9,286 posts

155 months

Wednesday 28th May
quotequote all
Yes, the intended recovery ship for Gemini 8 was USS Boxer, an Essex class aircraft carrier (CV-21).

A few months earlier in 1966, Boxer had recovered the unmanned Apollo capsule (AS-201) that had launched on a Saturn IB.