science

NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions

NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions rather than just read about it. In short: NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions were mission-specific commemorative medallions, often astronaut-designed, which were approved by NASA and carried aboard the mission spacecraft into orbit. Beginning with the first crewed Gemini mission in 1965, commemorative medallions were prepared for the astronauts at their request.

Key takeaways

NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions were mission-specific commemorative medallions, often astronaut-designed, which were approved by NASA and carried aboard the mission spacecraft into orbit. Beginning with the first crewed Gemini mission in 1965, commemorative medallions were prepared for the astronauts at their request. These were produced by a company only known as Fliteline and were struck either in a pewter-colored base metal, sometimes painted a gold color, or sterling silver, and were flown on all 10 crewed Gemini missions. A Fliteline medallion was designed and produced for Apollo 1, but was never officially flown after a disastrous cabin fire during a launch rehearsal killed the flight crew. The Robbins Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts, was contracted in 1968 to produce commemorative medallions beginning with Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo flight since the Apollo 1 disaster. These were purchased by astronauts and support crew personnel at NASA Astronaut Flight Office, and a total of over 3,000 sterling silver Robbins medallions were flown into space across the 12 crewed flights of the Apollo program. Some of these were later sold in public auction for up to $60,000. The basic elements of the medallion design are consistent throughout the 12 medallions in the series, with the main design element and the mission name on the obverse, mission dates on the reverse, primary flight crew names on either the obverse or reverse, and a serial number either on the lower reverse or on the rim. A very small number of Apollo Robbins medallions were also struck in 14k gold, generally ordered by the mission crew as a personal memento. Sterling silver Robbins medallions have continued to be struck for every crewed NASA spaceflight, including Skylab and Space Shuttle missions.

Space-flown numismatic items

Numismatic souvenirs have accompanied astronauts on nearly every early spaceflight. Mercury astronauts carried small, lightweight mementos on their missions, often in the form of US coins or banknotes. On the first sub-orbital flight (Mercury-Redstone 3), Alan Shepard carried with him four one-dollar silver certificates which were subsequently signed by him, other Mercury astronauts, and support staff becoming short snorters. A number of Mercury dimes were flown aboard Mercury-Redstone 4 in 1961, being recovered with the capsule from the Atlantic Ocean in 1999. John Glenn, piloting the first crewed U.S. orbital spaceflight Mercury-Atlas 6 also carried several one-dollar silver certificates. Space-flown numismatic items are also known for early Gemini missions. On the first crewed Gemini flight (Gemini 3), Grissom and Young brought 50 two-dollar bills. Young also made history for smuggling "contraband" on board the flight, in the form of a corned-beef sandwich. Other currencies have been taken to space as well; in 2014, Chris Hadfield made history with the first unveiling of a new currency design in space when he revealed the new design for the Canadian five-dollar note aboard the International Space Station.

Gemini mission space-flown Fliteline medallions Beginning with the first crewed Gemini mission in March 1965, commemorative medallions were prepared for the astronauts at their request. It is unclear who prepared these early medallions, only that each individual box containing a medallion bore the word "Fliteline". It is unknown how many gold and silver colored medallions were prepared for each mission, and how many were space-flown versus unflown. Fliteline medallions were prepared for each of the crewed Gemini flights, as well as the ill-fated Apollo 1 mission.

Apollo mission space-flown Robbins medallions The Robbins Company was founded in 1892 by jeweler Charles M. Robbins, in Attleboro, Massachusetts. They began designing and producing commemorative badges for Ohio in 1913, and South Dakota in 1917. In 1935, the first 1,000 badges of a new design for the Federal Bureau of Investigation were produced by Robbins. The Robbins Company also struck the Olympic medals for the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions

In research: NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Apollo program, Exonumia, Human spaceflight programs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions in simple terms?

Why does NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NASA space-flown Gemini and Apollo medallions.