Gemini 3 Was a Mission of Titanic Proportions
NASA had enough confidence in Grissom’s skills, despite losing his Mercury capsule, to have him lead the Gemini 3 mission. Grissom had a few ideas when it came to nicknaming his mission. During Project Mercury, each astronaut gave his flight an unofficial nickname; Freedom 7, Friendship 7, Liberty Bell 7, Aurora 7, and the like. Gemini astronauts intended to continue the tradition. Vowing to never again lose a capsule after Liberty Bell 7, Grissom named his Gemini flight the Molly Brown, This was a reference to the boisterous woman who took over a lifeboat during the 1912 sinking of the Titanic and the subject of a rip-roaring, popular Broadway musical at the time. NASA officials weren’t thrilled about the choice, feeling it lacked dignity. But they agreed it was better than his next choice, Titanic. After Grissom’s Gemini 3 mission, the agency prohibited giving the capsules names.