Author's Note: In the real world, Blue Gemini was a USAF project designed to give the Air Force experience with manned spaceflight prior to the debut of the Manned Orbital Development System (MODS). MODS morphed into the Manned Orbital Laboratory (MOL), and eventually was cancelled along with Blue Gemini. But fiction can tell a different story. Blue Gemini came about as I learned from my mistakes when creating the YF-19A Saber. When I transitioned from trueSpace to 3DS MAX, I decided to rebuild the Blue Gemini's service module since bringing over the Appaloosa would be too problematic. Then I got tired of the command module, and ended up rebuilding the whole thing, which is presented here. As always, this is a work of fiction.

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Big Blue Gemini

After the 1986 Challenger disaster and subsequent cancellation of space shuttle flights to polar orbit, the USAF needed an alternate crew and cargo transportation system to service its SpyGlass satellites and conduct experiments related to the Strategic Defense Initiative. The YF-19 Saber proved to be too costly to produce in numbers, so the Air Force fielded a backup plan in 1994: the Military Space Access System (MSAS), popularly known as Big Blue Gemini (BBG). With all the differences between the 1960s Gemini namesake and its 1994 counterpart, test pilots called the new model GINO for Gemini-in-Name-Only.

A typical Big Blue Gemini.

Big Blue Gemini combined the best of Apollo, Gemini, and Shuttle into one modular vehicle. It could provide crew transportation to a space station, bring astronauts and service equipment to a military satellite to conduct repairs, it could serve as an unmanned space tug, and it could fly as an automated freighter delivering supplies to a space station.

GINO consisted of several components: Boost Cover, Command Module, Service Module and the optional Mission Module and Cargo Bay Module. Each module is described below.

Components of the Military Space Access System.

The Boost Cover protected the command module docking port during aerodynamic ascent. It was jettisoned once GINO reached an altitude of about 43 miles. It also contained the launch abort system, which could pull the command module away from a failing launch vehicle.

The Command Module (CM) was shaped like the re-entry module of its 1960s namesake. But the 1994 model was larger, sported an International Low-Impact Docking System (ILIDS) port in the nose, and could make a land-based recovery at Edwards AFB, White Sands, or any number of suitable landing sites due to advances in parafoil and landing skid technology. The CM typically carried a crew of three, but up to five astronauts could be crammed into the spacecraft.

The Service Module (SM), basically an advanced version of the Apollo service module, contained life support for 3 crewmembers for up to 21 days with a six-month orbital storage duration. With a crew of five, the SM's life support lasted up to four days. The SM had a control moment gyroscope (CMG) to efficiently rotate the spacecraft without using rocket fuel. For translational maneuvers, it also had the spacecraft's Reaction Control System (RCS). Both the RCS thrusters and the SM's main propulsion system, a WB-1 Camaro engine by Wild Blue Industries, burned MMH and N2O4. With a full fuel load of 40,590 lbs, the GINO had a delta-v of 9,941 ft/sec (3.03 km/sec). Adding the cargo bay module and/or mission module would reduce the available delta-v.

The many flavors of Aardvark.

The Service Module served as the basis for a number of spacecraft including the Advanced Automated Rendezvous Docking Vehicle (AARDV) "Aardvark" tug, Aardvark Freighter, and Aardvark Guided Missile Boat. Additionally, the Camaro served as the basis for Wild Blue Industries' Charger engine.

The Cargo Bay Module (CBM) was an optional module that sat between the Command Module and the Service Module. It provided cargo space for a variety of different purposes. Its cargo area could accomodate payloads up to 12.5-feet long and 9.5-feet in diameter.

The Stingbat, a mission module.

Mission modules were optional components tucked into the launch vehicle adapter that were extracted upon reaching orbit, similar to how Apollo extracted the lunar lander from Saturn's upper stage. The Air Force proposed a number of mission modules, but they only produced the Stingbat Uninhabited Combat Spacecraft (UCS). Pilots called it the Dingbat due to a string of guidance failures during its early testing phase. The UCS was a cylindrical design that sprouted solar arrays along its sides. It had fore and aft ILIDS ports as well as a grapple fixture on top along and an underbelly attack radar in the gun turret. The turret housed a pair of space-rated M2A3 "ma deuce" .50 caliber machine guns that provided defense out to a mile or so.

With the Stingbat on its nose and a rotary missile launcher from the YF-19 project sitting in its cargo bay, the Big Blue Gemini became the FS-1A Bronco. Back in 2001, the Air Force envisioned reactivating Vanguard Air Force Station and basing Broncos at the station, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.

SDI Research

A Big Blue Gemini docked with an Aardvark Man-Tended Space Station.

In addition to servicing military satellites in equitorial and polar orbits, Big Blue Gemini served as a space taxi. Originally, the Air Force wanted to fly BBGs to Vanguard Space Station and periodically resupply Vanguard using Aardvark freighters. Then some bright airman came up with the idea of converting freighters into man-tended space stations and flying SDI experiments on them instead of Vanguard. As a result, the Air Force reluctantly mothballed its Vanguard and Vigilance stations. Vanguard eventually found use as the core module for the ISS, and Vigilance formed the core of America's first warp ship.

Big Gemini To The Moon

A Big G with its habitat module.

Discovering the Ancient Astronaut Observatory on the far side of the Moon in 2000 immediately shifted NAXA's focus back to the Moon. The Multinational Moon Mission required a spacecraft able to support a crew of five for the trip to the Moon and back- Soyuz-based spacecraft simply lacked the space. NAXA purchased several Big Blue Gemini spacecraft, known as Big Gemini (or Big G) in the civilian space agency, to perform the task.

For its mission module, NAXA contracted with the ESA to produce a habitat module that would be extracted from the NLS Interim Cryogenic Upper Stage (ICUS, pronounced "eye-sis") after Trans Lunar Injection. Big G then coasted for three days to the Moon. Meanwhile, the Aquila Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) arrived separatedly via NLS/ICUS and docked with Big G in lunar orbit. The astronauts then boarded Aquila for the trip to far side of the Moon, leaving Big G unoccupied and in sleep mode.

Using two NLS vehicles worked for the first few manned Moon missions since 1972, but the arrangement was expensive- and fortunately, temporary. By the end of 2007, flights to the Moon used NLS's new Earth Departure Stage (EDS), which could launch the Big G and LSAM stack-minus the habitat module- in one go, just like the Saturn V did during the 1960s and early 1970s.

FS-1B Bronco

An FS-1B Bronco with Stingbat UCS and SIM-1B Pythons in its payload bay.

Though the FS-1A died an early death, political realities in the mid 2010s made it necessary to launch armed spacecraft to protect American space assets. As a result, the Bronco made a comeback in 2015. Bronco's cargo module carried a dozen SIM-1B Python missiles on a rotary launcher, and it sported a Stingbat UCS on its nose that could be undocked and operated remotely.

The Bronco rocketed into orbit atop an Appaloosa 131F, or alternately, Saturn 2. Upon reaching orbit, the FS-1B detached from the upper stage, deployed its solar/radiator arrays and then spun around and extracted its UCS from the booster.

 

The new and improved SIM-1B.

On the Shoulders of A Titan

From its debut in 1994 to 2004, GINOs flew on the Air Force Titan IV launch vehicle. To reach orbit, Big Blue Gemini had to use its Service Propulsion System for the final leg of the flight. When riding uphill with a cargo module filled with spare parts for a SpyGlass or other servicable military satellite, BBG burned as much as a third of its fuel to reach an equitorial orbit, or up to two-thirds for polar orbit. Most of the time, Big Blue Gemini had sufficient propellant for the rest of the mission, but to reach some polar orbiting satellites or when carrying a particulary heavy load, it needed a boost. GINOs did so by docking with Aardvark space tugs that were previously launched on Titan IV rockets, and using the tugs to reach their destination.

Titan Launch Sequence
Stage 0: Atlas Liquid Rocket Boosters
Stage 1: Titan IV core stage
Stage 2: Titan IV upper stage
Stage 3: Big Blue Gemini

Once the Appaloosa 131 began flying in 2004, it lifted the GINO into orbit and cost only $120 million per launch- $330 million less than the booster it replaced! Big Blue Gemini also flew on Orbital Dynamics' Saturn 2, a launch vehicle derived from the Shuttle LRB- itself derived from the Atlas LRB. In both cases, the launch vehicles had enough thrust to place the GINO into orbit without the use of its propulsion system.