^Lot 173 Gemini 2

A flown flotation ball for Gemini 2. Aluminum sphere measures approximately 1.25? in diameter and is encased in an acrylic cube, which is in turn affixed to a 3.5 x 3.5 wooden base with a plaque that reads, “Gemini S/C 2, Flotation Ball, 19 Jan 1965.” After the experience on Grissom's Mercury flight (MR-4) in which the spacecraft Liberty Bell 7 sank after splashdown, NASA designed the Gemini spacecraft with aluminum flotation spheres to help maintain the spacecraft's buoyancy.