Altimeter, Barometric
name: label: Manufacturer
content: Kollsman Instrument Company
notes: label: Summary
content: This pressure altimeter would have given Gemini astronauts an indication of their altitude as they returned to Earth from space. It was used for testing and was not flown. The altimeter is similar to those used on aircraft, and can measure altitudes up to 80,000 feet (24 km). Early plans for Gemini were to have the capsule return to a runway, using a folding wing designed by Francis Rogallo. The capsule would therefore have required a suite of instruments similar to those of a winged saircraft. After testing, however, the wing was abandoned in favor of a parachute desent into the ocean, like the previous Mercury and subsequent Apollo spacecraft returned.
label: Summary
content: NASA transferred this altimeter to the Museum in 1973.
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Transferred from NASA
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A19730731000
objectType: label: Type
content: INSTRUMENTS-Flight Management
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Glass
label: Materials
content: Paint
label: Materials
content: Non-Magnetic Metal Alloy
label: Materials
content: Plastic
label: Dimensions
content: 3-D: 8.3 x 12.7 x 8.3cm (3 1/4 x 5 x 3 1/4 in.)