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Fuel Cell, Gemini, Cutaway

National Air and Space Museum
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Object Details

Manufacturer
General Electric Co.
Summary
This fuel cell is a cutaway version of the electric-power generating device used on the two-astronaut Gemini spacecraft during ten missions in 1965-66. A fuel cell is like a battery, in that it uses a chemical reaction to create an electrical current. Unlike a battery, a fuel cell will continue to generate a current as long as the reactants are supplied. The Gemini fuel cell used liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to generate electricity, with water as a byproduct. Oxygen and hydrogen molecules reacted and combined across a "proton exchange membrane," a thin permeable polymer sheet coated with a platinum catalyst.
The Gemini program pioneered the use of fuel cells in space, and this technology was subsequently used in the Apollo Service Module and the Space Shuttle Orbiter. General Electric, the manufacturer of Gemini fuel cells, gave this artifact to the Smithsonian in 1966.
Credit Line
Gift of General Electric Company
Inventory Number
A19660647000
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
SPACECRAFT-Crewed-Electrical Power
Materials
Stainless steel, other metals
Dimensions
3-D: 61 × 40 × 46cm (24 × 15 3/4 × 18 1/8 in.)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
National Air and Space Museum
Record ID
nasm_A19660647000
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv94a795903-d82b-40a6-828d-a0b9bfb5494c

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    Air and Space Museum
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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Black label with General Electric logo and "Gemini Fuel Cell Section"
Cutaway of steel cylinder with connections and mounting brackets

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