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.
Display Status
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
SPACECRAFT-Crewed-Electrical Power
Manufacturer
General Electric Co.
Dimensions
3-D: 61 × 40 × 46cm (24 × 15 3/4 × 18 1/8 in.)
Materials
Stainless steel, other metals
Inventory Number
A19660647000
Credit Line
Gift of General Electric Company
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Open Access (CCO)
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.