"What a helluva bore," yawned a controller at Houston's Manned Spacecraft Center as Astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell monotonously orbited the earth last week. By week's end, as Gemini 7 completed its seventh uneventful day in space, the flight had indeed escaped the spine-tingling crises that enlivened—and plagued—earlier shots. But the ennui in Houston and elsewhere in the U.S. was a high accolade. It demonstrated that flawless performance has become commonplace, that near-perfect timing, preparation and execution of Gemini flights have become routine.
Higher in Tone. Without major troubles to occupy them, the astronauts were free to concentrate on...