The pencil-like Gemini-Agena Target Vehicle (GATV), mounted atop its Agena booster, rises from Pad 14 at Cape Kennedy on. “Success”, though, was in woefully short supply that day. Early on 17 May, Stafford and Cernan breakfasted, had biosensors fitted to their bodies, donned their pressure suits, and were ensconced in their seats aboard Gemini IX to await news of the GATV’s successful injection into orbit. The Agena-measuring 20.7 feet (6.3 meters) in length-would be used by Stafford and Cernan as a rendezvous and docking target, as well as enabling them to “re-boost” their orbital altitude. With the Gemini IX backup crew of Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan therefore pushed into the shoes of the prime crew, hopes were high that they would launch on, for an ambitious three-day mission of rendezvous, docking, scientific experiments, and spacewalking.Īs outlined in yesterday’s AmericaSpace article, about 99 minutes before their own launch, an Atlas booster at Cape Kennedy’s Pad 14 was scheduled to loft a pencil-like Gemini-Agena Target Vehicle (GATV) into orbit. Then, in February 1966, the Gemini IX crew was killed during training and, a few weeks later, the Gemini VIII astronauts came close to losing their lives after accomplishing the first docking in space. After a spectacular run of five successful missions in 1965- which included America’s first spacewalk and saw the United States move ahead of the Soviet Union with the longest human space mission yet attempted, as well as accomplishing rendezvous between two orbital vehicles for the first time-Gemini seemed to be smoothly clearing the milestones, ahead of Project Apollo. Photo Credit: NASAįifty years ago, this week, it seemed that Project Gemini’s recent spell of tragedy and misfortune was nearing its end. On, they also lost their rendezvous target, the Gemini-Agena Target Vehicle (GATV). The deaths of the prime crew on 28 February 1966 forced Stafford and Cernan into their shoes, but was not the end of their misfortunes. The Gemini IX crews consisted of Elliot See (front left) and Charlie Bassett (front right) and their backups, Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan.
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