25 October 1965: Command Pilot Wally Schirra & Pilot Tom Stafford aimed to achieve rendezvous & docking with an Agena Target Vehicle; the Atlas-Agena rocket lifted off from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, but the Agena exploded shortly after separation from the Atlas; the Gemini-Titan launch was scrubbed, the astronauts disembarked, & N.A.S.A. pondered how to salvage Gemini VI's mission.
12 December 1965: Schirra & Stafford boarded their Gemini capsule atop a Titan II G.L.V. for the second time, their revised mission to rendezvous with Gemini VII redesignated Gemini VI-A; the rockets fired, but cut off seconds later; launch abort mission rules called for the crew to use their ejection seats, a risky manuever, but the pilots knew they hadn't lifted off, stood by, & disembarked.
15-16 December 1965: Gemini VI-A lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, with Command Pilot Wally Schirra & Pilot Tom Stafford aboard a Gemini spacecraft atop a Titan II G.L.V. rocket; they achieved the first rendezvous in space with Gemini VII, the two capsules maneuvering to within one foot; next day, they splashed down in the Atlantic & were recovered by the U.S.S. Wasp.
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCLXXIX: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini VI, Prelude
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCLXXXVIII: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini VI-A, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCLXXXIX: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini VI-A, Part II
Space Race Song o' the Day
Commentary: Whereas Gemini VII was the last of the Gemini endurance missions, Gemini VI-A was the first of the Gemini rendezvous & docking missions. These shorter duration missions would typify the remainder of Project Gemini. The rendezvous of Gemini VI-A with Gemini VII was the first time two spacecraft rendezvoused on orbit & produced some of the most striking images from Gemini.
Trouble with the Agena Target Vehicle &/or the Atlas rocket would later plague Gemini IX-A.
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