The Explorers' Club Special: Gemini X

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Gemini X
18-21 July 1966: Gemini X lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, with Command Pilot John Young & Pilot Michael Collins aboard a Gemini spacecraft atop a Titan II G.L.V. rocket; they docked with their Agena & used its engine to set a new altitude record, & rendezvoused with Gemini VIII's derelict Agena; they splashed down in the Atlantic & were recovered by the U.S.S. Guadalcanal.

Commentary: Although Mike Collins's E.V.A. weren't trouble-free (E.V.A. difficuties would continue with Dick Gordon on Gemini XI & the code wouldn't be cracked until Buzz Aldrin on Gemini XII), Gemini X was a successful mission & a boost in the arm for N.A.S.A. after the emergency that ended Gemini VIII & the myriad struggles of Gemini IX-A.

On a personal note, Gemini X is my greatest regret of "The Explorers' Club's" exploration of Project Gemini. Yes, July 2021 was a busy time (including the fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 15, 26 July-7 August), but I still ought to have dedicated a second episode to Gemini X.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Gemini X
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXXX: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini X
Space Race Song o' the Day

Semper exploro.