Agena target vehicle

Gemini-Agena Target Vehicle

Manufacturer	Lockheed Aircraft McDonnell Aircraft
Country of origin	United States
Operator	NASA
Applications	Docking target Space tug
Specifications
Launch mass	18,030–18,100 pounds (8,180–8,210 kg)
Dry mass	4,012–4,085 pounds (1,820–1,853 kg)
Dimensions	5 feet (1.52 m) diameter 26 feet (7.92 m) long
Power	Batteries
Equipment	Guidance Flight control electronics Telemetry Command Tracking Propellant pressurization
Production
Status	Retired
Built	7
Launched	7
Failed	3
Maiden launch	October 25, 1965
Last launch	November 11, 1966
Related spacecraft
Derived from	Agena-D
Derivatives	Augmented Target Docking Adapter
Flown with	Gemini

The Agena Target Vehicle (/əˈdʒiːnə/; ATV), also known as Gemini-Agena Target Vehicle (GATV), was an uncrewed spacecraft used by NASA during its Gemini program to develop and practice orbital space rendezvous and docking techniques, and to perform large orbital changes, in preparation for the Apollo program lunar missions.^[1] The spacecraft was based on Lockheed Aircraft's Agena-D upper stage rocket, fitted with a docking target manufactured by McDonnell Aircraft. The name 'Agena' derived from the star Beta Centauri, also known as Agena. The combined spacecraft was a 26-foot (7.92 m)-long cylinder with a diameter of 5 feet (1.52 m), placed into low Earth orbit with the Atlas-Agena launch vehicle. It carried about 14,000 pounds (6,400 kg) of propellant and gas at launch,^[2] and had a gross mass at orbital insertion of about 7,200 pounds (3,300 kg).

The ATV for Gemini 6 failed on launch on October 25, 1965, which led NASA to develop a backup: the Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA), a smaller spacecraft consisting of the docking target with an attitude control propulsion system but without the Agena orbital change rocket. The ATDA was used once on Gemini 9A after a second ATV launch failure on May 17, 1966, but failed as a docking target because its launch shroud failed to separate.