 Gemini IX-A rendezvous with the ATDA, discovering that the docking target's payload fairing has failed to separate | |
| Mission type | |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1966-047A |
| SATCAT no. | 2191 |
| Mission duration | 3 days, 20 minutes, 50 seconds |
| Orbits completed | 47 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Gemini SC9 |
| Manufacturer | McDonnell |
| Launch mass | 3,800 kilograms (8,300 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 2 |
| Members | |
| EVAs | 1 |
| EVA duration | 2 hours, 7 minutes |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | June 3, 1966, 13:39:33 UTC |
| Rocket | Titan II GLV, s/n #62-12564 |
| Launch site | Cape Kennedy LC-19 |
| End of mission | |
| Recovered by | USS Wasp |
| Landing date | June 6, 1966, 14:00:23 UTC |
| Landing site | 27°52′N 75°0′W / 27.867°N 75.000°W |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 272 kilometers (147 nmi) |
| Apogee altitude | 274 kilometers (148 nmi) |
| Inclination | 28.8 degrees |
| Period | 89.97 minutes |
| Epoch | June 6, 1966[1] |
.jpg) (L-R) Stafford, Cernan | |
Gemini 9A (officially Gemini IX-A)[2] was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the seventh crewed Gemini flight, the 15th crewed American flight and the 23rd spaceflight of all time (includes X-15 flights over 100 kilometers (62 mi)). The original crew for Gemini 9, command pilot Elliot See and pilot Charles Bassett, were killed in a crash on February 28, 1966, while flying a T-38 jet trainer to the McDonnell Aircraft plant in St. Louis, Missouri to inspect their spacecraft. Their deaths promoted the backup crew, Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan, to the prime crew. The mission was renamed Gemini 9A after the original May 17 launch was scrubbed when the mission's Agena Target Vehicle was destroyed after a launch failure. The mission was flown June 3–6, 1966, after launch of the backup Augmented Target Docking Adaptor (ATDA). Stafford and Cernan rendezvoused with the ATDA, but were unable to dock with it because the nose fairing had failed to eject from the docking target due to a launch preparation error. Cernan performed a two-hour extravehicular activity, during which it was planned for him to demonstrate free flight in a self-contained rocket pack, the USAF Astronaut Maneuvering Unit. He was unable to accomplish this due to stress, fatigue, and overheating.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Pages. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
- ^ Hacker, Barton C.; Grimwood, James M. (September 1974). "Chapter 11 Pillars of Confidence". On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini. NASA History Series. Vol. SP-4203. NASA. p. 239. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2013. With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations.