[Illustration: 83. This photo of _Gemini 7_ was taken through the
hatch window of the _Gemini 6_ spacecraft during rendezvous
maneuvers 260 kilometers (160 miles) above Earth.]
_Gemini 7_ was launched on December 4, 1965, carrying astronauts Frank
Borman and James Lovell, Jr., into a two-week flight. _Gemini 6_ and _7_
accomplished the first manned rendezvous in space. It was an historic
flight for the United States’ manned space program and an important step
in the preparation for the Apollo lunar flights.
The story of the _Gemini 7/6_ mission had begun two months earlier. The
October launch of _Gemini 6_ had to be delayed when _Gemini 6_’s Agena
target vehicle failed to reach orbit. It was then decided that _Gemini
6_ would attempt to rendezvous with _Gemini 7_. Eight days after the
launch of _Gemini 7_, _Gemini 6_ was ready. But once again, the launch
had to be delayed—this time an electrical plug became detached from the
Titan booster prematurely, shutting down the engines. Finally, on
December 15, _Gemini 6_’s Titan II launch vehicle lifted off. _Gemini 6_
began a 6-hour chase to catch _Gemini 7_, which was in a near-circular
orbit 300 kilometers (186 miles) high.
_Gemini 6_’s launch put it 1175 kilometers (730 miles) behind _Gemini 7_
in an orbit which varied from 161 to 272 kilometers (100 to 169 miles)
in height. By flying in a lower altitude orbit, _Gemini 6_ astronauts
Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford circled the Earth at a higher
velocity, slowing down as they moved to match speed with _Gemini 7_ at
the higher orbit. Finally, Schirra jockeyed the _Gemini 6_ spacecraft to
within 30 centimeters (1 foot) from _Gemini 7_.
They stayed in formation for four revolutions while all four pilots
practiced maneuvering. Then _Gemini 6_ broke off and reentered,
splashing down on December 16, 1965.
_Gemini 7_ went on to complete its 14-day mission which set a record for
the longest U.S.-manned space flight which stood until the first Skylab
mission. _Gemini 7_ splashed down on December 18.
Prime contractor for Gemini was the McDonnell Aircraft Company.
_Gemini 7_ is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
[Illustration: 84. The Gemini spacecraft.]
Rendezvous and Recovery Section
Ejection Seat
Adapter Equipment Section
Reaction Control System Section
Cabin
Retrograde Section