There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.
To view items in this collection, use the Online Finding Aid
This collection consists of a two-page letter from Deane Davis, Centaur Program Manager for General Dynamics Convair Division, in which Davis describes a conversation he had with Thomas Patten "Tom" Stafford prior to the Gemini 9 flight about how Stafford planned to accomplish rendezvous with the target vehicle. Enclosed with the letter is a drawing made by Stafford during that conversation.
The Gemini 9-A crew, Thomas Patten "Tom" Stafford and Eugene Cernan, were launched from Cape Kennedy on June 3, 1966. After the loss of the original Agena target vehicle during launch on May 17, the substitute vehicle, the Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA), was launched on June 1. Because the shroud failed to deploy properly, no docking could be performed, but the crew successfully performed three different types of rendezvous. Gene Cernan executed the second extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or "space walk" of the Gemini program, but severely overheated due to an overambitious plan and lack of experience with EVAs. After 45 orbits, Stafford and Cernan splashed down on June 6, just 0.7 km from the target. Deane Davis, Centaur Program Manager for General Dynamics Convair Division, was a family friend of the donor, Kenneth Parent. Parent wrote a letter to Davis asking about his work on the space program and the letter in this collection is Davis' reply.
NASM.2024.0018
Stafford, Thomas P.
1966
Kenneth W. Parent, Gift, 2024, NASM.2024.0018
0.01 Cubic feet (1 folder)
National Air and Space Museum Archives
This collection consists of a two-page letter from Deane Davis, Centaur Program Manager for General Dynamics Convair Division to Kenneth Parent. In the letter, Davis describes a conversation Davis had with Thomas Patten "Tom" Stafford prior to the Gemini 9 flight about how Stafford planned to accomplish rendezvous with the target vehicle. Enclosed with the letter is a drawing made by Stafford during that conversation which includes his signature at the lower left side.
Collection is a single letter with enclosure.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
No restrictions on access
Gemini 9 Letter and Drawing, NASM.2024.0018, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Astronautics
Gemini Project
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Sketches