Gemini 9 Letter and Drawing

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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.

Identifier

NASM.2024.0018

Creator

Stafford, Thomas P.

Date

1966

Provenance

Kenneth W. Parent, Gift, 2024, NASM.2024.0018

Extent

0.01 Cubic feet (1 folder)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

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.

Arrangement note

Collection is a single letter with enclosure.

Rights

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.

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Citation

Gemini 9 Letter and Drawing, NASM.2024.0018, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Astronautics
Gemini Project

Type

Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Sketches

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