Gemini 9: NASA's Troubled Rendezvous Mission in Photos

In Outer Space

On June 5, 1966, during the Gemini 9 mission, astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, pilot for the mission, completes his extravehicular activity.

72 Hours in Space

The Gemini 9 spaceflight concluded after 72 hours and 21 minutes in orbit around Earth. The Gemini 9 spacecraft splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean and the USS Wasp, the prime recovery ship recovered her and her crew 345 miles east of Cape Kennedy on June 6, 1966.

Preparing for the End

On April 9, 1966, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter raises astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, prime crew pilot for NASA's upcoming Gemini 9 spaceflight, aboard following water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico.

Up and Aboard

After a successful splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, astronauts Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan are lifted, inside the Gemini 9 spacecraft, onto the aircraft carrier USS Wasp, the prime recovery ship for the mission.

Safe and Sound

On June 6, 1966, astronauts Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan greet the crowd after their successful 72-hour, 21-mintue mission orbiting Earth. On the far right, John C. Stonesifer from the Manned Spacecraft Center's Landing and Recovery Division, greets the astronauts.