Gemini 2 (GT-2) was successfully launched from Cape Kennedy on January 18, 1965, reaching a peak altitude of 171.2 km. Controlled by an automatic onboard system, the spacecraft fired its retrorockets nearly seven minutes after launch and reentered the atmosphere about 18 minutes later. It splashed down by parachute in the Atlantic Ocean, slightly short of its target, and was recovered by the U.S.S. Lake Champlain.
The mission met all objectives except testing the fuel cells, which were disabled due to a pre-launch failure. The capsule was recovered in excellent condition, with the heat shield and retrorockets performing as expected, though the cooling system temperature was found to be higher than desired.
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| A GT-2 launch cover from "Centennial", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on January 19, 1965. |
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| A GT-2 launch cover from "Orbit Covers", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on January 19, 1965. |
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| A GT-2 launch cover from "SpaceCraft Swanson", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on January 19, 1965. |
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| A GT-2 recovery cover featuring a red “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Lake Champlain with a very rare machine cancel on January 19, 1965. |
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| A GT-2 Crew Cover (Type B) from "Morris Beck", postmarked aboard USS Lake Champlain with a hand cancel on January 19, 1965. Only 25 covers with this printed cachet without the "B" number exist. |
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| Two GT-2 recovery covers featuring the red "Morris Beck" rubber-stamped cachet, both postmarked aboard USS Lake Champlain with the less common hand cancel on January 19, 1965. This hand cancel is a variation with an “AM” time slug, rather than the usual “PM” variation. |
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| Photo: The Gemini 2 spacecraft during recovery by the crew of the USS Lake Champlain. |
