 |
| A GT-6 mission scrubbed cover, postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on December 12, 1965. On December 12, 1965, the Gemini 6 mission failed to launch for the second time when the Titan II rocket encountered a failure. |
The Gemini 6 mission had already experienced a major setback on October 25, 1965, when the Agena target vehicle failed to reach orbit. NASA subsequently revised the mission into Gemini 6A, with astronauts Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford scheduled to rendezvous with the crew of Gemini 7.
 |
| Photo: The Gemini 6 crew, Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford, on their way to the launch pad. |
The launch attempt on December 12, 1965, was another setback in the mission's history. Astronauts Walter M. Schirra and Thomas P. Stafford were aboard their spacecraft when the Titan II rocket's engines shut down approximately one second after ignition, following the premature separation of an electrical umbilical connector.
 |
| Photo: Smoke billows from the base of the Titan II rocket, which carries Gemini 6 on its nose at Cape Kennedy. The engines were shut down shortly after, and the rocket never lifted off from the pad. |
 |
| Photo: Christopher Kraft, the Gemini flight director, seated at the console in Mission Control, watching the Titan II rocket's failure to launch from the pad on a TV screen. |
Further investigation revealed an additional engine-flow restriction caused by a protective dust cap inadvertently left in place. Schirra's decision not to activate the ejection seats helped avoid an unnecessary emergency escape.
 |
| Photo: Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford observing the base of the Titan II rocket that failed to function as they exit from the launch pad. |
 |
| The USS Wasp was the designated recovery ship for the Gemini 6 mission. This cover was mailed from USS Wasp, postmarked with a machine cancel on December 12, 1965. |
