Gemini 6A (GT-6A), a revised mission of Gemini 6, was launched on December 15, 1965, with pilots Walter M. Schirra and Thomas P. Stafford at the controls. The original plan for Gemini 6 involved rendezvousing with an unmanned Agena target rocket, which was intended solely as a "target" for the manned mission to dock with in Earth orbit. However, the mission was canceled due to a technical failure during the launch of the Agena rocket.
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| A GT-6A launch cover from "Orbit Covers", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on December 15, 1965, signed by Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford. This mission accomplished the first manned rendezvous with another spacecraft, Gemini 7. |
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| Photo: Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford answering questions regarding their upcoming space mission at press conference on April 5, 1965. |
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| Photo: Flight path of the Gemini 6A and Gemini 7 rendezvous in Earth orbit. |
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| A GT-6A launch cover featuring the "KSC Officials" stamped cachet, postmarked at Kennedy Space Center with a machine cancel on December 15, 1965, signed by Walter Schirra. |
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| A second version of GT-6A "KSC Officials" stamped cachet, postmarked at Kennedy Space Center with a machine cancel on December 15, 1965, signed by Walter Schirra. |
The plan was modified to expedite the launch of Gemini 7, allowing Gemini 6A to rendezvous with it in Earth orbit. Schirra successfully executed the space rendezvous with the Gemini 7 spacecraft. Once in formation, the two capsules flew around each other, coming within a foot (0.3 meters) of one another without making contact. They maintained close proximity for five hours.
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| Photo: The Gemini 6A crew, Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford, enjoying a pre-flight breakfast with fellow astronaut Alan Shepard on December 15, 1965. |
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| Photo: Thomas Stafford and Walter Schirra, suited up and prepared for their third attempt at a space rendezvous, leaving their van at Cape Kennedy and walking up the ramp to their Gemini 6 spacecraft. |
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| A GT-6A launch cover from "Centennial", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on December 15, 1965. |
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| Photo: Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford inside the Gemini spacecraft, accompanied by a "Good Luck" note signed by the "2nd Shift" staff and a farewell handshake glove attached to the spacecraft. |
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| A GT-6A launch cover from "Astro Covers", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on December 15, 1965. |
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| Photo: Officers in the flagplot operations center aboard the USS Wasp receiving news of the successful launch of the Gemini 6A spacecraft. From left are Capt. Joseph E. Berrimen, Rear Adm. William N. Leonard, commander of Task Force Bravo; Vice Adm. Charles E. Weakley and Capt. Sam Sparks. This task force is responsible for recovering the Gemini 6A and 7 astronauts and their capsules. |
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| A GT-6A rendezvous cover from "An Exquisite Historical Cachet", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on December 15, 1965. |
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| Photo: Images of the Gemini 6A and Gemini 7 spacecraft during their rendezvous in space. |
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| A GT-6A rendezvous cover from "Astro Covers", postmarked at Kennedy Space Center with a machine cancel on December 15, 1965. |
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| A GT-6A rendezvous cover from “Sarzin” with printed crew signatures, postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on December 15, 1965. |
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| Photo: A celebratory moment at Mission Control following the successful rendezvous of the Gemini 6A and 7 spacecraft. |
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| A GT-6A recovery cover from "Astro Covers", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on December 16, 1965. |
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| Photo: The Gemini 6A capsule splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean on December 16, 1965. |
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| A GT-6A recovery cover featuring a magenta “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Wasp with a machine cancel on December 18, 1965, signed by Captain Gordon E. Hartley. |
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| A GT-6A recovery cover featuring a magenta “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Wasp with an unusual machine cancel on December 18, 1965 (featuring an inverted "1965" in the date). |
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| A GT-6A recovery cover featuring a magenta “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet that was originally prepared for the earlier aborted GT-6 mission, postmarked aboard USS Wasp with an unusual machine cancel on December 18, 1965 (featuring an inverted "1965" in the date), signed by Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford. |
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| A GT-6A recovery cover featuring a magenta "Morris Beck" rubber-stamped cachet from the earlier aborted GT-6 mission, postmarked aboard USS Wasp with a less common "AM" time slug machine cancel on December 16, 1965. |
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| Photo: Walter Schirra emerging from the Gemini capsule and receiving a congratulatory handshake from Dr. Donald Stullken, the chief of recovery operations. |
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| A GT-6A recovery cover featuring a magenta "Morris Beck" rubber-stamped cachet from the earlier aborted GT-6 mission, postmarked aboard USS Wasp with a less common hand cancel on December 16, 1965, signed by Air Boss Captain David Barksdale. |
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| Photo: Thomas Stafford and Walter Schirra exited their Gemini capsule and boarded the USS Wasp carrier. |
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| A GT-6A recovery cover featuring a magenta "Morris Beck" rubber-stamped cachet from the earlier aborted GT-6 mission, a hand-drawn World War II Disney insignia for USS Wasp CV-7 and a black “USS Wasp” stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Wasp with a less common hand cancel on December 16, 1965. |
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| Photo: Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford examine the heat shield of their capsule. |
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| A GT-6A Crew Cover (Type B) from "Morris Beck", postmarked aboard USS Wasp with a machine cancel on December 16, 1965, signed by Walter Schirra, along with an autopen signature of Thomas Stafford. Only 25 covers with this printed cachet without the "B" number exist. |
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| Photo: Cake-cutting ceremony for the Gemini 6A crew aboard the USS Wasp. |
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| A GT-6A recovery cover with a printed “Morris Beck B610” cachet, postmarked aboard USS Wasp with a machine cancel on December 16, 1965. The cover was originally intended for the USS Waldron, but this particular cover was forwarded to the USS Wasp instead. |
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| Photo: Captain Gordon E. Hartley of the USS Wasp and Walter Schirra engaged in conversation during the astronauts' visit to the sailors on the USS Wasp's expansive hangar deck. |
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| A GT-6A Captain's Cover from USS Wasp, postmarked aboard USS Wasp with a less common hand cancel on December 16, 1965, signed by Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford. |
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| A GT-6A Captain's Cover from USS Wasp, postmarked aboard USS Wasp with a possibly unique hand cancel on December 16, 1965 (featuring an inverted "DEC" in the date). |
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| Photo: Thomas Stafford and Walter Schirra greet the destroyer USS Waldron from the flight deck of the USS Wasp. |
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| A GT-6A recovery cover with a printed “Morris Beck B585” cachet, postmarked aboard USS Waldron with a hand cancel on December 18, 1965. The cover was originally intended for the USS Aucilla, but this particular cover was forwarded to the USS Waldron instead. The USS Waldron served as a part of the Atlantic tracking and recovery force for the historic Gemini 6A and Gemini 7 space missions in December 1965. |
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| Photo: Gemini 6A astronauts Walter Schirra (left) and Thomas Stafford returning to Cape Kennedy, welcomed by fellow astronaut Alan Shepard. |
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| A GT-6A recovery cover featuring a black “USS Wasp” stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Wasp with a machine cancel on December 16, 1965, signed by G. Merritt Preston, the Deputy Mission Director for Launch Operations. |
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| Photo: Thomas Stafford and Walter Schirra reviewing a photo of the Gemini 7 spacecraft that they took during the rendezvous. |
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| Photo: Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford described their close rendezvous with the Gemini 7 spacecraft at a press conference on December 30, 1965. |
(Reference from
Gemini 6A)
