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| A GT-11 launch cover from "Orbit Covers" postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on September 12, 1966, signed by Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon. |
Gemini 11 (GT-11), launched on September 12, 1966, was the ninth crewed flight of the Gemini program, featuring astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. and Richard F. Gordon Jr. The crew achieved the first direct-ascent rendezvous in the first orbit, successfully docking with the Agena Target Vehicle just 1 hour and 34 minutes after liftoff.
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| Photo: The Gemini 11 crew, Richard Gordon and Charles Conrad. |
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| A GT-11 launch cover featuring the "KSC Officials" stamped cachet, postmarked at Kennedy Space Center with a machine cancel on September 12, 1966, signed by Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon. - Heritage Auctions |
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| Photo: Charles Conrad looks back to observe the technicians working on the hatch that was not sealed properly. |
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| Photo: A double exposure captured on the same film, featuring the launch of the Agena Atlas rocket followed by the launch of the Gemini 11 Titan rocket on September 12, 1966. |
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| A GT-11 launch cover featuring the "KSC Officials" stamped cachet in red and blue, postmarked at Kennedy Space Center with a hand cancel on September 12, 1966. |
Richard Gordon conducted two extra-vehicular activities (EVAs), totaling 2 hours and 41 minutes. The first EVA involved attaching a 100-foot tether, stored in the Agena's docking collar, to the Gemini's docking bar for a passive stabilization experiment. Although he accomplished this task, the prolonged effort was more exhausting than in ground simulations, leading to a termination of the EVA after just half an hour. In his second EVA, Gordon stood with his head and shoulders out of the hatch to photograph the Earth, clouds, and stars, which was not tiring and lasted over two hours.
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| Photo: Richard Gordon approaches the Gemini 11 cabin after finishing an extravehicular experiment, during which he tethered the spacecraft to an unmanned Agena target at an altitude of 160 miles above the Earth, while flying over the Atlantic Ocean. |
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| A GT-11 spacewalk cover from "Astro Covers", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on September 12, 1966. |
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| Photo: A 100-foot tether connecting the Gemini 11 spacecraft to the Agena target, demonstrating the feasibility of linking two spacecraft together to conserve fuel. |
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| A GT-11 launch cover from "SpaceCraft Swanson", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on September 12, 1966, signed by Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon. |
The mission concluded with the first fully automatic, computer-controlled reentry by the U.S., successfully bringing Gemini 11 down just 2.8 miles (4.5 km) from the recovery ship USS Guam, and only 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the intended target location.
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| Photo: The Gemini 11 crew capturing photographs of the Earth during their mission. |
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| A GT-11 recovery cover featuring the "KSC Officials" stamped cachet proof in maroon, postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a hand cancel on September 15, 1966, the day of the GT-11 recovery. |
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| Photo: Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon exiting their Gemini 11 capsule following splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. |
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| A GT-11 Crew Cover (Type 2) on ship's stationery from the USS Guam featuring a blue “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Guam with a hand cancel on September 15, 1966. |
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| Photo: A recovery helicopter lifts Charles "Pete" Conrad, command pilot of the record-setting Gemini 11, from the capsule for transfer to the USS Guam recovery ship. Conrad and Richard Gordon achieved a near-pinpoint landing in the Atlantic Ocean using automatic controls. |
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| A GT-11 recovery cover featuring a blue “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Guam with a hand cancel on September 15, 1966, signed by Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon. |
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| A GT-11 recovery cover featuring a blue “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet, postmarked aboard USS Guam with a hand cancel on September 15, 1966, signed by the commanding officer, Captain Stephen Thomas De La Mater, along with an autopen signature of Richard Gordon and Charles Conrad. The ship’s cachet is applied at the back of the cover. |
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| A GT-11 recovery cover with a printed “Morris Beck B687” cachet, postmarked aboard USS Guam with a hand cancel on September 15, 1966, signed by Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon. |
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| A GT-11 recovery cover with a printed “Morris Beck B684” cachet, postmarked aboard USS Guam with a hand cancel on September 15, 1966. The cover was originally intended for the USS Forrest Royal, but this particular cover was forwarded to the USS Guam instead. |
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| A GT-11 recovery cover with a printed “Morris Beck B686” cachet, postmarked aboard USS Guam with a hand cancel on September 15, 1966. The cover was originally intended for the USS McCaffery, but this particular cover was forwarded to the USS Guam instead. |
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| A GT-11 Captain's Cover from USS Guam, postmarked aboard USS Guam with hand cancel on September 15, 1966, along with autopen signatures of Richard Gordon and Charles Conrad. |
(Reference from
Gemini 11)
