S66-27990 (March 1966) --- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, pilot for the Gemini-9 spaceflight, works out procedures for his historic space excursion in a unique manned Aerospace Flight Simulator at LTV Corp. at Dallas, Texas. The LTV simulator is used frequently by NASA astronauts for a variety of space programs maneuvers to provide many of the sensations and visual scenes of actual spaceflight. Controlled through a complex of computers, the device makes it possible for the astronauts to work out procedures, solve problems and simulate missions in real time with great accuracy. The astronaut rides in a spacecraft-like gondola which moves in roll, pitch and yaw in response to his controls and accurate computer inputs. The simulator's usual spacecraft displays and canopy have been removed and AMU backpack complete with control electronics installed. The astronaut makes his simulated flight in an inflated pressure suit and with the NASA-developed Extravehicular Life Support system chest pack which will be used in the Gemini flight. Photo credit: NASA

S66-38080 (3 June 1966) --- Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, command pilot of the Gemini-9A spaceflight, is photographed during the Gemini-9A mission inside the spacecraft by astronaut Eugene Cernan, Gemini-9A pilot. Photo credit: NASA

S66-15621 (January 1966) --- Gemini-9 prime crew portrait with astronauts Thomas P. Stafford (left), command pilot, and Eugene A. Cernan, pilot. Photo credit: NASA

S66-15622 (January 1966) --- Portrait of the Gemini 9 prime and backup crews. Seated are the Prime crew consisting of Astronauts Elliot M. See Jr. (left), command pilot, and Charles A. Bassett II, pilot. Standing are the backup crew consisting of Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford (left), command pilot, and Eugene A. Cernan, pilot. Both crews are in space suits with their helmets on the table in front of them.

S66-38082 (3 June 1966) --- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, pilot of the Gemini-9A spaceflight, is photographed inside the spacecraft by the command pilot, astronaut Thomas P. Stafford during the flight. Photo credit: NASA

S66-28075 (May 1966) --- Insignia of the Gemini IX spaceflight. Roman numeral indicates ninth flight in the Gemini series. Two spacecraft symbolize rendezvous and docking of Gemini with an Agena. Astronaut and umbilical (tether) line denote planned extravehicular activity (EVA). Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, command pilot, and Eugene A. Cernan, pilot, are members of the Gemini IX prime crew. The NASA insignia design for Gemini flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which we do not anticipate, it will be publicly announced. Photo credit: NASA

S66-15620 (January 1966) --- Gemini-9 backup crew portrait with astronauts Charles A. Bassett II (left), backup pilot and Elliot M. See Jr., backup command pilot. Photo credit: NASA

S66-38515 (5 June 1966) --- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, pilot of the Gemini-9A spaceflight, is pictured outside of the spacecraft during his extravehicular activity (EVA). Photo credit: NASA

S66-37910 (3 June 1966) --- The Mississippi River delta, and Gulf coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida as seen from the Gemini-9 spacecraft during its first revolution of Earth. The Florida peninsula is seen at upper right corner of the picture. Lake Pontchartrain is a lower left. New Orleans is located between the lake and the U-shaped bend in the river. Large bay at top left center is Mobile Bay. The next bay to the east is Pensacola Bay. Cape San Blas near Apalachicola, Florida, is the point of land at top center of the picture. Note alluvial deposit at the mouths of the Mississippi. The image was taken with a modified 70mm Hasselblad camera, using Eastman Kodak, Ektachrome MS (S.O. 217) color film. Photo credit: NASA

S66-38298 (5 June 1966) --- The central coastal area of Peru as seen from the Gemini-9A spacecraft during its 35th revolution of Earth. The body of water is the Pacific Ocean. The mountains are in the Cordillera Blanca range of the Andes. The 22,205-feet Huascaran is the highest peak in the area. The image was taken with a modified 70mm Hasselblad camera, using Eastman Kodak, Ektachrome MS (S.O. 217) color film Photo credit: NASA

S66-38313 (5 June 1966) --- Areas of Peru (upper right), Chile (top center) and Bolivia as seen from the Gemini-9 spacecraft during its 35th revolution of Earth. The large body of water at lower right is Lake Titicaca. The smaller lake at left edge is Lake Poopo. Salar de Uyuni is the large light-colored area at upper left. At the bottom of the picture is the snow-capped Cordillera Real range of the Andes Mountains. The Pacific coastline of Peru and Chile is at upper right. The range running parallel with the coastline is the Cordillera Occidental. The image was taken with a modified 70mm Hasselblad camera, using Eastman Kodak, Ektachrome MS (S.O. 217) color film. Photo credit: NASA

S66-33728 (10 May 1966) --- Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, command pilot of the Gemini-9 spaceflight, checks the 16mm Mauer camera which will be used in space. The camera will record and document the exterior of the spacecraft and the Agena target vehicle in the docked configuration during the Gemini-9/Agena rendezvous and docking mission. Photo credit: NASA

S66-38191 (4 June 1966) --- The mouth of the Amazon River on the northern coast of Brazil, looking southwest, as seen from the Gemini-9A spacecraft during its 18th revolution of Earth. The image was taken with a 70mm Hasselblad camera, using Eastman Kodak, Ektachrome MS (S.O. 217) color film. Photo credit: NASA

S66-38423 (6 June 1966) --- The southern tip of the Red Sea area as seen from the Gemini-9A spacecraft during its 43rd revolution of Earth. The Red Sea is at lower left. The Gulf of Aden is in the center of the picture. The land mass at bottom center is Ethiopia. Yemen is at upper center, southwestern tip of Arabian Peninsula. Somalia is the land mass in the background, center of picture. The image was taken with a modified 70mm Hasselblad camera, using Eastman Kodak, Ektachrome MS (S.O. 217) color film. Photo credit: NASA

S66-29559 (9 April 1966) --- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, prime crew pilot of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration?s Gemini-9 spaceflight, sits in Gemini Boiler-plate during water egress training activity in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo credit: NASA

S65-21520 (23 March 1965) --- Distant view showing the successful launching of the first manned Gemini flight. The Gemini-Titan 3 (GT-3) lifted off Pad 19, at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 9:24 a.m. (EST), March 23, 1965. The Gemini-3 spacecraft "Molly Brown" carried astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, command pilot, and John W. Young, pilot, on three successful orbits of Earth.

S66-37923 (3 June 1966) --- The Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA) as seen from the Gemini-9 spacecraft during one of their three rendezvous in space. The ATDA and Gemini-9 spacecraft are 66.5 feet apart. Failure of the docking adapter protective cover to fully separate on the ATDA prevented the docking of the two spacecraft. The ATDA was described by the Gemini-9 crew as an "angry alligator." Photo credit: NASA

S66-29485 (9 April 1966) --- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, prime crew pilot of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Gemini-9 spaceflight, stands on deck of the NASA Motor Vessel Retriever after suiting up for water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo credit: NASA

S66-37972 (3 June 1966) ?-- The Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA) is photographed from the Gemini-9 spacecraft during one of three rendezvous occasions in space. The ATDA and Gemini-9 spacecraft are 35.5 feet apart in this view. Failure of the docking adapter protective cover on the ATDA to fully separate prevented the docking of the two spacecraft. The ATDA was described by the Gemini-9 crew members as an ?angry alligator.? Photo credit: NASA

S66-38050 (5 June 1966) --- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan took this close-up view of the Gemini-9A spacecraft during his extravehicular activity (EVA) on the Gemini-9A mission. Taken during the 32nd revolution of the 72-hour, 21-minute spaceflight. Photo credit: NASA

S66-38070 (5 June 1966) --- Northwestern Mexico as seen from the Gemini-9A spacecraft during its 32nd revolution of Earth. The large penisula is Baja California. The body of water at lower right is the Pacific Ocean. The land mass at upper left is the State of Sonora. The Gulf of California separates Sonora from the peninsula. The nose of the spacecraft is at left; and at right is the open hatch of the spacecraft. Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, pilot, took this picture with his modified 70mm Hasselblad EVA camera, using Eastman Kodak, Ektachrome, MS (S.O. 217) color film. Photo credit: NASA

S66-29498 (9 April 1966) --- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, prime crew pilot of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Gemini-9 spaceflight, is hoisted aboard a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter during water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo credit: NASA

S66-38068 (5 June 1966) --- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan took this view of the Gemini-9A spacecraft and his umbilical cord (right) over California, Arizona, and Sonora, Mexico, during his extravehicular activity (EVA) on the Gemini-9A mission. Taken during the 32nd revolution of the flight. Photo credit: NASA

S66-38275 (3-6 June 1966) --- Earth's limb at sunrise as seen from the orbiting Gemini-9 spacecraft during its three-day mission in space. Taken with a modified 70mm Hasselblad camera, using Eastman Kodak, Ektachrome MS (S.O. 217) color film. Photo credit: NASA

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

Astronauts Conrad and Bean at Lunar Landing Research Facility. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. In September of 1962, Mr. Conrad was selected as an astronaut by NASA. His first flight was Gemini V, which established the space endurance record and placed the United States in the lead for man-hours in space. As commander of Gemini XI, Mr. Conrad helped to set a world's altitude record. He then served as commander of Apollo XII, the second lunar landing. On Mr. Conrad's final mission, he served as commander of Skylab II, the first United States Space Station. https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/former for more information.

S66-57387 (13 Oct. 1966) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., pilot for the Gemini-12 spaceflight, practices work tasks during zero-gravity training. He is secured to a mock-up of the Agena Target Docking Vehicle by special tethers. The training took place onboard an Air Force KC-135 jet aircraft. Photo credit: NASA

S66-31019 (May 1966) --- Test subject Fred Spross, Crew Systems Division, wears the Gemini-9 configured extravehicular spacesuit assembly. The legs are covered with Chromel R, which is a cloth woven from stainless steel fibers, used to protect the astronaut and suit from the hot exhaust thrust of the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit (AMU). Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan will wear this spacesuit during his Gemini-9A extravehicular activity (EVA). Photo credit: NASA

S66-57365 (13 Oct. 1966) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., pilot for the Gemini-12 spaceflight, practices work tasks during zero-gravity training. He is standing in a mock-up of the Gemini spacecraft's adapter section onboard an Air Force KC-135 jet aircraft. Photo credit: NASA

This is the official NASA portrait of astronaut James Lovell. Captain Lovell was selected as an Astronaut by NASA in September 1962. He has since served as backup pilot for the Gemini 4 flight and backup Commander for the Gemini 9 flight, as well as backup Commander to Neil Armstrong for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. On December 4, 1965, he and Frank Borman were launched into space on the history making Gemini 7 mission. The flight lasted 330 hours and 35 minutes and included the first rendezvous of two manned maneuverable spacecraft. The Gemini 12 mission, commanded by Lovell with Pilot Edwin Aldrin, began on November 11, 1966 for a 4-day, 59-revolution flight that brought the Gemini program to a successful close. Lovell served as Command Module Pilot and Navigator on the epic six-day journey of Apollo 8, the first manned Saturn V liftoff responsible for allowing the first humans to leave the gravitational influence of Earth. He completed his fourth mission as Spacecraft Commander of the Apollo 13 flight, April 11-17, 1970, and became the first man to journey twice to the moon. The Apollo 13 mission was cut short due to a failure of the Service Module cryogenic oxygen system. Aborting the lunar course, Lovell and fellow crewmen, John L. Swigert and Fred W. Haise, working closely with Houston ground controllers, converted their lunar module, Aquarius, into an effective lifeboat that got them safely back to Earth. Captain Lovell held the record for time in space with a total of 715 hours and 5 minutes until surpassed by the Skylab flights. On March 1, 1973, Captain Lovell retired from the Navy and the Space Program.

S65-20428 (23 March 1965) --- Astronaut John W. Young (center), pilot of the Gemini-Titan 3 flight, is shown during a steak breakfast which he was served about two hours prior to the 9:24 a.m. (EST) GT-3 launch. At left is J.S. McDonnell, board chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. Dr. Charles A. Berry, chief of Center Medical Programs, is at right.

S65-30411 (9 June 1965) --- The families of Gemini 4 astronauts James A. McDivitt and Edward H. White II visited the Mission Control Center in Houston. In the foreground, left to right, are Mrs. Patricia McDivitt, daughter Bonnie White, Mrs. Patricia White, flight director Christopher C. Kraft Jr., and Edward White III. Each of the family members talked with the astronauts as they passed over the United States. Photo credit: NASA

S65-61830 (18 Dec. 1965) --- Astronauts James A. Lovell Jr. (left), Gemini-7 pilot, and Frank Borman, command pilot, are shown just after they arrived aboard the aircraft carrier USS Wasp. Greeting the astronauts are Donald Stullken (at Lovell's right), Recovery Operations Branch, Landing and Recovery Division, Dr. Howard Minners (standing beside Borman), Flight Medicine Branch, Center Medical Office, Manned Spacecraft Center, and Bennett James (standing behind Borman), a NASA Public Affairs Officer. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Gemini-7 spacecraft splashed down in the western Atlantic recovery area at 9:05 a.m. (EST), Dec. 18, 1965, to conclude a record-breaking 14-day mission in space. Photo credit: NASA

Following their touchdown on Runway 15 at 10:53:29 p.m. EST, STS-88 crew members are greeted by NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin and former astronauts Eugene A. Cernan and James A. Lovell Jr. From left are Pilot Frederick W. "Rick" Sturckow, Goldin , Commander Robert D. Cabana, Mission Specialist Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev, Cernan, Lovell and Mission Specialist Jerry L. Ross. Cernan flew on Gemini 9, Apollo 10 and 17 and has more than 566 cumulative hours of space flight. Lovell flew on Gemini 7 and 12, Apollo 8 and 13. His cumulative hours of space flight are more than 715. On the 4.6-million-mile, nearly 12-day STS-88 mission, Endeavour carried the U.S.-built Unity connecting module to begin construction of the International Space Station. The crew successfully mated Unity with the Russian-built Zarya control module during three space walks. With this mission, Ross completed seven space walks totaling 44 hours and 9 minutes, more than any other American space walker. Newman moved into third place for U.S. space walks with a total of 28 hours and 27 minutes on four excursions

S65-21093 (23 March 1965) --- Astronaut Virgil I. Grissom (facing camera at right), command pilot of the Gemini-Titan 3 flight, is shown during a steak breakfast which he was served about two hours prior to the 9:24 a.m. (EST) GT-3 launch on March 23, 1965. Pictured in the foreground are Donald K. Slayton (right), assistant director for Flight Crew Operations; and Walter Burke, general manager of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation Spacecraft and Missiles. Pictured in the background are astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. (left) and Walter C. Williams, former deputy director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, now with a private aerospace firm.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Before the induction ceremony of five space program heroes into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, astronaut John Young is warmly greeted as he is introduced as a previous inductee. Co-holder of a record for the most space flights, six, he flew on Gemini 3 and 10, orbited the Moon on Apollo 10, walked on the Moon on Apollo 16, and commanded two space shuttle missions, STS-1 and STS-9. Young currently serves as associate director, technical, at Johnson Space Center. The induction ceremony was held at the Apollo/Saturn V Center at KSC. New inductees are Richard O. Covey, commander of the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission; Norman E. Thagard, the first American to occupy Russia’s Mir space station; the late Francis R. "Dick" Scobee, commander of the ill-fated 1986 Challenger mission; Kathryn D. Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space; and Frederick D. Gregory, the first African-American to command a space mission and the current NASA deputy administrator. The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame opened in 1990 to provide a place where space travelers could be remembered for their participation and accomplishments in the U.S. space program. The five inductees join 52 previously honored astronauts from the ranks of the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, and Space Shuttle programs.

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Retired Gemini and Apollo astronaut Dick Gordon waves to spectators from a vintage Chevrolet Corvette during a commemorative parade in Cocoa Beach, Fla. A group of current and retired NASA astronauts gathered in Cocoa Beach to commemorate NASA’s 50 years of accomplishments and to honor astronaut Alan Shepard’s Mercury/Freedom 7 suborbital flight May 5, 1961.The event was marked by a parade, with the astronauts riding in a fleet of Chevrolet Corvettes that corresponded with the time period of their space missions. Members of the Cape Kennedy Corvette Club, a group established in 1967, escorted almost two dozen astronauts or their family representatives in club members' cars. The Corvette parade started at the glass bank building, at 9:34 a.m. EDT, the same time Shepard launched into space. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside Mercury Mission Control, astronaut Wally Schirra, capsule communicator, or capcom for the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission, talks to Trudy Cooper, wife of astronaut Gordon Cooper, on May 16, 1963, to inform her that he had just been recovered by the USS Kearsarge after his 22-orbit flight. The Mercury Mission Control Center in Florida played a key role in the United States' early spaceflight program. Located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the original part of the building was constructed between 1956 and 1958, with additions in 1959 and 1963. The facility officially was transferred to NASA on Dec. 26, 1963, and served as mission control during all the Project Mercury missions, as well as the first three flights of the Gemini Program, when it was renamed Mission Control Center. With its operational days behind, on June 1, 1967, the Mission Control Center became a stop on the public tour of NASA facilities until the mid-90s. In 1999, much of the equipment and furnishings from the Flight Control Area were moved to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where they became part of the exhibit there. The building was demolished in spring 2010. Photo credit: NASA