S66-63540 (12 Nov. 1966) --- Astronaut James A. Lovell is photographed inside his Gemini spacecraft during the Gemini-12 mission. Astronaut Edwin Aldrin is seen in the background and to the left. Photo credit: NASA

KSC-66C-1863 Gemini-8 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott prepare to enter elevator at Complex 19, Cape Kennedy. (jrs)

S66-34075 (3 June 1966) --- Prime crew for the Gemini-9A spaceflight, astronauts Thomas P. Stafford (front), command pilot, and Eugene A. Cernan, pilot, leave the suiting trailer at Launch Complex 16 in full spacesuits during prelaunch countdown. Photo credit: NASA

S66-24491 (16 March 1966) --- Astronaut David R. Scott, pilot of the Gemini-8 spaceflight, relaxes in the Launch Complex 16 trailer during suiting up operations for the Gemini-8 mission. Photo credit: NASA

CAPE KENNEDY, Fla. -- At Cape Kennedy Air Force Station in Florida, Gemini 12 pilot Edwin E. Buzz Aldrin Jr., seated in the spacecraft, practice stowing cameras and other equipment he and command pilot James A. Lovell will take along on their upcoming four-day Earth orbital mission. Lovell and Aldrin examined the equipment in the "White Room" atop Launch Complex 19. During Gemini 12, Lovell and Aldrin plan to rendezvous and dock with an Agena target satellite and Aldrin will perform two spacewalks. Photo Credit: NASA

S66-39436 (17 June 1966) --- Wide-angle view of the Manned Spacecraft Center's news center main auditorium during a Gemini-9 press conference. Photo credit:NASA

Langley Center Director Floyd Thompson shows Ann Kilgore the "picture of the century." This was the first picture of the earth taken from space. From Spaceflight Revolution: "On 23 August 1966 just as Lunar Orbiter I was about to pass behind the moon, mission controllers executed the necessary maneuvers to point the camera away from the lunar surface and toward the earth. The result was the world's first view of the earth from space. It was called "the picture of the century' and "the greatest shot taken since the invention of photography." Not even the color photos of the earth taken during the Apollo missions superseded the impact of this first image of our planet as a little island of life floating in the black and infinite sea of space." -- Published in James R. Hansen, Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo, (Washington: NASA, 1995), pp. 345-346. Mayor Ann Kilgore was married to NASA researcher Edwin Carroll Kilgore. Mrs. Kilgore was Mayor from 1963-1971 and again from 1974-1978.

S66-50726 (12 Sept. 1966) --- Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., command pilot of the Gemini-11 spaceflight, relaxes in Launch Complex 16 suiting trailer during the Gemini-11 prelaunch countdown. Minutes later astronauts Conrad and Richard F. Gordon Jr., pilot, were transported to Pad 19 and their waiting Gemini-11 spacecraft in preparation for their scheduled three-day mission in space. Photo credit: NASA

S66-63494 (13 Nov. 1966) --- Guadalupe Island, unique vortices off Baja California, Mexico, as seen from the Gemini-12 spacecraft during its 29th revolution of Earth. Photo credit: NASA

A/S Mission 202 was launched from the KSC Launch Complex (LC)-34 at 12:15 p.m., 08/25/1966. The mission was a step toward qualifying the Apollo Command and Service Modules (CSM)'s and the uprated Saturn I launch vehicle for manned flight. KSC, FL

S66-42763 (18 July 1966) --- Astronaut Michael Collins (left), Gemini-10 prime crew pilot, inspects a camera during prelaunch activity at Cape Kennedy, Florida. In center background is Dr. Donald K. Slayton, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) Director of Flight Crew Operations. Photo credit: NASA

Pre-launch alert, Complex 36B. Gantry pull back with LOX vapor around launcher, Centaur 9. Surveyor Mass Model Spacecraft.

S66-62755 (11 Nov. 1966) --- Excellent stereo and side view of the Agena Target Docking Vehicle as seen from the Gemini-12 spacecraft during rendezvous and docking mission in space. The two spacecraft are 50 feet apart. Photo credit: NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. Lewis researchers had been studying the behavior of liquid in microgravity for several years using ballistic rocket flights, aircraft flying series of parabolas, and in the 2.2-Second Drop Tower. It was easier to control experiments and repeat tests based on almost instantaneous test results in the Zero Gravity Research Facility than missiles or aircraft. It also more than doubled the microgravity time of the original drop tower. The experiments were enclosed in a large experiment package that was suspended inside the chamber. A vacuum was introduced to the chamber before the package was released. The test equipment allowed researchers to film and take measurements of the experiment as it was falling. The 2500‐pound package was slowed by special Styrofoam‐like pellets in a decelerator cart. An experiment, traveling 176 feet per second, was stopped in about 15 feet of deceleration material. The facility’s designers struggled to determine the correct type of deceleration pellets to use. For several years Lewis engineers tested various samples from manufacturers. The final selection was not made until the facility’s completion in May 1966, just before the facility made its public debut at the 1966 Inspection of the Center.

CAPE KENNEDY, Fla. -- At the Cape Kennedy Air Force Station skid strip, Dr. Kurt H. Debus, director of the Kennedy Space Center, greets returning Gemini 12 astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin E. Buzz Aldrin Jr. following their four-day Earth orbital mission. Photo Credit: NASA

Dr Harold P. Klein, Ass't Director Ames Life Sciences

S66-21416 (18 Feb. 1966) --- Astronaut David R. Scott, in full spacesuit, holds maneuvering unit while suspended in a weightless state during extravehicular activity (EVA) training in a C-135 Air Force plane. Photo credit: NASA

S66-65248 (November 1966) --- Five scientist-astronauts whose selection was announced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on June 29, 1969. Front row, left to right, are P. Curtis Michel,(physicist); Harrison H. Schmitt (astrogeologist); and Joseph F. Kerwin (physician). Back row, left to right, are Owen K. Garriott (physicist); and Edward G. Gibson (physicist). Photo credit: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration

S66-45635 (26 Sept. 1966) --- Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr. (center), Gemini-11 prime crew command pilot, discusses the Gemini-11/Agena tether before a gathering of news media representatives in the MSC Building 1 auditorium. Holding an Agena model at right is astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., Gemini-11 pilot. Looking on at left is George M. Low, MSC Deputy Director. Photo credit: NASA

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

CAPE KENNEDY, Fla. -- At Cape Kennedy Air Force Station in Florida, the crew for Gemini 12 arrives at Launch Complex 19. Command pilot James A. Lovell is followed by pilot Edwin E. Buzz Aldrin Jr. The signs on their backs note that this mission is the final flight of the Gemini Program. Photo Credit: NASA

S66-52157 (12 Sept. 1966) --- Discussing the Gemini-11 spaceflight in the Mission Control Center are: (left to right) Christopher C. Kraft Jr., (wearing glasses), Director of Flight Operations; Charles W. Mathews (holding phone), Manager, Gemini Program Office; Dr. Donald K. Slayton (center, checked coat), Director of Flight Crew Operations; astronaut William A. Anders, and astronaut John W. Young. Photo credit: NASA

S66-46952 (September 1966) --- Astronauts James A. Lovell Jr. (right), command pilot, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., pilot. Photo credit: NASA

S66-24482 (16 March 1966) --- An Agena Target Docking Vehicle atop an Atlas rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Kennedy at 10 a.m., March 16, 1966 just prior to the Gemini-8 liftoff at nearby Launch Complex 19. The Agena served as a rendezvous and docking vehicle for the Gemini-8 spacecraft. A chase plane leaves a contrail in the background. Photo credit: NASA

MR. A. NATWICK, MR. T. GONZALES, MR. F. GIALLANZA, AT WORK IN THE 7094 COMPUTER ROOM OF THE PIONEER TAPE PROCESSING STATION AT NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER. Pioneer Off-Line Data Processing System.

S66-36742 (1966) --- This is the insignia for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Apollo 1 mission, the first manned Apollo flight. Crew members are astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee. The NASA insignia design for Apollo 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. EDITOR'S NOTE: The three astronauts lost their lives in a fire during a simulation on the launch pad on Jan. 27, 1967.

S66-20016 (3 Feb. 1966) --- Astronaut David R. Scott holds maneuvering unit while suspended in a weightless state during extravehicular activity (EVA) training in a C-135 Air Force plane. Photo credit: NASA

Lunar Orbiter 1 photographed Earth from the moon, this image was called "the image of the century" published in " A Century at Langley" by Joseph Chambers Pg.93. Also in the book " A Bunch of Plambers" by John Newcomb pg. 92.

View of O&C Building Altitude Chambers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Gemini 8 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, command pilot, and David R. Scott, pilot, during a photosSession for the press outside Mission Control Center, Cape Kennedy. Photo credit: NASA

S66-62920 (13 Nov. 1966) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., pilot of the Gemini-12 spaceflight, took this picture of the Gemini-12 spacecraft during standup extravehicular activity (EVA) with the hatch open. This is a view to the rear showing the adapter section. Photo credit: NASA

S66-24446 (16 March 1966) --- Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, command pilot of the Gemini-8 spaceflight, sits in the Launch Complex 16 trailer during suiting up operations for the Gemini-8 mission. Suit technician Jim Garrepy assists. Photo credit: NASA

S66-45605 (26 Sept. 1966) --- Movie film of the Gemini-11 extravehicular activity and rendezvous with the Agena Target Docking Vehicle was shown at the Gemini-11 press conference in the MSC Building 1 auditorium. Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. (left), command pilot, and Richard F. Gordon Jr., pilot, discussed the Gemini-11 EVA and rendezvous mission during the film. Picture on screen shows close-up of astronaut Gordon connecting the Agena Target Vehicle to the spacecraft with a tether line during his spacewalk. 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

Robert Johnson, top, sets the lubricant flow while Donald Buckley adjusts the bearing specimen on an artificial hip simulator at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. The simulator was supplemented by large crystal lattice models to demonstrate the composition of different bearing alloys. This this image by NASA photographer Paul Riedel was used for the cover of the August 15, 1966 edition of McGraw-Hill Product Engineering. Johnson was chief of Lubrication Branch and Buckley head of the Space Environment Lubrication Section in the Fluid System Components Division. In 1962 they began studying the molecular structure of metals. Their friction and wear testing revealed that the optimal structure for metal bearings was a hexagonal crystal structure with proper molecular space. Bearing manufacturers traditionally preferred cubic structures over hexagonal arrangements. Buckley and Johnson found that even though the hexagonal structural was not as inherently strong as its cubic counterpart, it was less likely to cause a catastrophic failure. The Lewis researchers concentrated their efforts on cobalt-molybdenum and titanium alloys for high temperatures applications. The alloys had a number of possible uses, included prosthetics. The alloys were similar in composition to the commercial alloys used for prosthetics, but employed the longer lasting hexagonal structure.

S66-42782 (21 July 1966) --- The Gemini-10 spaceflight is concluded as the Gemini-10 spacecraft, with astronaut John W. Young and Michael Collins aboard, touches down in the Atlantic about four miles from the prime recovery ship, the USS Guadalcanal. Gemini-10 splashed down 540 miles east of Cape Kennedy at 4:07 p.m. (EST), July 21, 1966, to conclude a three-day mission in space. Photo credit: NASA

S66-33163 (May 1966) --- Rear view of the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit (AMU), worn by test subject Fred Spross, Crew Systems Division. The Gemini spacesuit, backpack and chest pack comprise the AMU, a system which is essentially a miniature manned spacecraft. The spacesuit 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 AMU backpack. Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan will wear the AMU during his Gemin-9A extravehicular activity (EVA). Photo credit: NASA

S66-62999 (13 Nov. 1966) --- Jettison of the extravehicular life support system (ELSS) and other equipment from the Gemini-12 spacecraft during its rendezvous mission in space. The nose of the Gemini-12 spacecraft is clearly visible at right edge of photo. Photo credit: NASA

S66-42794 (21 July 1966) --- Navy frogmen prepare to attach a flotation collar to the Gemini-10 spacecraft as it bobs in the Atlantic Ocean following its successful splashdown. Inside the spacecraft are astronauts John W. Young, command pilot, and Michael Collins, pilot, waiting to egress the spacecraft for recovery by helicopter from the prime recovery ship, USS Guadalcanal. Photo credit: NASA

S66-54558 (14 Sept. 1966) --- Del Rio and Eagle Pass area of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico as seen from the Gemini-11 spacecraft during its 29th revolution of Earth. Photo credit: NASA

KSC-66C-1867 Gemini-8 Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and David R. Scott leave Transfer Van at Complex 19, Cape Kennedy prior to boarding their Gemini 8 Spacecraft. (jrs)

Daniel Bernatowicz, Chief of the Advanced Power Systems Branch at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center, examines a 20-foot section of a solar mirror being fabricated in the Jig Bore Room of the Technical Services Building. NASA Lewis was conducting a wide-ranging effort to explore methods of generating electrical power for spacecraft. One method employed a large parabolic mirror to concentrate the sun’s energy. The mirror had to remain rigid and withstand micrometeoroids, but remain light and compact enough to be easily launched. In 1963 Bernatowicz and his researchers undertook a program to design a solar mirror to work with the Brayton cycle system on a space station. The mirror in this photograph was prepared for a conference on Advanced Technology in Space Power Systems held at Lewis in late August 1966. Lewis experts discussed advances with batteries, fuel cells, isotope and thermoelectric generators, and the SNAP-8 space power system. Lewis was developing several types of solar mirrors to work with a Brayton cycle electric generating system. The mirror’s 12 sections were shaped using a unique forming process developed at Lewis, coated with an epoxy, and plated with aluminum. The mirror concentrated the Sun's rays on a heat storage receiver containing lithium fluoride. This material was heated to produce power in a turbogenerator system, while additional heat was stored for use when the unit was in the Earth's shadow.

Adolph Spakowski, head of the Photovoltaic Fundamentals Section at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center, illustrated the difference between conventional silicon solar cells (rear panel) and the new thin-film cells. The larger, flexible thin-film cells in the foreground were evaluated by Lewis energy conversion specialists for possible future space use. The conventional solar cells used on most spacecraft at the time were both delicate and heavy. For example, the Mariner IV spacecraft required 28,000 these solar cells for its flyby of Mars in 1964. NASA Lewis began investigating cadmium sulfide thin-film solar cells in 1961. The thin-film cells were made by heating semiconductor material until it evaporated. The vapor was then condensed onto an electricity-producing film only one-thousandth of an inch thick. The physical flexibility of the new thin-film cells allowed them to be furled, or rolled up, during launch. Spakowski led an 18-month test program at Lewis to investigate the application of cadmium sulfide semiconductors on a light metallized substrate. The new thin-film solar cells were tested in a space simulation chamber at a simulated altitude of 200 miles. Sunlight was recreated by a 5000-watt xenon light. Two dozen cells were exposed to 15 minutes of light followed by 15 minutes of darkness to test their durability in the constantly changing illumination of Earth orbit.

Apollo CM, Transfer to Lunar Module (LM). MSC, HOUSTON, TX CN/BW 12/01/1966 - 06/01/1966

S66-34098 (3 June 1966) --- The Gemini-9 spacecraft was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 19 at 8:39 a.m. (EST), June 3, 1966. Photo credit: NASA

S66-18602 (16 March 1966) --- Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and David R. Scott sit with their spacecraft hatches open while awaiting the arrival of the recovery ship, the USS Leonard F. Mason after the successful completion of their Gemini-8 mission. They are assisted by U.S. Navy divers. The overhead view shows the Gemini-8 spacecraft with the yellow flotation collar attached to stabilize the spacecraft in choppy seas. The green marker dye is highly visible from the air and is used as a locating aid. 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

S66-45328 (19 July 1966) --- Ultraviolet spectra of stars in the Carina-Vela region of the southern Milky Way. These objective-grating spectra were obtained by astronauts John W. Young and Michael Collins during Gemini-10 stand-up EVA on July 19, 1966, with a 70mm Maurer camera and its f/3.3 focal length lens. The spectra extends from 2,200 angstroms to about 4,000 angstroms. The spacecraft was docked to the horizon-stabilized Agena-10; thus giving an apparent field of rotation resulting from the four-degree-per-minute orbital motion during the 20-second exposure time. Photo credit: NASA

S66-51073 (15 Aug. 1966) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., prime crew pilot of the Gemini-12 spaceflight, undergoes evaluation procedures with the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit in the 30-foot altitude chamber at McDonnell. The suited Aldrin is wearing an AMU backpack and an Extravehicular Life Support System (ELSS) chest pack. Photo credit: NASA

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

S66-09378 (1 Oct. 1966) --- Goggles which will be worn by Gemini-12 astronaut as he photographs sodium cloud ejected from French Centaure rocket launched from Hammaguir, Algeria. Photo credit: NASA

Alvin Seiff at Hypervelocity Free Flight Facility at the Ames Research Center.

Moon Lunar Orbiter-Lunar Orbiter II: Display Transparencies Lunar Orbiter II from Washington Press Conference. Lunar Orbiter II's telephoto lens took this picture of the floor of the crater Copernicus. -- Photograph published in Winds of Change, 75th Anniversary NASA publication (page 94), by James Schultz.

S66-21296 (1967) --- This is a medium exterior view of the Dynamic Crew Procedures Trainer, Command Module configuration, one of the Apollo astronaut training components located in the Mission Simulation and Training Facility, Building 5, Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas. Photo credit: NASA

S66-00933 (28 Jan. 1966) --- Gemini-11 Experiment D-16 Knee Tether, sponsored by the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force. The astronaut tightens and loosens bolts in a prescribed pattern during his extravehicular activity, once with his body held to the spacecraft by a nine-inch tether looped around his knee and through the handrail, and once without the tether. Photo credit: NASA

S66-51794 (12 Sept. 1966) --- Astronaut M. Scott Carpenter monitors the Booster Systems Console in the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) Mission Control Center during launch of the Gemini-11 spaceflight. 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

S66-56738 (4 Oct. 1966) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., prime crew pilot of the Gemini-12 spaceflight, undergoes zero-gravity ingress and egress training aboard an Air Force KC-135 aircraft. He practices using camera equipment. Photo credit: NASA

S66-46044 (18-21 July 1966) --- Straits of Gibraltar and Spain ? Portugal (left), Morocco (right), Atlantic Ocean (foreground), and unique vortex, as seen from the Gemini-10 spacecraft. Taken with J.A. Maurer 70mm camera, using Eastman Kodak, Ektachrome, MS (S.O. 217) color film. Photo credit: NASA

S66-45763 (18-21 July 1966) --- Don Martin Reservoir and Sabinas River Valley area of the States of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, Mexico, as seen from the Gemini-10 spacecraft. Taken with a J. A. Maurer 70mm camera, using Eastman Kodak, Ektachrome, MS (S.O. 217) color film. Photo credit: NASA

S66-54934 (29 Oct. 1966) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., pilot for the Gemini-12 spaceflight, practices work tasks in preparation for his extravehicular activity (EVA) during the flight of Gemini-12. He works with a telescoping handrail he will use to move from the spacecraft to the Agena Target Docking Vehicle. The underwater environment closely simulates the zero-gravity condition found in space. Photo credit: NASA

S66-24380 (26 Feb. 1966) --- Gemini-8 prime and backup crews during press conference. Left to right are astronauts David R. Scott, prime crew pilot; Neil A. Armstrong, prime crew command pilot; Charles Conrad Jr., backup crew command pilot; and Richard F. Gordon Jr., backup crew pilot. Photo credit: NASA

An Apollo/Saturn V facilities Test Vehicle and Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) atop a crawler-transporter move from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on the way to Pad A. This test vehicle, designated the Apollo/Saturn 500-F, is being used to verify launch facilities, train launch crews, and develop test and checkout procedures.

S66-54692 (14 Sept. 1966) --- Indonesian Islands (partial cloud cover): Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo, and Sumbawa, as photographed from the Gemini-11 spacecraft during its 26th revolution of Earth, at an altitude of 570 nautical miles. Photo credit: NASA

KSC-66C-1871 Gemini 8 Pilot David R. Scott seen through window of Gemini 8 Spacecraft just before liftoff. (jrs)

S66-59989 (16 Nov. 1966) --- Gemini-12 astronaut James A. Lovell Jr. (left), command pilot, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. (right), pilot, eat a piece of cake presented the two astronauts by crew members of the prime recovery ship, USS Wasp. Gemini-12 splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean at 2:21 p.m. (EST), Nov. 15, 1966, to conclude a four-day mission in space. Photo credit: NASA

S66-46124 (18 July 1966) --- Agena Target Docking Vehicle 5005 is photographed from the Gemini-10 spacecraft during rendezvous in space. The two spacecraft are about 41 feet apart. After docking with the Agena, astronauts John W. Young, command pilot, and Michael Collins, pilot, fired the 16,000-pound thrust engine of Agena-10's primary propulsion system to boost the combined vehicles into an orbit with an apogee of 413 nautical miles to set a new altitude record for manned spaceflight. Photo credit: NASA

Apollo command module boilerplate floats in the Atlantic Ocean during a practice recovery exercise. Frogmen in a liferaft and on the flotation collar secure the command module boilerplate for hoisting onto a nearby recovery ship. The exercise was conducted in preparation for the forthcoming Apollo-Saturn 201 (AS-201) mission.

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

AS-203, the third Saturn IB launch vehicle developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida , July 5, 1966. Primary mission objectives included evaluation of the S-IVB stage's hydrogen venting and engine restart capabilities in an orbital environment. In all, nine Saturn IB flights were made, ending with the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) in July 1975.

S66-26037 (16 March 1966) --- The Gemini-8 spacecraft, with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and David R. Scott still aboard, is hoisted aboard the destroyer USS Leonard F. Mason. Trouble with the Gemini-8 Orbit Attitude and Maneuvering System (OAMS) forced an early termination of the mission. 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

EC66-01426 F-104N #812 Take off 9/1/66

S66-42780 (21 July 1966) --- The crew of the Gemini-10 spaceflight, astronaut John W. Young (left), command pilot, and Michael Collins, pilot, talk on live radio and television during welcome aboard ceremonies on the deck of the USS Guadalcanal. The astronauts were picked up from the ocean, following a successful splashdown, by a recovery helicopter and flown to the Guadalcanal to begin postflight medical and technical debriefings. Photo credit: NASA

Apollo CM, Mid-Course Correction. MSC, HOUSTON, TX CN/BW 12/01/1966 - 06/01/1966

S66-01122 (January 1966) --- Artist concept of the Gemini-4 EVA coverlayer configuration.

S66-54455 (13 Sept. 1966) --- Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., Gemini-11 pilot, attaches a tether line from his spacecraft to the Agena Target Docking Vehicle (ATDV) during a spacewalk. This view was taken over the Atlantic Ocean at approximately 160 miles above Earth on Sept. 13, 1966. With the aid of the ATDV, Gordon and astronaut Charles (Pete) Conrad Jr., command pilot, set a new altitude record of 750 miles during the GT-11 mission. Photo credit: NASA

S66-04121 (18 April 1966) --- Drawing of the Gemini-9 extravehicular spacesuit, with a comparison of the breakdown between the Gemini-4 suit layers and the Gemini-9 suit layers. Photo credit: NASA

S66-44501 (23 July 1966) --- Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., prime crew command pilot of the Gemini-11 spaceflight, relaxes on deck of the NASA Motor Vessel Retriever after suiting up for water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo credit: NASA

The members of the prime crew of the first manned Apollo space flight Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) inspect spacecraft equipment during a tour of North American Aviation's (NAA) Downey facility. In the foreground, left to right, are astronauts Roger B. Chaffee, Virgil I. Grissom, and Edward H. White, II. NAA engineers and technicians are in the background. NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION, INC., DOWNEY, CA B&W

S66-63537 (11 Nov. 1966) --- Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin, pilot for the Gemini-12 spaceflight, stands up in the open hatch of the spacecraft during the first day of the four-day mission in space. He prepares a camera for installation on the outside of the spacecraft. Command pilot for the last flight in the Gemini series was astronaut James A. Lovell Jr. Photo credit: NASA

S66-05515 (2 June 1966) --- Gemini-11 Experiment S-9 Nuclear Emulsion. This experiment will be used to study the cosmic radiation incident on Earth's atmosphere, to obtain detailed chemical composition of the heavy primary nuclei and to search for rare particles. Equipment is a rectangular package eight and a half by six by three inches weighing 15 pounds and including the nuclear emulsion film stack, motor to advance the emulsion and a timer to regulate the motor. The package is mounted atop the spacecraft retro adapter section prior to launch, is activated at insertion, and is retrieved by the EVA pilot. The experiment is conducted with the spacecraft in plus or minus 15 degrees of Earth's average magnetic field vector. Sponsors are NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratories. Photo credit: NASA

S66-46144 (18 July 1966) --- The Gemini-10 spacecraft is successfully docked with the Agena Target Docking Vehicle 5005. The Agena display panel is clearly visible. After docking with the Agena, astronauts John W. Young, command pilot, and Michael Collins, pilot, fired the 16,000-pound thrust engine of Agena-10's primary propulsion system to boost the combined vehicles into an orbit with an apogee of 413 nautical miles to set a new altitude record for manned spaceflight. Photo credit: NASA

S66-41179 (25 May 1966) --- Sunrise at Pad 39A during a checkout of facilities. An Apollo/Saturn Facilities Test Vehicle and Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) stand atop the pad's bandstand. This test vehicle, designated Apollo/Saturn 500-F, is being used to verify launch facilities, train launch crews, and develop test and checkout procedures.

A Martin B-57B Canberra outfitted with a noise suppressor on its right engine at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. The aircraft was being prepared for the October 1966 Inspection of the center. The Inspection also marked Lewis’ twentieth anniversary. Lewis researchers had been studying engine noise for almost a decade, but the problem seemed to be increasing in the mid-1960s with heavier airline traffic and larger engines. Researchers discovered early on that the majority of the noise did not emanate from the engine itself, but from the mixing of the hot exhaust gasses with the atmosphere. Attempts to reduce the turbulence using new exhaust nozzles were successful but often resulted in decreased engine performance. The researchers decided to try to lower the jet nozzle exit velocity without decreasing its thrust. The inlet mass air flow had to be increased to accomplish this. The Lewis B-57B was powered by two Wright Aeronautical J65 turbojets. Lewis engineers modified the stators on the two engines to simulate the noise levels from more-modern turbofan engines. A noise suppressor was added to only one of the two engines, seen here on the left. The engines were run one at a time at power levels similar to landing while the aircraft sat on the Lewis hangar apron. A microphone and recording equipment was setup to capture the noise levels. The engine with the suppressor produced 13 fewer decibels than the standard engine.

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

A nickel alloy developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center being poured in a shop inside the Technical Services Building. Materials technology is an important element in the successful development of both advanced airbreathing and rocket propulsion systems. An array of dependable materials is needed to build different types of engines for operation in diverse environments. NASA Lewis began investigating the characteristics of different materials shortly after World War II. In 1949 the materials research group was expanded into its own division. The Lewis researchers studied and tested materials in environments that simulated the environment in which they would operate. Lewis created two programs in the early 1960s to create materials for new airbreathing engines. One concentrated on high-temperature alloys and the other on cooling turbine blades. William Klopp, Peter Raffo, Lester Rubenstein, and Walter Witzke developed Tungsten RHC, the highest strength metal at temperatures over 3500⁰ F. The men received an IR-100 Award for their efforts. Similarly a cobalt-tungsten alloy was developed by the Fatigue and Alloys Research Branch. The result was a combination of high temperature strength and magnetic properties that were applicable for generator rotor application. John Freche invented and patented a nickel alloy while searching for high temperature metals for aerospace use. NASA agreed to a three-year deal which granted Union Carbide exclusive use of the new alloy before it became public property.

S66-50719 (12 Sept. 1966) --- Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., pilot of the Gemini-11 spaceflight, suits up in the Launch Complex 16 suiting trailer during the Gemini-11 prelaunch countdown. Minutes later astronaut Gordon and Charles Conrad Jr., command pilot, were transported to Pad 19 and their waiting Gemini-11 spacecraft in preparation for their scheduled three-day mission in space. Photo credit: NASA

KSC-66C-1878 Gemini 8 Astronauts pose with the PARA-RESCUE team. Left-to-right, top: Neil Armstrong, E. M. Neil, David Scott; bottom row: L. D. Huyett and G. N. Moore. (jrs)

S66-46477 (18 July 1966) --- Close-up of astronaut Michael Collins, Gemini-10 pilot, making final adjustments and checks in the Gemini spacecraft during prelaunch countdown. In right background is astronaut John W. Young, command pilot. Photo credit: NASA

S66-17153 (15 Jan. 1966) --- Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong. Gemini-8 command pilot, climbs into a boilerplate model of the Gemini spacecraft during water egress training on the Gulf of Mexico. Photo credit: NASA

S66-06048 (1966) --- This chart depicts a nominal mission profile for an Apollo lunar landing mission. 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.

S66-37943 (3 June 1966) --- The Augmented Target Docking Adapter is photographed against the background of the blackness of space from the Gemini-9 spacecraft during one of their three rendezvous in space. The ATDA and Gemini-9 spacecraft are 71.5 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

S66-34117 (6 June 1966) --- The 72-hour, 21-minute Gemini-9A spaceflight is concluded as the Gemini spacecraft, with astronaut Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan aboard, touches down in the Atlantic Ocean only 3.5 miles from the prime recovery ship, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp. Gemini-9 splashed down 345 miles east of Cape Kennedy at 9 a.m. (EST), June 6, 1966. Photo credit: NASA

S66-18609 (17 March 1966) --- Astronauts David R. Scott (left), Gemini-8 pilot, and Neil A. Armstrong, command pilot, stand on the deck of the destroyer USS Leonard F. Mason upon its arrival at Nahs, Okinawa. Photo credit: NASA

S66-39895 (1 Aug. 1966) --- Panel members of the Gemini-10 news conference held in the Building 1 auditorium were (from left) Dr. Robert C. Seamans Jr., NASA Deputy Administrator; astronaut John W. Young, Gemini-10 command pilot; astronaut Michael Collins, Gemini-10 pilot; and Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, MSC Director. Photo credit: NASA

MR. J. WARFEL, D. TRACEY, T. BROWNE, D. KLAUK, MRS L. McCORMICK, C. BATINOVICH, WORKING IN THE DATA ANALYSIS MANAGEMENT AREA OF THE PIONEER TAPE PROCESSING STATION. Pioneer Off-Line Data Processing System.

S66-59916 (11 Nov. 1966) --- Prime crew for the Gemini-12 spaceflight, astronauts James A. Lovell Jr. (leading), command pilot, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., pilot, leave the suiting trailer at Launch Complex 16 during prelaunch countdown. Moments later they entered a transport van which carried them to Pad 19 and their waiting spacecraft. The liftoff was at 3:46 p.m. (EST), Nov. 11, 1966. Photo credit: NASA