1965-104A
The planned GTA-6 (Gemini Titan Agena 6) mission was cancelled when the Agena docking target failed to reach orbit. In the replacement mission, Gemini Titan 6A, Spacecraft 6 would use Spacecraft 7 as a rendezvous target,without a docking. As Gemini 7 passed overhead, GT-6A sat on the pad ready for launch on Dec 12, 1965. But the Titan engines shut down 1.2s after ignition, before liftoff, and the launch was aborted. Crew commander Schirra decided not to eject, saving the mission for a second attempt 3 days later.
The Dec 15 launch went off smoothly at 1337. Six hours later, Schirra and Stafford had achieved the first ever rendezvous in space, stationkeeping a mere 37 metres from Gemini VII as both flew around the Earth. Finally, Schirra brought his spacecraft nose to nose with Borman's at a distance of only 0.3 metres. At 0051 on Dec 16, a brief engine firing saw the end of the rendezvous, and the Gemini VI-A crew left Borman and Lovell to continue their marathon flight. Schirra and Stafford splashed down later that day in the Atlantic at 23 25 N 67 50 W, and were recovered by the USS Wasp. Retrofire was 94 m/s aft, 35m/s down.
| GT-6A | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Dec 12 | 1454:06 | Launch abort on pad | |
| 1533 | Crew extracted from GT6 | ||
| 1965 Dec 15 | 1337:26 | Launch | |
| 1340:03 | BECO 62 km | -5912 x 114 x 29.6 | |
| 1340:03 | T+2:36 Stage 1 sep | ||
| 1343:02 | T+5:36 SECO | ||
| 1343:02 | Orbit insertion | ||
| 1343:20 | T+5:56 Titan stage 2 sep | 161 x 250 | |
| 1343:20 | IVAR burn | 161 x 262 x 29 | |
| 1343:34 | T+6:08 IVAR off | ||
| 1343:35 | T+6:09 Fairings sep | ||
| 1511:28 | NH TCM height adjust, correct apo 24s 4m/s | 161 x 272 x 29 | |
| 1555:25 | NCL TCM phase adjust 18m/s 77s | 224 x 272 x 29 | |
| 1619:33 | 10m/s 40s TCM plane change (node) | 223 x 272 x 28.9 | |
| 1640:45 | 0.2m/s 1s TCM height adjust (apo 2) | 223 x 271 x 28.9 | |
| 1725:03 | TCM NSR coelliptic 13m/s 53s (apo 3) | 270 x 274 x 28.9 | |
| 1849 | Tally ho GT7 | ||
| 1853 | TPI (terminal phase) 10m/s 41s | ||
| 1909 | Terminal phase burn | ||
| 1921 | Terminal phase burn | ||
| 1924 | At 3 km | ||
| 1927 | At 750m | ||
| 1929 | At 250m | ||
| 1931 | At 35m, begin stationkeep | ||
| 1933:26 | Rendezvous with GT7 | ||
| 1934 | At 35m | ||
| 1943 | At 6m | ||
| 1948 | At 3 m | ||
| 2031 | At 6m, night s'keep | ||
| 0040? | At 20m, prepare to sep | ||
| 1965 Dec 16 | 0051:55 | Sep burn 15s 3m/s | |
| 0303:18 | 3m/s 11s posigrade mvr | 90.54 283 x 312 x 28.89 | |
| 1452:54? | Adapter module sep | 270 x 274? x 28.9 | |
| 1453:24 | Retrofire 6N 180W | ||
| 1453 | Retrofire complete | -14 x 295 x 28.89 | |
| 1454? | Retro jet | ||
| 1454? | Docking bar jet | ||
| 1513:34 | Entry 400k | ||
| 1528:47 | Splashdown | ||
| 1546 | Recovered by USS Wasp | ||
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