Gemini 12 astronauts lift off aboard a Titan launch vehicle
November 11, 1966 - Gemini 12 astronauts lift off aboard a Titan launch vehicle from the Kennedy Space Center, an hour and a half after their Agena target vehicle was orbited by an Atlas rocket. Launched atop an Atlas booster, the Agena target vehicle (ATV) was a spacecraft used by NASA to develop and practice orbital space rendezvous and docking techniques in preparation for the Apollo program lunar missions. The objective was for Agena and Gemini to rendezvous in space and practice docking procedures. An intermediate step between Project Mercury and the Apollo Program, the Gemini Program's major objectives were to subject two men and supporting equipment to long duration flights, to perfect rendezvous and docking with other orbiting vehicles, methods of reentry, and landing of the spacecraft.
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Photo credit: © Stocktrek Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
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