Documents / Official release
This 1966 NASA file collects memoranda by Jocelyn R. Gill of the Manned Flight Experiments Office, plus related correspondence, on the scientific experiments of the Gemini IX mission. Status reports from March and June 1966 describe the zodiacal light, airglow, micrometeorite and synoptic photography experiments, and an experiments debriefing held June 16. The file also contains a congratulatory telegram to astronauts Stafford and Cernan and a Naval Research Laboratory letter on the S-9 cosmic ray experiment. It reports no unidentified objects.
From the source:Release of 2026-06-12 Incident: June 3-6, 1966, Low Earth Orbit. Gemini IX (renamed Gemini IX-A) was the seventh crewed flight of the Gemini series, launched on June 3, 1966. The mission’s primary objectives included a spacewalk and multiple scientific and medical experiments. This document, dated June 16, 1966, is a transcript of a NASA debriefing of astronauts Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan. Pages 2-5 of this document contain the astronauts’ accounts of their observations of “flashing lights” and “sparkles” during the mission.
“Gemini 4”11 pages
2 2 . S-11, Airglow Horizon Photograpby, M. Koomen, Naval Research Laboratory The astronauts made 3 night passes on this experiment and reported bno problemshso it is assumed that the experiment went off as planned . They may be able to devote 1 more night pass to it during the mission . They are still planning the 2 -1/2 hour EVA . At the start of the experiments they had 50 lbs . of fuel left and at the end, so it is reported, they still had 50 lbs ! ! (GET 27 hrs , 29 hrs , 31 hrs for S -ll). 3. S -12, Gemini Micrometeorite Collection, Dr . C. Hemenway, Dudley Observatory The collection box was activated and had five hrs~ exposure before closing it so jets could be freely used . The decision was made to reactivate it during the astronauts 10 hr . sleep period . It was closed again and retrieved by Cernan during his space walk. So S -12 collection box is being returned in the Gemini IX capsule . (The experimenter was asked whether it would be safe to try a second exposure and asked whether the astronauts could recall whether the closing cycle on the box had taken about 30 secs . They apparently could not hear it and so could not make this determination . ) * (GET 12 to 17 hrs . ) S-5 and S- 6, Synoptic PhotograJ?hl, Dr . Paul Lowman and K. Nagler There is no word on how many pictures have been taken . The newspapers have made reference to a picture of Baja California, and since there was a good deal of operational film aboard, it is expected that there may be quite a few . Cernan during EVA was asked whether he had the Hasselblad camera outside and the reply was 11 yes , 11 In talking with Dr . Lowman I learned that this is probably the wide -angle (90 deg . ) Hasselblad and may very well produce some spectacular pictures . From the standpoint of our experiments this seems to be a good mission. We should have results from S -12 and S-ll as well as S - 5 and S - 6 . Many more pictures for the successive volumes of the Earth Atlas . ~a.~ 'R. ~ Jocelyn R. Gill Manned Flight Experiments Office
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Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 78 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.