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
- 6/6/66
Memo to PolJt
J'_;romJ JI . Gill
Subj ct. ieo.tifl.o er1mcit Carri out on Gemini lX
ee1on carr1 t following OSSl ta:
11g•aa 1111.cro eorite Oollectton
u Airglov nzon fhoti>itra:ntIV
12 Gemini Miej;Vll•~:iurite COllection
ln spit ot aalight flurry last h14'V Di to throw in t1olial experiments
u e. po 1ble ~ in th event ot f'ailure o't the A ~ no new e:x;per:lmmta
1ntroctuc-e4, ~ia vaa a con.eequ ce ot th deo1 ■ion to~troduce no
&dditio tum...--- vhich coul.d have acco :t acne mre a:perlm.ental
actt'rltity. ( flt. 'NX to :Dr,Jobn C1&:l'k re s-28 aupport tor G9min1 ll.~5/'ZT/66
d 1WX t:O 4 ~ters and their directors re 8-51 8-6,S-28 and S-29,-/.5/'31/66
nethelea , it ia anticipated that ao tographe vil1 hav been taken ~r
S-5 and -6 (Synoptic fhotograpbY) o th operational tum carried•• even
thougb th1 en,er:1.mtm.t was no schedul.ed tor Oe:m1n1 IX,
Aa ot tNDDAY Juue 5th at lls30 te1~one contact with nl!ID. Poster's
offl.e 1n41cat e i'olloving on lll!rl'~U!llll!m::ta.( ed. with Zeitler,MBC
both Sat/and Sun• Re ia the editor on the ~ta statue report).
Ettorte to d1tllodge the ebroud the ATDA,f~• by Tom st.ttora "en angry
al11ptor~ wen in vain o ocldng with th AT!». vaa Scrubbed...bom. t mission.
At th1AI point there vu aome concern over the f\iel aμppl.y and 'DDCIWD:(1; tbat
it might not be po aible to carry, CNt all the ~imeilta. 'Iha atatua of
■ cientUic e.rimental activity 1• given bel.ow.
1. S-~~ Ml~eortite C llect1on, Dr. C. H , J>u.dl.97 Observatory
ib vu carH on tiil ATJi(1 fut it vaa μp,aa1ble to near it
or to retrieve it. ('Die S.-1.0 alao cur1.e4 on the Ageoe. there was no
activity with tt either••lM1---=-----edn11 The S-10 1a still on the
ATD& conceivably coul.d be eved on later saion. Not linked to a story yet.
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.