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
BM/Director,. Manned Flight Experiments Of':fice March 7, 1966 /JoceJ.yn B. Gill Status or Scie t11"ie ( OOSA) Experiments on Gem:ini IX The i'ollovi.ng scientii'ic ex:perim.ent are schedule for Gemini IX: S-l, Zodiacal Li&}lt Photography; s-10, 1Ucrometeor1.te Collection on Agena; S-ll, A1rglow Horizon Photography; S-l2, Mic:rometeorit Col.lect.ion. on Gem.1111, rel.ated to S-10; and Dila Ligllt Photography being presented to SSSC as S-28 on F 1day, Ma.rcb 4, 1.966. (L. Dunkel.man, GSJ'C). S-1: Zodiacal Light Pbotograpey, tronaut briefing,. 7 repc,rts th t one briefing be. been held in Houston and another will be scbedul.ed for the Pl.alletari\D. Elliot-t See, Charles Bassett and J s Lovell were present for t first briefing: Tom Stafford -wa not. U: er the circumstances, it is likel.T t t the brl .t'1ng w:11..l have ta b r eated. E uipaent,- The c ra e uipaent is now e.t e Cape. Documen a.Uon has problems, mai.nq the insi.st nee on a l\eV erial number for th c ra since it now has a handl on it. 'l'be ba.mlle i.s mounted with bole on the c :l'a. 'rri-X film will. be used with and without the Yindo • With batch open nd 1ng the s cecraf't as an oceul.t~ di k, the tronaut vlll place b:1.mself int e shadow o-f the s/c see how :far out bi c trace the exten ion of the solar corona.. Be will al.so take 4 pictur o:f' th a.irglow and a picture of the J0.1k;r Way. Th priiicipe.11.ilvestigator commen that he was very pl ased with th entbuai tic reception fr See end ssett for the equipmen't end t in erested in bis eJI>eriment of 1. been sociated w1th it. Since T st-afford bas •'ri-...iment. The7 have been tb been very cooper in the experiment 1. pro , I personal..ly ha confi.dence that he vill pi k up Yb re S d Bassett have l.ef't off, and that t experilllent c go off e.s pl.anned. It employs the same bra.ck.et S-12. Th modus o'1randi: has cost more tba nev design and has given much trouble. GSI government service inspection) has been problem since it was not wrl. ten into the contraet. The p:robJ.em is with tbe f ring w:1.t the b.endle 1n tbe open pcsit1.on. Lubrication bas al.so been a problem since the contractor ha applied it 1 "g1o " inst ad ot follovi.ng instructions. The experiment is all reaccy-, o far s equi nt 1 concerned:.
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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.