The Space Race
Puzzle 38 · Project Gemini · Page 58 in print
The Angry Alligator
Taped-down lanyards held the docking target’s shroud half open, like an alligator’s jaws.
Jump to a word
The docking target’s partly open protective cover, photographed from Gemini 9.
NASA / Johnson Space Center (s66-37972) · NASA media-use guidelines · Original recordThe words
Adapter
The equipment section at the rear of a Gemini spacecraft.
Cernan had to reach the adapter to prepare the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit stored there. Moving to that work area and holding position was difficult in his stiff spacesuit.
Alligator
Stafford compared the replacement target’s partly open cover to an angry alligator. Its two halves remained attached, blocking the docking port and preventing Gemini 9A from joining it.
Backup Crew
Stafford and Cernan had trained as Gemini 9’s backup crew. They became the flight crew after Elliot See and Charles Bassett died in a plane crash.
Elliot See
Elliot See was Gemini 9’s original command pilot, with Charles Bassett as pilot. Both died in a T-38 aircraft crash on February 28, 1966, before the mission.
Exhaustion
Cernan spent much of his strength trying to hold his body in place. Inadequate restraints and a stiff spacesuit made ordinary working movements exhausting.
Explosive Bolt
The target’s shroud used explosive bolts as part of its release system. Stafford could see that they had fired, although the cover remained partly attached.
Fogged Visor
Cernan’s exertion overwhelmed his spacesuit’s air cooling, and moisture obscured his visor. Poor visibility made further work unsafe and contributed to canceling the planned maneuvering-unit flight.
Gemini Nine
Stafford and Cernan flew Gemini 9A from June 3 to June 6, 1966. They completed three rendezvous exercises, but the target’s cover prevented docking.
Did you know?
Stafford and Cernan stayed inside the capsule as sailors lifted it aboard USS Wasp. They emerged from their spacecraft on the carrier’s deck.
Gene Cernan
Gene Cernan made his first spaceflight as Gemini 9A’s pilot. He later flew on Apollo 10 and commanded Apollo 17, the final Apollo Moon landing.
Jet Pack
Cernan was to test a backpack called the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, which had its own life support. His spacewalk difficulties prevented the planned flight.
Lambert Field
Lambert Field was the St. Louis airport near the McDonnell spacecraft plant. See and Bassett died in a plane crash while approaching it for landing.
Launch Shroud
A protective cover used during launch.
The replacement target’s shroud was supposed to split into two halves and fall away. Instead, it remained caught at the base and covered the docking collar.
Pinched Wire
Investigators traced the first target’s launch failure to a pinched wire in the Atlas rocket’s autopilot. The resulting short circuit forced NASA to use a replacement target.
Taped Lanyards
Short cords or wires attached to a mechanism.
During preparation of the replacement target, loose lanyard ends were taped down. They should have been free; instead, they kept the shroud partly attached.
Tom Stafford
A veteran of Gemini 6A, Tom Stafford commanded Gemini 9A with Gene Cernan as pilot. They tested alternative rendezvous approaches after docking was impossible.
Did you know?
Before launch, Stafford presented pad leader Gunter Wendt with a large match. The photograph captured their joke after the mission’s earlier postponements.
Sources
- Gemini IX and the Angry AlligatorJohn Uri; NASA Johnson Space Center; June 7, 2021; original crew, target inspection and spacewalk
- On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project GeminiBarton C. Hacker and James M. Grimwood; NASA SP-4203, 1977; printed pp. 330–334 and 338–339
- Gemini IX Crew Found ‘Angry Alligator’ in Earth OrbitBob Granath; NASA Kennedy Space Center; June 1, 2016; replacement crew, shroud, launch photograph and recovery
- Gemini IXNASA; mission dates, objectives and Mission Overview