FLOWN Gemini IX mission patchA shield shaped four inch multi

Sale 2001 - Lot 53

Price Realized: $ 7,475

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000

FLOWN Gemini IX mission patch. A shield-shaped four inch multi-colored cloth patch illustrating a Gemini spacecraft and Agena target vehicle with an astronaut performing a spacewalk. The patch is mounted on a Typed Letter Signed by Thomas Stafford next to an 8x10 inch crew signed color print of the Gemini IX launch. Both are mounted in a 19x13-inch matted metal frame. NASA/MSC, 1966

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Period Gemini crew patches are rare, and one flown on a mission is rarest of all. Stafford's letter reads in part, " The patch illustrates the objectives of our mission, a docking with an Agena target vehicle and performing a spacewalk. Our Agena never reached orbit on our first launch attempt, a computer failure scrubbed the second attempt to reach the new "ATDA" target vehicle, but the third time was the charm as we finally reached orbit on June 3. Gene's spacewalk proved to be almost as difficult, after his helmet face plate fogged over and he became virtually blind. With some difficulty, he was able to return to the cabin, then we both struggled to close the hatch. We still had a lot to learn about working outside the spacecraft in 1966."