posted 07-24-2016 07:52 AM               

Space Cover #378: Gemini 10 at 50 – Gemini Hits Its Stride

The cover above was hand cancelled aboard the USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7) on July 21, 1966, the day she recovered astronauts John Young and Mike Collins from their Gemini 10 mission. It carries a cachet made on the ship specifically for this mission. Although the cachet is somewhat unassuming in look, it is one of the harder recovery cachets to find. If you find one, it is well worth picking up.

Fifty years ago last week, Gemini 10 faced the gremlins that had plagued Geminis 8 and 9, and for the most part, won! Young and Collins were able to dock with their Agena target vehicle, stay docked, and use the Agena to boost themselves to an altitude of over 400 miles, a new record at the time for human space flight. Then they used the Agena to send them to a rendezvous with the abandoned Gemini 8 Agena. After rendezvousing with Agena 8, Collins performed a 40 minute spacewalk in which he went over to Agena 8, but had difficulty grabbing the vehicle and retrieving a science package from it. Young and Collins set the bar for the remaining Gemini missions…

Anyone else have a favorite Gemini 10 cover? Let’s post it! And as always, I’ll be glad to host your cover image if needed, just email me the image.

posted 07-26-2016 05:22 PM               

For some background history of them, one was recently signed by Collins during Spacefest a few months ago (can you spot it)? Another was signed by Young and Collins in person while at KSC during America's Bicentennial exposition in 1976.

There may be a cover with a suspect autograph or two, but note that one of the Orbit covers is a "plugged 9" variety produced by Ronson, but with another Orbit cachet cover that contains vintage GT-10 crew signatures originally owned by the Ed White astronaut family. While signed by the crew, it is, unfortunately, an Orbit cover for a different Gemini flight (GT-11) in Sept. 1966!