1966 – Gemini 10 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a 70-hour mission that includes docking with an orbiting Agena target vehicle.
Gemini 10, officially designated Gemini X, was a NASA crewed mission flown in July 1966 as part of the Gemini program. Commanded by John Young with Michael Collins as pilot, it became the eighth crewed Gemini flight and a key step toward Apollo-era lunar missions. Collins also made history by becoming the first person to perform two extravehicular activities (EVAs) on a single mission.
The mission’s primary objective was to rendezvous and dock with an Agena Target Vehicle (ATV), then conduct spacewalk operations. Originally, Gemini 10 was intended to dock with the Agena from Gemini 8, but that vehicle had lost power. Instead, the crew demonstrated the ability to approach and dock with a passive target, an important capability for future missions. The Agena’s onboard rocket was also used for the first time to boost the spacecraft into a higher orbit.
After docking with their Agena, Young and Collins used its propulsion system to reach an altitude of 763.8 kilometers, the highest achieved by a crewed spacecraft at that time. They later undocked and performed the program’s first double rendezvous, locating the inactive Gemini 8 Agena. With no onboard power or radar, the approach relied entirely on visual tracking.
During the second rendezvous, Collins conducted a spacewalk to the dormant Agena, tethered by a 15-meter line. He became the first person to physically approach another spacecraft in orbit and successfully retrieved a cosmic dust collector. However, while managing the tether, he lost his Hasselblad camera, preventing photographic documentation of the EVA.
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