[PROJECT GEMINI]. FLOWN GEMINI 6 MEDALLION.

FLOWN Medallion, made from sterling silver, 1 inch in diameter. Carried on the Gemini 6 flight by Thomas Stafford. The original Gemini 6 mission emblem with the crew’s last names is on the front. The flight dates of “December 15-16, 1965” are engraved on the reverse. Displayed with an October 25, 2000 Typed Letter Signed by THOMAS P. STAFFORD on his business stationery describing the medallion and Gemini 6 flight.

THOMAS P. STAFFORD'S signed provenance letter reads: “The Gemini 6 sterling silver medallion enclosed with this letter is one that I carried into space beginning December 15, 1965. This medallion became a part of history when the Gemini 6 spacecraft completed the world's first manned space flight rendezvous with Gemini 7 later that day. This flight technique was one of the most significant capabilities demonstrated in the Gemini Program. Spacecraft rendezvous later became the flight method to accomplish a manned lunar landing and return. Commander Wally Schirra and I returned to Earth the following day, December 16, 1965. Our original flight plan was to rendezvous and dock with an Agena target vehicle on October 25, 1965. However, the Agena failed to reach orbit on that date and our Gemini Titan launch was cancelled. Our medallions were minted prior to October, with GTA-6 (Gemini-Titan Agena 6) at the top and our last names at the lower left and right. A Gemini spacecraft following the dotted path of the Agena in the shape of a large “6” was symbolic of this first rendezvous flight.

Within days of the Agena failure, NASA and our contractor team devised a plan to rendezvous with Gemini 7, scheduled for an early December launch. With all this extra planning and training, we were unable to change the medallions to reflect the new mission plans. We carried them into space as originally minted on December 15, and to make the story complete, they of course were with us on December 12 when our Titan launch vehicle engines shut-down just seconds before lift-off. Wally Schirra kept a cool head, and did not command an abort via our ejection seats. Thus we were able to launch and rendezvous with Gemini 7 just three days later.”