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The Agena Target Vehicle (/ ə ˈ dʒ iː n ə /; ATV), also known as Gemini-Agena Target Vehicle (GATV), was an uncrewed spacecraft used by NASA during its Gemini program to develop and practice orbital space rendezvous and docking techniques, and to perform large orbital changes, in preparation for the Apollo program lunar missions. [1]
Gemini 9A space-flown Fliteline Medallion. The Gemini 9 patch is in the shape of a shield and shows the Gemini spacecraft docked to the Agena. There is a spacewalking astronaut, with his tether forming the shape of a number 9. Although the Gemini 9 mission was changed to use the ATDA, the patch was not changed.
Gemini 9A: Eugene Cernan Thomas P. Stafford (did not exit) 5 June 1966 15:02:00 5 June 1966 17:09:00 2 h 7 min A complex work EVA was planned for Cernan, which involved him moving to the rear of the Gemini spacecraft and donning the Astronaut propulsion unit, developed by the U.S. Air Force. [6]
Gemini 10 docked with an Agena, showing the alignment of the indexing bar The Target Docking Adapter of the Gemini 12 Agena, showing the docking mechanism . The Gemini spacecraft was equipped with a non-androgynous mechanism for docking with the Agena target vehicle or Augmented Target Docking Adapter. It was the first American craft that could ...
The Gemini spacecraft would have rendezvoused with stacked Centaur and Agena upper stages in low Earth orbit. [14] The Centaur would have placed the Gemini and Agena onto a circumlunar trajectory, along which they would coast until they reached the Moon. The Agena would then have been used to perform Lunar orbit insertion.
A retired Titan II missile, repainted as GLV-3 12558 (Gemini 3), is on display at KSC Rocket Garden since 2010. [8] Another retired Titan II missile, repainted as GLV-9 12564 (Gemini 9A), is on display at the Stafford Air & Space Museum. [9] A Gemini-Titan II full-scale replica was erected for the 1964 New York World's Fair.
The first Agena-D launch was of KH-4 #7 on June 28, 1963, and a total of 269 Agena-Ds were launched. The Agena-D was used to launch KH-7 GAMBIT and KH-8 Gambit 3 reconnaissance satellites, three Mariner probes to Venus and the two Mariner space probes to Mars. Thor-Agena flew for the last time in 1972 when it launched a KH-4B satellite.
The Agena Target Vehicle is launched into space on an Atlas rocket in preparation for Gemini 8. Five months earlier, NASA had launched an Agena Target Vehicle for Gemini 6, but the Atlas-Agena launch failed when the Agena's engine exploded during orbital injection and the mission had to be rescheduled. The next attempt succeeded.