160 a
James Lovell or Buzz Aldrin

The Agena Target Docking Vehicle with the U.S. flag against the black sky of space

Gemini XII, November 11-15, 1966, orbit 3, 004:46:00 GET

Large-format presentation vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 27.7 x 35.5cm (11 x 14in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso (NASA MSC) [NASA S-66-63405]

160 b
James Lovell or Buzz Aldrin

Houston’s Mission Control from space

Gemini XII, November 11-15, 1966, orbit 44, 070:22:00 GET

Unreleased photograph, large-format presentation vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 27.7 x 35.5cm (11 x 14in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso (NASA MSC) [NASA S-66-63032]

27.7 x 35.5cm (11 x 14in)

Cortright, p. 187 (variant).

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Lot Essay

160 a
The Agena Target Docking Vehicle is floating in space, about 34 feet away from the Gemini capsule, as both spacecrafts were station-keeping in Earth orbit. The American flag is very clearly visible in this photograph taken with the Hasselblad Super Wide camera and its 38mm lens.

004:35:28 Lovell: We’ve undocked. We’re flying formation preparing for the second docking.
004:35:34 Capcom (Mission Control): Okay. Sometime in there you can turn your X-ray on when you are ready.
004:35:39 Lovell: Roger. Will do.
004:37:32 Capcom: You let Buzz fly that thing there?
004:37:35 Lovell: Say again, Houston.
004:37:37 Capcom: I say, are you letting the Pilot fly?
004:37:40 Lovell: Yes. He’ll have plenty of opportunities.
004:37:44 Aldrin: He hasn’t used up his share of the fuel yet.
004:37:48 Capcom: Yes, watch him; he’s a time hog.
004:37:51 Aldrin: I’m seeing that.
004:38:08 Lovell: We’re right around the tail of the Agena now, looking right at the engine.
004:38:11 Capcom: You can really put that thing where you want to, can’t you?
004:38:14 Lovell: Right. And did you get the word about the Agena tether? It’s out and waving in the breeze.

160 b
As they orbited the Earth, the pioneering astronauts often captured photographs from space centered over NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, the major centers for manned spaceflight.

NASA released a variant of this photograph (NASA S-66-63032).
This photograph taken with the Hasselblad Super-Wide camera and its 38mm lens shows the Gulf Coast area from Matagorda Bay, Texas, to Vermillion Bay, Louisiana, looking north east. Galveston Bay is in center of picture. Houston and its environs are clearly visible, with network of freeways and superhighways. The large lake near left of picture is the Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

“The city of Houston appears in the left center of this photo of about 280 miles of the Texas- Louisiana gulf coast taken at an altitude of about 150 miles. Careful examination reveals Ellington Air Force Base and buildings of the Manned Spacecraft Center. The picture’s significance lies in its depth of detail. The clarity of terrain features and of the flow patterns of each body of water emptying into the Gulf is outstanding. Pictures like this will in the future make possible a survey of Earth’s resources from space,” noted George E. Mueller, NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight (Cortright, p. 187).

070:21:44 Capcom (Mission Control): Gemini XII, Houston. How do you read me now?
070:21:48 Aldrin: Loud and clear. We’re coming up right over Houston.
070:21:51 Capcom: Roger. You are transmitting to us through the aircraft. Can you give us a little description? 070:22:00 Lovell: Roger. For one thing, ..., those kids of yours are on my roof again.
070:22:04 Capcom: Aw, they can’t be! They’re supposed to be in school.
070:22:13 Capcom If that’s the case, they’re playing hooky besides being on the roof
070:22:20 Lovell: Beautiful shot of Houston.
070:22:25 Capcom: Roger. Can you see the Dome?
070:22:29 Lovell: Roger.