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An original 8x10" vintage photo from a very large collection of rare original NASA photographs that originated from the estate of a NASA engineer.
This is from a series of rare, internal Gemini 2 post-flight photos.
Photo Overview
Two NASA technicians are seen in a Gemini 2 post-flight lab inspection, as one technician in a white coat uses a heavy-duty drill to core into the ablator heat shield of the Gemini 2 reentry spacecraft while another technician, wearing an ID badge and holding a coffee cup, closely observes the operation. The large, charred, and cross-hatched curved surface in the foreground is the Gemini capsule heat shield after its suborbital test flight, with the men working inside a metal-walled materials analysis facility at Cape Kennedy’s NASA/Gemini operations.
Gemini 2 flew on January 19, 1965 as an uncrewed suborbital mission to qualify the Gemini spacecraft’s heat shield and systems for later crewed flights, paving the way for missions that perfected rendezvous, docking, and long-duration spaceflight en route to Apollo and the Moon landings. Post-flight coring and inspection of the ablator material, as shown here, provided critical data on reentry heating and structural performance that guided all subsequent Gemini capsules. Own this RARE internal Gemini 2 engineering photo now to secure a tangible piece of the technology that made the Apollo era possible.
Print analysis:
The back shows a period NASA credit stamp to Technicolor Corp. with a detailed KSC catalog number (104-KSC-65C-627) and an early 1965 date, consistent with original NASA 8x10 fiber-based prints. The image is on single-weight photo paper with no postcard back or later reprint indicators and carries an RCA processing stamp often found on mission-era NASA lab prints. Given that Gemini 2 flew in January 1965 and this print is dated 2-1-65, it was produced within weeks of the mission, making it a Type 1 original NASA photographic print.
Condition: In very good to excellent vintage condition. Photos in this archive have been well taken care of. Please see scans of the image we have provided for the most accurate and complete state of the photo.
