OTD In Space - December 4: Gemini 7 Launches On 1st Orbital Rendezvous Mission

On Dec. 4, 1965, NASA launched the crewed Gemini 7 spacecraft on a two-week-long mission in low-Earth orbit.

This was the fourth crewed flight of NASA's Gemini program and the 12th crewed mission for the United States. NASA astronauts Jim Lovell and Frank Borman were aboard the Gemini 7 spacecraft. While they were in orbit, the Gemini 7 crew met up with two more NASA astronauts, Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford, who launched in another Gemini spacecraft 11 days into the mission. Their Gemini 6A spacecraft chased after Gemini 7 for a few and successfully performed the first-ever crewed rendezvous in orbit.