Space: Rendezvous in St. Louis

For months, Astronauts Elliot M. See Jr. and Charles Bassett had been regular commuters between Houston's Manned Spacecraft Center and McDonnell Aircraft's St. Louis plant, where the Gemini 9 capsule they were to pilot next May was abuilding. To both, the flight had become almost as routine as driving to work. To both, the twin-engine T-38 jet trainer they boarded last week for the 90-minute hop to St. Louis must have seemed about as tame as a tricycle.

See, an earnest, self-effacing civilian engineer who was to have commanded the Gemini 9...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!