Crew

Walter Schirra
Thomas Stafford

Design

crew

Gemini 6A


The Gemini 6 patch is hexagonal in shape, reflecting the mission number; and the spacecraft trajectory also traces out the number “6.” The Gemini 6 spacecraft is shown superimposed on the “twin stars” Castor and Pollux, for “Gemini.”

I designed the patch to locate in the sixth hour of celestial right ascension. This was the predicted celestial area where the rendezvous should occur (in the constellation Orion). It finally did occur there.

—Wally Schirra, from All We Did Was Fly to the Moon

During rendezvous phase, the good old constellation Orion, the prophetic Gemini 6 patch was right there.

—Wally Schirra, Gemini VI Technical Debriefing

We were up there aiming for the rendezvous and when we first saw our rendezvous vehicle, Gemini 7, glittering in the reflected light of the sunset, it was right between Sirius and the twins, just exactly where we had placed it on the patch.

—Tom Stafford, Life magazine

As originally designed, this patch carried the designation “GTA-6” (for Gemini-Titan-Agena), and depicted Gemini 6 rendezvousing with an Agena. After the failed launch of the Agena target vehicle, and the decision to rendezvous with Gemini 7 instead, the patch was redesigned with the legend “GEMINI 6” in place of the original “GTA-6” legend, and with a second Gemini spacecraft in place of the Agena.

The patch was worn on the right breast.




[ge06-aa1]
Worldbook photo
The artwork for the Gemini 6 patch.


[ge06-em1]
NASA photo S65-55983
Embroidered version of the original design with the “GTA-6” legend and an Agena target vehicle. Apparently no photo of the updated patch was made, so this is NASA’s “official” image of the Gemini 6 patch.


[ge06a-em3]
AP wirephoto
After the mission was revised to rendezvous with Gemini 7 instead of the Agena target vehicle, the patch was redesigned with the designation “GEMINI 6” in place of the original “GTA-6”, and the outline of a Gemini spacecraft in place of the Agena.


[ge06a-em4]
A replica by Randy Wagner, with the “GEMINI 6” legend and a Gemini target vehicle — which matches the design actually worn by the astronauts during the flight. Unfortunately, the background is dark blue instead of black, and the lower Gemini spacecraft is not very well depicted.
102mm w × 90mm h


[ge06a-em5]
This is the 2010 replica by AB Emblem. Unlike ge06a-em4, this one has the correct black background.
104mm w × 89mm h


[ge06a-em5]
This is a replica of the original GTA-6 version of the patch created by Liem Bahneman.


[ge06-pr1]
NASA photo S65-56187
Tom Stafford during suit-up exercises about a month before the first launch attempt. The detail shows the patch on Stafford’s suit. It is not embroidered, but rather has been printed on leatherette or some other textured substrate. This was clearly derived from the original artwork, except the letting is in a “condensed” font. This patch was worn by the crew in at least a couple of “official” crew portraits, e.g. S65-56188.


NASA photo S65-56191
Gemini 6 crew Schirra and Stafford admire their embroidered patch.


NASA photo 65-H-1080
A suit technician sewing a revised “GEMINI 6” patch onto Stafford’s pressure suit.