[Gemini IX-A] The only photograph of Eugene Cernan performing the epic second...

[Gemini IX-A] The only photograph of Eugene Cernan performing the epic second US spacewalk. Thomas Stafford, 3–7 June 1966. Printed 1966. Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-66–38515]. 19×25.4 cm (7.5×10 in), with NASA caption numbered “S-66–38515” and “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso (NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas).

The only good photograph of Eugene Cernan in outer space as he experienced a very difficult spacewalk and his visor fogged, preventing him from using the AMU (Astronaut Maneuvering Unit). Stafford shot this incredible photograph with the Maurer space camera and its 80mm lens. Cernan is seen against the dark background of space, linked to the Gemini spacecraft by the EVA umbilical cord. The reflection of the Earth and the spacecraft is visible in his visor as well as in the small mirror mounted on the nose of the spacecraft (bottom left near the window). Cernan’s EVA Super Wide Hasseblad camera is visible on his chest.

During Cernan’s spacewalk, which was only the third which had ever been done and the first in which an astronaut attempted to do real work outside the spacecraft, Cernan was hindered by a lack of hand and footholds. When he tried to use a wrench to turn a bolt, it was he who tended to turn and, coupled with the inadequate cooling capability of the Gemini suit, he had a very frustrating and tiring time of it. (from the ALSJ Apollo 17 mission summary). Stafford later said (in the 1999 documentary Mission Impossible: Gemini) that there was a real concern that Cernan would not be able to get back into the capsule. As it would not have been acceptable for Stafford to cut Cernan loose in orbit, he stated that the plan was to make re-entry with the astronaut still attached by his umbilical, resulting in the death of both men.

From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:

049:44:08 Stafford: Okay, I can see you in the darkness while we’re here and appears ... looking real good. Let me know when you get near those thrusters. 049:44:12 Cernan: Yes. I can see you in the cockpit. I’m overhead; you’re real good. [...] 049:45:15 Cernan: Boy, what a beautiful Spacecraft, Golly’ [...] 049:45:22 Cernan: I’m trying to get out in front here where I can get a good evaluation of pod and this umbilical. [...] 049:47:13 Cernan: I ‘m right on top of your window. 049:47:14 Stafford: I’ve got a picture of you. [...] 049:47:20 Cernan: The only control I have is the umbilical and, of course, the shorter it is, the better control I’ve got. 049:47:27 Stafford: Okay. We’ve got 20 minutes of sunrise and 30 minutes to sunset. [...] 049:48:06 Cernan: Okay. I’m at the end of the umbilical. [...] 049:48:12 Stafford: Yes, you look like a real snake out there. [...] 049:48:44 Cernan: I want to see what I can do around the nose here. 049:48: 46 Stafford: Okay. 049:49:01 Cernan: Oh, boy. All I did was twitch my fingers and I gave myself a torque that would’nt quit. [...] 049:49:13 Stafford: Okay. Come on over in front of the window and I can get a picture of you. Go on with your evaluation.

Condition Report:Creases to left corners and softeninng to corners, small marks / abrasions on glossy surface of print visible in a raking light, otherwise good condition.

Category:Photos ▸ Vintage photographs