National Aeronautics and Space Administration USA, “Aeronautics and Space Report”, “Highlights 1966”,
“The video includes footage of the following: space and aeronautic montage, Surveyor lands on the Moon, Lunar Orbiter, weather satellites, Orbiting Geophysical Observatory, Pioneer, sounding rockets, solar eclipse, X-15, lifting bodies, solid rockets, nuclear powered engines, Project Gemini ends, and Apollo-Saturn.”
“NASA documentary about it’s activities in 1966. Surveyor and Ranger programs are covered, along with Gemini and Apollo programs. The X-15 is also mentioned, along with other scientific advancements made that year. Two film sources were combined to restore the original intro and credits sequence.
16 Mar. 1966 During Gemini VIII American astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and David Scott performed the first orbital docking their spacecraft to an Agena target vehicle, becoming the first coupling of two spacecraft. This was a critical task to master before attempting to land on the Moon, a mission that required several dockings and undockings of spacecraft.
2 Jun. 1966 On this date Surveyor 1 landed on the Moon and transmitted more than 10,000 high-quality photographs of the surface. This was the first American spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon. It had been launch on 30 May, and it touched down on the “Ocean of Storms,” a possible site for the Apollo landings.
3-6 Jul. 1966 During the flight of Gemini IX on this date, American astronauts Tom Stafford and Eugene Cernan make a two-hour EVA.
18-21 Jul. 1966 During Gemini X American astronauts Mike Collins and John Young make two rendezvous and docking maneuvers with Agena target vehicles, plus complete a complex EVA.
10 Aug. 1966-1 Aug. 1967 The Lunar Orbiter project was conducted for a year between these dates. This project, originally not intended to support Apollo, was reconfigured in 1962 and 1963 to further the Kennedy mandate more specifically by mapping the surface. In addition to a powerful camera that could send photographs to Earth tracking stations, it carried three scientific experiments-selnodesy (the lunar equivalent of geodesy), meteoroid detection, and radiation measurement. While the returns from these instruments interested scientists in and of themselves, they were critical to Apollo. NASA launched five Lunar Orbiter satellites, all successfully achieving their objectives.
11-15 Nov. 1966 The last Gemini flight, Gemini XII, was launched on this date. During this mission, American astronauts Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin completed three EVAs and a docking with an Agena target vehicle.”
