# Gemini VI-A: Humanity's First Cosmic Handshake
Published: December 16, 2025
Duration: 1:47
# This is your Astronomy Tonight podcast.
Good evening, stargazers! On December 16th, we celebrate one of the most dramatic and consequential moments in the history of space exploration – the day that humanity achieved something that seemed utterly impossible just years before.
On December 16, 1965, the Gemini 6-A spacecraft, piloted by the legendary Wally Schirra and Thomas P. Stafford, achieved the first crewed spacecraft rendezvous in history! Picture this: two spacecraft, hurtling through the void of space at 17,500 miles per hour, coming together within a few feet of each other. It's the kind of cosmic kiss that NASA en...
Good evening, stargazers! On December 16th, we celebrate one of the most dramatic and consequential moments in the history of space exploration – the day that humanity achieved something that seemed utterly impossible just years before.
On December 16, 1965, the Gemini 6-A spacecraft, piloted by the legendary Wally Schirra and Thomas P. Stafford, achieved the first crewed spacecraft rendezvous in history! Picture this: two spacecraft, hurtling through the void of space at 17,500 miles per hour, coming together within a few feet of each other. It's the kind of cosmic kiss that NASA en...