This Gemini VII photograph of Kennedy Space Center in Florida was taken on Dec. 6, 1965 during orbit no. 30 at 19:25 GMT. Launch Complex 19 where Gemini VII was launched two days earlier, on Dec. 4, can be seen along the shore at the bottom. The channel of the intracoastal waterway can be seen near the bottom center of the image. The future Apollo launch pads are seen as two circles near the shore towards the bottom of the frame. North is at 1:00. This photograph was taken with a Hasselblad camera and a 250mm lens using film type was Kodak Ektachrome MS S.O. -217.
Gemini VII, with astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on board, orbited the Earth for two weeks while Gemini VI was launched. Gemini VII and VI completed the first-ever rendezvous between two spacecraft in orbit. It was a transformative capability that was not only necessary for the Apollo moon landing missions, but crucial in building and operating the International Space Station.
Image Credit: NASA