Gemini IX-A, launched June 3, 1966, was renamed after the original mission, planned to launch May 17, was cancelled when the rendezvous vehicle was destroyed during a launch failure. Its crew, Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan, tried to dock with the backup rendezvous craft, the Augmented Target Docking Adaptor (ATDA) because the nose pairing failed to eject from the docking target.
The original crew, Elliot See and Charles Bassett, was killed in an aircraft crash February 26, 1966.
Cernan performed a two-hour EVA in an attempt to demonstrate the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, but could not complete it due to stress, fatigue and overheating.
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