On December 15, 1965, Gemini 6-A lifted off from Cape Canaveral for a one-day mission and orbital rendezvous with Gemini 7. Here’s a look back at the mission in images from the archives at NASA.

Gemini 6 prime crew astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, pilot (left), and Walter M. Schirra Jr., command pilot, pose during a suiting-up exercise at Cape Kennedy, Fla., October 1965.

NASA