Gemini 9A Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA 02186)

ATDA 02186 was the backup docking target launched for Gemini 9A on June 1, 1966, after the original Agena target was lost. It reached Earth orbit, but its partly attached protective shroud blocked the docking port. Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan found the obstruction during rendezvous two days later and compared its appearance to an angry alligator. Docking was abandoned, while the target supported further approach exercises. NASA's catalog records atmospheric decay on June 11, 1966.