Here’s the View from the Highest Ever Orbital Mission
In 1966, the Gemini XI crew set an as-of-yet unbroken altitude record within low Earth orbital flights. Using the Agena’s...

In 1966, the Gemini XI crew set an as-of-yet unbroken altitude record within low Earth orbital flights. Using the Agena’s engine, Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon reached an apogee (peak distance from the Earth) of 850 miles; most Gemini missions, and missions since, have operated under the 200 mile altitude. So why did Gemini XI get to fly higher than any other mission? In short, because Conrad wanted to. Two old archives on Vintage Space give the long answer, one digging into the high-flying Gemini XI flight and the other the lunar Gemini mission proposal that spawned it.

Standard Orbit

Still Familiar

Getting Higher…

And Higher…

Rounder…

Gemini Flying Higher

Reaching Higher

Getting Ever Higher

Curving Earth and Ocean

The Earth Getting Rounder

Getting Even Rounder

High Above the Clouds

Getting Even Higher

A Hint of Spacecraft…

Near Peak Altitude

Almost to the Top

The View from the Top