December 16, 1965 –
NASA was in a piss-proud mood. Days before, Gemini 6 (Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra, space cowboys aboard) and Gemini 7 (Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, rocket men aboard) had successfully rendezvoused in space. Just before Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra were about to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, on this date, they radioed Mission Control with their startling sighting:
“We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in polar orbit…. Looks like he might be going to re-enter soon…. You just might let me pick up that thing…. I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit.”
Wally and Tom do something even more startling; they break out in a chorus of Jingle Bells, accompanying themselves with a small harmonica and tiny small bells. The pair become the first men to perform Christmas carols from space. NASA, of course, was not amused having to pay the out of this world ASCAP fees.
And so it goes
The Haus of Dcaligari 