MA-9 Launch, Orbit and Recovery Photos

All with this very special $2 Jefferson tucked safely in Gordo's suit pocket!

Of course Gordon Cooper and the rest of the Mercury astronauts were immortalized in the book and film The Right Stuff. Click below on the movie trailer link to get a sense of the historic importance of Gordo's flight and the mercury program. And watch the full movie sometime, as the flight of Mercury 9, Gordon Cooper (and of course Tom) play a critical role at the end.

Cooper's Handwritten Flight Certification

Along with the note, which I purchased at auction from the Cooper Estate, I also received the envelope in which the note was stored. On the envelope, Cooper had written: "This old 1917 issue $2 bill was flown by me in my flight suit pocket on MA9." It is wonderful to have hand-written flight certification on the bill itself, and on the envelope that held the bill...but to also know that the bill was not only on board the spacecraft, but was also on Cooper's person during the entire length of the flight is very unique and adds to the historic importance of this bill.

1963 Series C Flown on Gemini 3

This Jefferson flew on the first manned flight of the Gemini space program -- aboard the unsinkable Molly Brown with Gus Grissom and John Young on March 23, 1965. During this 4 hour and 52 minute flight, Tom made 3 orbits of the earth, and traveled over 80,000 miles after reaching an altitude of over 121 miles above the Earth. This bill is a 1953 Series C Jefferson, with serial number A77446053A. It is one of only 50 $2 bills to accompany the crew aboard this historic flight.

GT-3: Countdown, Launch, Orbit, Recovery

The historic flight of Gemini 3 has the distinction of being America's first two-manned flight, Tom's presence aboard excluded...and check out the video of the launch, splashdown, and recovery of this mission. It is a short clip, but you can see Gus' face as he's being hoisted out of the ocean.