50 Dollars First Rendezvous in Space

The Marshall Islands began issuing commemorative coinage in 1986 following the Compact of Free Association with the United States, which granted the republic self-governance while retaining American defense obligations. The 1989 "First Rendezvous in Space" issue commemorates the 1965 Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 mission, during which astronauts Wally Schirra and Frank Borman's crews maneuvered to within one foot of each other — the first time two crewed spacecraft had ever achieved proximity in orbit.

Struck by the U.S. Mint under contract, the series was produced primarily for the collector market rather than circulation.