Gemini 8

Gemini VIII
	Gemini VIII rendezvous with its Agena Target Vehicle in a station-keeping exercise.
Mission type	Space rendezvous; Spacecraft docking; Extravehicular activity (failed);
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1966-020A
SATCAT no.	2105
Mission duration	10 hours, 41 minutes, 26 seconds
Distance travelled	293,206 kilometers (158,319 nautical miles)
Orbits completed	6
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Gemini SC8
Manufacturer	McDonnell
Launch mass	3,789 kilograms (8,353 lb)
Crew
Crew size	2
Members	Neil A. Armstrong; David R. Scott;
Start of mission
Launch date	March 16, 1966, 16:41:02 UTC
Rocket	Titan II GLV, s/n 62-12563
Launch site	Cape Kennedy LC-19
End of mission
Recovered by	USS Leonard F. Mason
Landing date	March 17, 1966, 03:22:28 UTC
Landing site	25°14′N 136°0′E / 25.233°N 136.000°E
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	261 kilometers (141 nmi)
Apogee altitude	270 kilometers (150 nmi)
Inclination	28.9 degrees
Period	89.81 minutes
Epoch	March 16, 1966
Docking with GATV-5003
Docking date	March 16, 1966, 23:14 UTC
Undocking date	March 16, 1966, ~23:45 UTC
Time docked	~30 minutes
	; (L-R) Scott, Armstrong Project Gemini ← Gemini 6A Gemini 9A →

Gemini 8 (officially Gemini VIII)^[2] was the sixth crewed spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was launched on March 16, 1966, and was the 14th crewed American flight and the 22nd crewed spaceflight overall.^[a] The mission conducted the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit, but also suffered the first critical in-space system failure of a U.S. spacecraft which threatened the lives of the astronauts and required an immediate abort of the mission. The crew returned to Earth safely.

^ McDowell, Jonathan. "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Pages. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
^ Hacker, Barton C.; Grimwood, James M. (September 1974). "Chapter 11 Pillars of Confidence". On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini. NASA History Series. Vol. SP-4203. NASA. p. 239. Archived from the original on 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2013-09-26. With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations.

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[satcat-1] McDowell, Jonathan. "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Pages. Retrieved March 23, 2014.

[titans-2] Hacker, Barton C.; Grimwood, James M. (September 1974). "Chapter 11 Pillars of Confidence". On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini. NASA History Series. Vol. SP-4203. NASA. p. 239. Archived from the original on 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2013-09-26. With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations.

[1]

[2]

[a]

Spacecraft properties
Gemini VIII rendezvous with its Agena Target Vehicle in a station-keeping exercise.

Mission type	Space rendezvous Spacecraft docking Extravehicular activity (failed)
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1966-020A
SATCAT no.	2105
Mission duration	10 hours, 41 minutes, 26 seconds
Distance travelled	293,206 kilometers (158,319 nautical miles)
Orbits completed	6


Spacecraft	Gemini SC8
Manufacturer	McDonnell
Launch mass	3,789 kilograms (8,353 lb)


Crew
Crew size	2
Members	Neil A. Armstrong David R. Scott


Start of mission
Launch date	March 16, 1966, 16:41:02 (1966-03-16UTC16:41:02Z) UTC
Rocket	Titan II GLV, s/n 62-12563
Launch site	Cape Kennedy LC-19


End of mission
Recovered by	USS Leonard F. Mason
Landing date	March 17, 1966, 03:22:28 (1966-03-17UTC03:22:29Z) UTC
Landing site	25°14′N 136°0′E / 25.233°N 136.000°E / 25.233; 136.000


Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	261 kilometers (141 nmi)
Apogee altitude	270 kilometers (150 nmi)
Inclination	28.9 degrees
Period	89.81 minutes
Epoch	March 16, 1966^[1]


Docking with GATV-5003
Docking date	March 16, 1966, 23:14 UTC
Undocking date	March 16, 1966, ~23:45 UTC
Time docked	~30 minutes

(L-R) Scott, Armstrong Project Gemini ← Gemini 6A Gemini 9A →