 Gemini VIII rendezvous with its Agena Target Vehicle in a station-keeping exercise | |
| Mission type | |
|---|---|
| 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 | |
| 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[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 | |
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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