Gemini 8

Gemini VIII
Gemini VIII rendezvous with its Agena Target Vehicle in a station-keeping exercise
Mission type
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1966-020A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.2105
Mission duration10 hours, 41 minutes, 26 seconds
Distance travelled293,206 kilometers (158,319 nautical miles)
Orbits completed6
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftGemini SC8
ManufacturerMcDonnell
Launch mass3,789 kilograms (8,353 lb)
Crew
Crew size2
Members
Start of mission
Launch dateMarch 16, 1966, 16:41:02 (1966-03-16UTC16:41:02Z) UTC
RocketTitan II GLV, s/n 62-12563
Launch siteCape Kennedy LC-19
End of mission
Recovered byUSS Leonard F. Mason
Landing dateMarch 17, 1966, 03:22:28 (1966-03-17UTC03:22:29Z) UTC
Landing site25°14′N 136°0′E / 25.233°N 136.000°E / 25.233; 136.000
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude261 kilometers (141 nmi)
Apogee altitude270 kilometers (150 nmi)
Inclination28.9 degrees
Period89.81 minutes
EpochMarch 16, 1966[1]
Docking with GATV-5003
Docking dateMarch 16, 1966, 23:14 UTC
Undocking dateMarch 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.

  1. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "SATCAT". Jonathan's Space Pages. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  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.


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