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{{Short description|Spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program}}
{{Use American English|date=
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name = Gemini VIII
| image = Gemini8StationKeep.gif
| image_size = 300px
| image_caption = Gemini VIII rendezvous with its [[Agena Target Vehicle]] in a station-keeping exercise
| insignia = Ge08Patch orig.png
| mission_type = {{Unbulleted list
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| docking =
{{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
| docking_target
| docking_type
| docking_date
| undocking_date
| time_docked
}}
| crew_size = 2
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| archive-date = 2010-01-13
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100113132344/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/toc.htm
}} With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations.</ref> was the sixth crewed spaceflight in [[NASA]]'s [[Project Gemini|Gemini]] program. It was launched on March 16, 1966, and was the 14th crewed American flight and the 22nd crewed spaceflight overall.{{efn|This count includes two [[X-15]] flights higher than the [[Kármán Line]] at {{convert|100|km|nmi mi ft|abbr=off|sp=us|0}}.}} 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.
==Background==
Command pilot [[Neil Armstrong]] resigned his commission in the [[U.S. Naval Reserve]] in 1960, and was selected as a crew member for Gemini 8 in September 1965. His flight marked the second time a U.S. civilian flew into space (after [[Joseph Albert Walker|Joe Walker]] on [[X-15 Flight 90]]),<ref name="Civilians in Space">{{cite web|url=http://www.fourmilab.ch/fourmilog/archives/2006-08/000736.html|title=Civilians in Space}}</ref><ref name="Space.com Joseph A Walker">{{cite web |url=http://www.space.com/adastra/adastra_joewalker_061127.html|title=Space.com Joseph A Walker |website=[[Space.com]] |date=27 November 2006 }}</ref>{{efn|The [[Soviet Union]] launched the first civilian, [[Valentina Tereshkova]] (also the first woman), into space aboard [[Vostok 6]] on June 16, 1963.<ref name="Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova">{{cite web |url=http://www.adm.yar.ru/english/section.aspx?section_id=74 |title=Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova |access-date=2010-05-04
==Crew==
{{Spaceflight crew
| terminology
| position1
| crew1_up
| flights1_up
| position2
| crew2_up
| flights2_up
}}
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|position2 = Pilot
|crew2_up = [[Richard F. Gordon Jr.]]
===Support crew===
* [[Walter Cunningham]] (Cape CAPCOM)
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===Agena and Gemini launch===
[[File:Gemini8AgenaLaunch.gif|thumb
Five months earlier, NASA had launched an [[Agena target vehicle|Agena Target Vehicle]] for [[Gemini 6]], but the [[Atlas-Agena]] launch failed when the Agena's engine exploded during orbital injection and the mission had to be rescheduled. The next attempt succeeded. Everything worked perfectly; the Agena put itself into a {{convert|161|nmi|km|adj=on}} circular [[orbit]] and oriented itself to the correct attitude for the docking.
[[File:Gemini8Launch.gif|thumb|A [[Titan II GLV|Gemini-Titan]] launch vehicle lifts ''Gemini 8'' into orbit, March 16, 1966.]]
The Gemini spacecraft was launched into an {{convert|86|by|147|nmi|km|adj=on}} orbit by a modified [[Titan II GLV|Titan II]] on March 16, 1966 (coincidentally the 40th anniversary of the launch of the world's first liquid-
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
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===Rendezvous and docking===
[[File:Gemini8Docking.gif|thumb
Their first course adjustment was made at one hour and 34 minutes into the mission, when the astronauts lowered their apogee slightly with a five-second [[Orbit Attitude and Maneuvering System]] (OAMS) thruster burn. The second adjustment was made near apogee of the second orbit, and raised both the apogee and perigee by adding {{convert|49|ft/s|m/s}} to their speed. The third adjustment was made over the Pacific Ocean, a southward orbital plane change, made with a {{convert|59|ft/s|m/s}} sideways thruster burn. When they were over Mexico, [[Jim Lovell]], the Houston [[capsule communicator]], told them they needed one last correction, a {{convert|2.6|ft/s|m/s}} speed addition.
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===Emergency===
[[File:Gemini8Spin.gif|thumb|
There was some suspicion on the ground that the Agena's [[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude control]] system was malfunctioning and might not have the correct program stored in it. This suspicion was found to be incorrect. Shortly before radio blackout, [[Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center|Mission Control]] cautioned the astronauts to immediately abort the docking if any abnormalities occurred with the Agena.
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[[File:Rcs-gemini.jpg|thumb|Location of Gemini OAMS and Reentry (mislabeled "Reaction") Control System thrusters]]
NASA turned off the [[squawk box]] at Armstrong's home, alarming his wife. Scott later praised Armstrong's actions as their spacecraft spun: "The guy was brilliant. He knew the system so well. He found the solution, he activated the solution, under extreme circumstances ... it was my lucky day to be flying with him."<ref name="nova20141203">{{Cite episode |title=First Man on the Moon |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/first-man-on-moon.html |series=Nova |series-link=Nova (American TV series) |network=PBS |date=2014-12-03 |season=41 |number=23}}</ref> The spacecraft came in range of the ground communications ship ''[[Coastal Sentry Quebec]]''. After steadying the spacecraft, the crew tested each OAMS thruster in turn and found that Number 8 had stuck on. Almost 75% of the reentry maneuvering fuel had been used to stop the tumble,{{sfn|Gatland|1976|p=176}} and mission rules dictated that the flight be aborted once the Reentry Control System was fired for any reason. Gemini 8 immediately prepared for an emergency landing.
===Landing and recovery===
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Planes were also dispatched, and [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] pilot [[Les Schneider]] spotted the spacecraft as it descended precisely on time and on target. Three pararescuers jumped from their [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster|C-54]] and attached a flotation collar to the capsule.<ref name="Gemini 8 Crew and PJs">{{cite web |url=http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~7~7~32671~136538:Gemini-8-crew-stands-on-deck-of-rec |title=Gemini8 Crew and PJs |access-date=2010-06-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727151042/http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~7~7~32671~136538%3AGemini-8-crew-stands-on-deck-of-rec |archive-date=2011-07-27 }}</ref>
[[
All of the pararescuers and astronauts suffered from seasickness. Three hours after splashdown, the ''Leonard F. Mason'' had both men and the spacecraft on board. The astronauts were exhausted, but had otherwise survived the flight and their time on the water in good condition. They were briefly checked and slept for nine hours.
The next morning, the ship docked at the port of [[Naha]]. Fellow astronaut [[Walter Schirra]] and other NASA officials flew in to greet them before the astronauts were summoned back to the ship for medical tests and debriefing. After release, they were brought by limousine to waiting helicopters where they flew to [[Kadena Air Base]] and then on to Florida on a [[Boeing C-135 Stratolifter|C-135]].<ref>
Upon the return, the spacecraft was covered with a tarp. As part of the investigation into the mishap, ground controllers tested the Agena stage for the next several days by ordering it to perform various in-orbit maneuvers until exhausting its propellant and electrical power.
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==Thruster incident: cause and outcome==
No conclusive reason for the thruster malfunction was found. The most probable cause was determined to be an electrical short, most likely due to a [[static electricity]] discharge. Power still flowed to the thruster, even when it was switched off. To prevent recurrence of this problem, spacecraft designs were changed so each thruster would have an isolated circuit.
[[File:Press conference - GT-VIII - prime and backup crew.jpg|thumb|The Gemini 8 crews answer questions at an MSC press conference.]]
Quote from
-Engineers tore into the OAMS system when the spacecraft got home and found a short circuit that made one thruster fire continuously. We learned an important lesson -never put electrical power to any system unless it’s supposed to be on. The OAMS was rewired so that a short circuit would always give us a dead thruster, not one that kept firing until a circuit breaker was opened by an astronaut.-
The Deputy Administrator of NASA, [[Robert Seamans|Dr. Robert Seamans]], was attending a celebratory dinner sponsored by the [[Goddard Space Flight Center]], at which Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]] was the guest speaker, when the problem arose.<ref>{{
| last = Seamans Jr.
| first = Robert C.
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| publisher = NASA
| id = SP-2005-4537
|
| location = Washington, D.C.
| url = https://history.nasa.gov/monograph37.pdf
}}
</ref> The incident inspired Seamans to review NASA's problem investigation procedures, modeled after military crash investigations, and on April 14, 1966, to formalize a new procedure in ''Management Instruction 8621.1, Mission Failure Investigation Policy And Procedures''. This gave the Deputy Administrator the option of performing independent investigations of major failures, beyond those failure investigations for which the various Program Office officials were normally responsible. It declared: "It is NASA policy to investigate and document the causes of all major mission failures which occur in the conduct of its space and aeronautical activities and to take appropriate corrective actions as a result of the findings and recommendations."<ref>{{cite web |last=Seamans Jr. |first=Robert C. |date=April 5, 1967 |title=NASA Management Instruction 8621.1 April 14, 1966 |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollo204/13.html |access-date=March 7, 2011 |work=Apollo 204 Review Board Final Report |publisher=NASA }}
</ref> Seamans first invoked this new procedure immediately following the fatal [[Apollo 1]] spacecraft fire on January 27, 1967. It was also invoked after the next critical in-flight failure, which occurred on the [[Apollo 13]] lunar mission in April 1970.
[[McDonnell Aircraft Corporation]], the Gemini spacecraft prime contractor, also changed its procedures. Prior to the accident, McDonnell's top engineers would be at [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Kennedy Air Force Station]] for the launch, then fly to [[Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center|Mission Control]] in [[Houston, Texas]] for the rest of the mission. The problem occurred while they were en route, so it was decided to keep McDonnell engineers in Houston for the entire mission.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/ch13-6.htm |title=On The Shoulders of Titans - Ch13-6
==Insignia==
[[File:Gemini 8 Flown Fliteline Sterling Silver Medallion.jpg|thumb|Gemini 8 space-flown [[NASA space-flown Robbins medallions of the Apollo missions#Gemini mission space-flown Fliteline medallions|Fliteline Medallion]]]]
[[File:Gemini VIII Capsule.jpg|thumb|The Gemini 8 spacecraft is displayed at the [[
The [[ Mission patch |flight patch]] for the mission shows the whole spectrum of objectives that were hoped to have been accomplished on Gemini 8. The text at the bottom is composed of the zodiacal symbol for [[Gemini (constellation)|Gemini]], [[Image:Gemini.svg|12px]], and the [[Roman numeral]] for eight, VIII. The two stars are [[Castor (star)|Castor]] and [[Pollux (star)|Pollux]], which are in the constellation of Gemini, and are refracted through a prism to provide the spectrum. Armstrong and Scott both designed the flight patch.▼
▲The [[
==Dramatizations==
The Gemini 8 mission was dramatized in episode 1 "Can We Do This?", of the 1998 [[HBO]] [[miniseries]] ''[[From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries)|From the Earth to the Moon]]'', and in the 2018 Armstrong [[biopic]], ''[[First Man (film)|First Man]]''. The story of the mission is told from the point of view of a fictional mission controller in [[For All Mankind (TV series)|''For All Mankind'']] (Season 2, Episode 8).
▲[[File:Gemini VIII Capsule.jpg|thumb|The Gemini 8 spacecraft is displayed at the [[Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum]].]]
{{Clear}}
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| publisher = Macmillan
| location = New York
|
}}
* {{cite book
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|last2 = Grimwood
|first2 = James M.
|
|title = On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini
|series = NASA SP-4203
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}}
* {{cite press release
|title=Gemini 8 press kit
|publisher=NASA
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|url=https://mira.hq.nasa.gov/history/ws/hdmshrc/all/main/DDD/25015.PDF
|access-date=February 27, 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227064402/https://mira.hq.nasa.gov/history/ws/hdmshrc/all/main/DDD/25015.PDF
|archive-date=February 27, 2012
|ref = {{SfnRef|NASA|1966}}
}}
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==External links==
{{Commons category|Gemini 8}}
▲*{{YouTube| pmaKXA5oDQ8 | ''Gemini 8, This is Houston Flight'' }}
{{Gemini program}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gemini 08}}
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1966]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Human spaceflights]]
[[Category:March 1966 events]]▼
[[Category:Neil Armstrong]]
[[Category:Project Gemini missions]]
[[Category:Space accidents and incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched by Titan rockets]]
[[Category:Spacecraft which reentered in 1966]]
▲[[Category:March 1966 events]]
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