116 a
David Scott

First docking of two spacecrafts in space, before the first in-space system failure in the US program

Gemini VIII, March 16-17, 1966, orbit 3, 006:32:23 GET

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA S-66-25784” (NASA MSC) in red in top margin

116 b
Andrew Patnesky

Mission Control preparing the crew for emergency landing after the first in-space system failure in the U.S. program

Gemini VIII, March 16-17, 1966, 009:16:11 GET

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA S-66-24571” (NASA MSC) in red in top margin, with three filing holes in top margin

116 c
Andrew Patnesky

Mission Control during the critical reentry of the spacecraft

Gemini VIII, March 16-17, 1966

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with NASA MSC caption and “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA S-66-25115” in red in top margin, with three filing holes in top margin

116 d
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

The recovery ship USS Mason welcoming the crew after its safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean

Gemini VIII, March 17, 1966

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with NASA MSC caption and “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA S-66-18606” in red in top margin
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)

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Lot Essay

116 a
Gemini VIII marked the first docking ever to take place in space, a major milestone of space exploration.

This photograph taken with the Hasselblad 500C shows the Agena at only 24 inches from the nose of Gemini VIII that was off the coast of Brazil near Rio de Janeiro. The docking adapter end and instrument panel of the Agena are clearly visible.

006:32:21 Armstrong: Okay. We’re sitting about 2 feet out. [...]
006:32:23 Armstrong: ... We’ll go ahead and dock. [...]
006:33:40 Capcom (Mission Control): Okay, Gemini VIII. It looks good here from the ground. We’re showing CONE RIGID. Everything looks good for the docking. [...]
006:33:52 Armstrong: Flight, we are docked!
006:33:58 Armstrong: Yes. It’s a - really a smoothie.
006:34:01 Capcom: Roger. Hey, congratulations: This is real good.
006:34:07 Scott: You couldn’t have the thrill down there that we have up here.
006:34:10 Capcom: Ha! Ha! Ha!
006:34:24 Armstrong: Okay. Just for your information, the Agena was very stable and at the present time we are having no noticeable oscillations at all.

116 b
Andrew Patnesky was a trusted NASA photographer and a fixture in Mission Control in Houston.

While the spacecraft was docked to the Agena, a critical failure of the spacecraft threatened the lives of the astronauts and required immediate undocking, abort of the mission and emergency landing.Chief Flight director John Hodge decided to have Gemini VIII re-enter after one more orbit and land within range of the secondary recovery forces. The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Leonard Mason was requested to head toward the new landing site 620 miles south of Yokosuka, Japan.

009:13:39 Capcom (Mission Control): I understand you’re ready to copy your landing.
009:13:42 Scott: Go ahead.
009:13:44 Capcom: Roger. 5,000 scattered; winds northwest 10; wave height 3 feet; [...] recovery forces call sign: Naha (Air Force Base) RESCUE l, GMT 02:58; Naha SEARCH l, GMT 03:44. [...]
009:15:48 Capcom: Gemini VIII, Hawaii. I have an ETA on the USS Mason.
009:15:55 Scott: Go ahead.
009:15:56 Capcom: That’s GMT 06:54.

116 c
“The flight was nearly flawless, the docking maneuver a triumph. Then the venture unraveled. Joined together, the two craft began simultaneously rolling and tumbling end over end at a rapidly increasing rate. Armstrong tried to stabilize them by using his maneuvering thrusters, failed, and undocked. But once free of Agena, Gemini VIII gyrated faster. In a final effort, Armstrong deactivated the maneuvering system and fired the reentry maneuvering rockets. The spinning stopped. But the premature firing of the reentry rockets required an immediate splashdown to ensure that the craft would have enough fuel for reentry” (Mason, p. 110).

Retrofire took place on the 7th revolution just over 10 hours after launch and the crew returned to Earth safely.

From the mission transcript during the in-space emergency:

007:17:15 Scott: We have serious problems here. We’re - we’re tumbling end over end up here. We’re disengaged from the Agena. [...]
007:17:31 Capcom (Mission Control): What seems to be the problem?
007:17:35 Armstrong: We’re rolling up and we can’t turn anything off. [...]
007:18:33 Scott: We have a violent left roll here at the present time and we can’t turn the RCS’s off, and we can’t fire it, and we certainly have a roll .... stuck hand control.

116 d
“The spacecraft splashed down in the western Pacific Ocean about 800 km west of Okinawa, 2 km from the target. The time was 10:22:28 p.m. EST. USAF frogmen parachuted from a C-54 rescue plane within minutes and affixed a flotation collar around the spacecraft. The crew was picked up by the recovery ship USS Mason 3 hours later. Total mission elapsed time was 10:41:26” (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1966-020A).

“Back in Mission Control, the flight control team performed maneuvers with the Agena to see how it reacted to commands from the ground. Since things went well, the Agena was left in orbit and served as a passive rendezvous target for the Gemini X mission later that year (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/geminis-first-docking-turns-to-wild-ride-in-orbit).

“That astronauts Armstrong and Scott achieved a completely successful re-entry gives the nation cause for rejoicing in their heroism and skill.”
NASA KSC Director Kurt Debus (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/geminis-first-docking-turns-to-wild-ride-in-orbit)