Neil Armstrong made his “historic leap for mankind” when he walked on the moon on July 20, 1969. Our latest issue tells the lesser-known story of Gemini 8, and how Armstrong saved NASA three years before setting foot on the moon
Tech & Science Moon Landings NASA Astronauts In July, the world will mark 50 years since Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. But this month marks the anniversary of an almost-forgotten mission that, but for the skill of the astronauts on board, could have become a spectacular disaster for NASA.
Born in a small-town Ohio farmhouse, Armstrong had earned his student pilot’s license on his 16th birthday and soloed a few weeks later, all before he learned to drive a car. In 1947, he began studying aeronautical engineering at Purdue on a four-year Navy scholarship, and in 1949 he reported for three years of military duty, earning his wings as a naval aviator. The Korean War broke out in 1950; a year later, his unit was sent to the center of action.
The mission started off well. Despite a series of equipment problems in the two weeks before the launch, at 10:41 a.m. on March 16, 1966, Gemini 8 lifted off smoothly. After reaching orbit, Armstrong initiated the first of nine thruster maneuvers—or burns—to catch the target, a modified Agena upper-stage rocket launched 95 minutes earlier and now in a higher orbit.
Gemini 8 had moved into night, and since the lights were on in the cockpit, the crew couldn’t see much through their two small windows. After a couple of hours of taking care of Agena operations and general housekeeping, they’d try to sleep. Scott, especially, needed a good rest. He was scheduled to do a two-hour-plus spacewalk the next day.
Neither of them heard the loud cracking sound that they would have expected one of their own thrusters to make when firing. It had to be the Agena. “We’d better get off,” Scott said to Armstrong.“Stand by.” “I gotta cage my eyeballs,” Armstrong said dryly. The two went to work trying to stabilize their craft.
They were still spinning in roll, pitch and yaw at more than a revolution per second. Everything that had been loose in the cabin—charts, checklists, flight plan—was bouncing against the walls. Both men were being thrown around, and they were becoming dizzy. They had trouble seeing the overhead dials and switches.
A Gemini mission rule dictated that using the re-entry system meant that the mission must be aborted; if these thrusters developed a leak, the crew would not be able to get the craft into position for the critical retrofire that would stabilize it and return them to Earth at the proper angle. Attitude control was essential to re-enter the atmosphere safely. Flight director John Hodge, a silver-haired Englishman known for his imperturbability, knew he had to call an end to the mission.
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