The Explorers' Club Special: Gemini VIII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Gemini VIII
16-17 March 1966: Gemini VIII lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, carrying Command Pilot Neil Armstrong & Pilot Dave Scott aboard a Gemini spacecraft atop a Titan II G.L.V. rocket; they achieved the first docking in space, with an Agena; a thruster malfunction caused the spacecraft to tumble rapidly & triggered an emergency reentry; they splashed down in the Pacific.

Commentary: Gemini VIII was originally scheduled to splash down in the Atlantic on 20 March. The emergency reentry necessitated a splash down in the Pacific. U.S. Air Force Pararescue Jumpers were the first to reach the capsule, which was later recovered by the U.S.S. Leonard F. Mason.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Gemini VIII
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCIV: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini VIII

Semper exploro.