How Neil Armstrong Saved the Gemini 8 Spacecraft

Gemini 8 was in trouble. After completing the first space docking with another craft, it begins to spin uncontrollably. Ditching protocol, commanding officer Neil Armstrong tries an unorthodox plan.

[nickpaine]

I had forgotten about this incident. Armstrong earned the honor of being first to walk on the moon. His ejection from a malfunctioning lunar lander while practicing for the moon landing here on earth was by a hair's breath too. Nerves of steel, that man. A true hero

[MrSuzuki]

The problem was that McDonnel engineers only used one relay to control whether a thruster was on or off, and that relay stuck in the on position causing the Gemini to spin. After this episode, they installed 2 relays, on on the power lead, and one on the grounding lead. Both would have to fail closed at the same time for this emergency to happen again, a very unlikely scenario. We had the same problem on airplane stabilizer trim systems. Back in about 1969, a Beech 99 commuter airliner dove straight into the ground from about 9, 000 feet due to a single relay used to move the stabilizer up or down. One of the pilots activated nose down trim and, like what happened on Gemini 8, the single relay welded closed creating a runaway trim and the airplane to dive into the ground. After that, all airplanes with a movable stabilizer had to have two independent switches and two relays to move the stabilizer. NASA cured it in the same way using 2 relays and 2 separate switches to activate the thrusters.

[tobetrayafriend]

INTENSE! Easy to vastly underestimate the nerve, sangfroid, composure, skills and balls required here, tumbling over multiple axis in freakin orbit. It's clear why the early astronaut cohort were ex-military test pilots. They needed to be utterly cool under the most ridiculous pressure imaginable.

[prodjspecialists]

I met Neil Armstrong in 2010 - two years before he died. I can attest that he was, in real life, as cool and intelligent as he is portrayed as. Still sharp as a tack at 80. A true legend of our era.

[pedrodiaz]

Two of the very best astronauts ever to go on a mission, Armstrong and Scott the very right stuff

[baishihua]

This guy is the real deal, ejected from a lunar lander when testing it on Earth, stabilised Gemini 8, landed the moon with that error code and with barely any fuel left, all required mind of steel.

[thewhilestman]

I was watching the scene in first man where this happens and wanted to see the details, this video explained it perfectly!!

[cavekritter]

The man could land a washing machine!! True legend

[sdcrilly]

Yikes!! That was a very close call. I remember watching coverage about this when I was a kid and what an emergency it was.

[TGiannini]

Neil was the MAN. There is no doubt. He saved other missions including flight tests of supersonic aircraft, landing on the Moon with seconds of fuel left and barely surviving a test flight of a lunar module on earth. A true solid American.

[FahrvergnugenTaglich]

I'm here b/c I was just in the middle of watching Epic History's channel about Apollo Program. The second part mentioned Armstrong's ability to stay calm under enormous pressure.

[arricammarques]

This sequence in First Man was incredible to witness.

[southtexasprepper]

Neil Armstrong perhaps not only saved single-handedly saved himself, David Scott, but even the American Space Program. There's no telling what would've happened if both Neil Armstrong and David Scott would've been lost. Astronaut Neil Armstrong showed not only coolness under pressure, but enormous skill in rescuing the Gemini 8 Space Mission.

[GregoryTheGrster]

You can't just pull over to the side of the road and look under the hood when you are in space and something goes wrong. That's scary!

[ALEXANjunior]

Every now and then
humanity gives birth to a being
that is capable to make things happen.

[Anmeteor]

IMO NA is the greatest spaceship pilot so far. Inspiation for all who stand upon his shoulders

[alexanderalvarado]

This mission is covered in the movie that came out starting Ryan Gosling. "First Man". Excellent movie, highly recommended.

[SreckoTodorovic]

Neil really deserved honor to be first man on Moon.
Wink at the Moon
;)

[vojtasjedyny]

It's nicely showed in 'First Man' movie.

[ed]

Interviewee at NASA: I graduated with honors in physics and have a Masters in orbital mechanics from M.I.T.

Interviewer: So what kind of cigar do you smoke?