Color 10 x 8 NASA photo of the prime and backup crews of Gemini VIII, signed in blue felt tip by Neil Armstrong, in black felt tip by Dave Scott and in ballpoint by Dick Gordon and Charles Conrad. In fine condition, with a few dings and edge creases to top left corner. Gemini VIII completed the world's first orbital docking. What followed the successful docking by Armstrong were some of the most hair-raising few minutes in space-program history. The Gemini VIII capsule, still docked to the Agena, began rolling continuously. Never having faced this in simulation, the crew undocked from the Agena. The problem was a stuck thruster on the spacecraft, which now tumbled even faster at the dizzying rate of one revolution per second. The only way to stop the motion was to use the capsule's reentry control thrusters, which meant that Armstrong and Scott had to cut short their mission and make an emergency return to Earth 10 hours after launch. They were still nauseated after splashdown, as well as disappointed: Scott had missed out on the planned space-walk. COA Scott Cornish and R&R COA.
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