Word: gemini
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...Violent Oscillations." High over Southeast Asia, the tumbling spacecraft came into range of the Coastal Sentry. "It's in a roll, and we can't seem to turn anything off," Armstrong informed the shipboard controller, who reported to Houston that Gemini was now "showing' pretty violent oscillations." It seemed to Armstrong that Gemini's No. 8 thruster -one of the small rockets used to turn or yaw the craft-had stuck open and was pushing the craft into an uncontrollable spin, which at one point reached a critical rate of a complete revolution each second...
Fighting to regain stability, Armstrong took another emergency step. He began firing Gemini's re-entry attitude-control rockets, which are designed to be used only to position the capsule properly as it re-enters the atmosphere on its way back to earth. "We are regaining control of the spacecraft slowly," he reported. By the time Gemini was out over the Pacific, it was getting back on even keel, sailing serenely through space only a few miles away from the Agena, which had been re-stabilized by radioed commands from ground controllers. "O.K., relax," the Coastal Sentry controller advised...
...dark news shadowed a day that had actually seen a considerable technical triumph. The most important part of the flight was the docking maneuver, and Armstrong and Scott were still in their first orbit when they began the complicated exercise in space navigation. By 4:21 p.m. E.S.T., during Gemini 8's third revolution over the Pacific, Armstrong reported: "Object in sight." There was the Agena, 76 miles ahead, its beacon flashing against the dark sky. After gradually closing the gap, Gemini 8 eased up and in front of the Agena, while swinging around so that it was flying...
...Assured that all was in order, they nudged to within five feet of the Agena's nose, close enough for them to read a small, lighted instrument panel over the target craft's docking cone. Using his maneuvering stick, Armstrong fired a brief burst from two of Gemini's 100-lb. thrusters. The gap between Agena and the spacecraft closed at about six inches per second, until the craft gently bumped its nose into the docking cone...
Mooring latches clicked into place, hooking themselves into Gemini's nose. An electric motor aboard Agena spun into action, retracting the docking cone, pulling Gemini's nose about two feet into the Agena and connecting the electrical systems of the two craft. On Agena's exterior instrument panel, a green "rigid" sign flashed on, indicating that Gemini and Agena were now physically and electronically linked in a steely embrace. It was 6:15 p.m. For the first time, man had joined two craft in space...