Launch from Cape Canaveral; landing 800 km
southeast of Okinawa in the Pacific Ocean.
The main goals of this
mission were, to accomplish a rendezvous and docking with the prelaunched Agena
Target Vehicle (
GATV 8) and to
perform again a spacewalk.
The first orbital docking was accomplished
without any problems, but then the Gemini capsule with the docked
GATV 8 began
rolling uncontrolled and continuously because of problems with the spacecraft
control system (thrusters sticking probably of an electrical short). That
problem was never faced in a simulation, so the crew was forced to undock, but
the problems continued and were serious. After separation, loosing the mass of
the Agena, the Gemini spacecraft began to roll even faster. It reached one
revolution per second. The only thing to do was turn off the
OAMS
and switch to the reentry control system, which prompted in an early landing.
So the planned
EVA was not
performed.
Armstrong's calm headedness and his ability to recover from
an extremely dangerous space emergency saved the crew.
The crew was
recovered by the
USS
Leonard F. Mason. Three hours after landing the Mason had the spacecraft on
board.