Editing Neil Armstrong (section)

==== Gemini 8 ====
{{Main|Gemini 8}}
[[File:GEMINI-TITAN-8 - PRELAUNCH ACTIVITY.jpg|thumb|left|Armstrong, 35, suiting up for [[Gemini 8]] in March 1966|alt=Armstrong, with short hair, partially reclining on a beige chair. He looks very serious. He is wearing a white space suit without a helmet or gloves. It has the U.S. flag on the left shoulder. Two hoses are attached. A technician dressed all in white is bending over him. A dark-haired, darkly dressed man has his back to us. He may be talking to Armstrong.]]

The crews for Gemini{{nbsp}}8 were assigned on September 20, 1965. Under the normal rotation system, the backup crew for one mission became the prime crew for the third mission after, but Slayton designated [[David Scott]] as the pilot of Gemini{{nbsp}}8.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=240}}{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=523–529}} Scott was the first member of the [[NASA Astronaut Group 3|third group of astronauts]], who was selected on October 18, 1963, to receive a prime crew assignment.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/roundups/issues/63-10-30.pdf |title=14 New Astronauts Introduced at Press Conference |newspaper=Space News |volume=3 |issue=1 |date=October 30, 1963 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222121909/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/roundups/issues/63-10-30.pdf |archive-date=December 22, 2016}}</ref> See was designated to command [[Gemini 9]]. Henceforth, each Gemini mission was commanded by a member of Armstrong's group, with a member of Scott's group as the pilot. Conrad would be Armstrong's backup this time, and [[Richard F. Gordon Jr.]] his pilot.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=240}}{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=523–529}} Armstrong became the first American civilian in space. ([[Valentina Tereshkova]] of the [[Soviet Union]] had become the first civilian—and first woman—nearly three years earlier aboard [[Vostok 6]] when it launched on June 16, 1963.<ref>{{cite web |title=Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (Born March 6, 1937) |url=http://www.yarregion.ru/eng/Pages/famous_people_Valentina_Vladimirovna_Tereshkova.aspx |publisher=Yaroslavl Regional Government |access-date=July 27, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904004808/http://www.yarregion.ru/eng/Pages/famous_people_Valentina_Vladimirovna_Tereshkova.aspx |archive-date=September 4, 2015 }}</ref>) Armstrong would also be the last of his group to fly in space, as See died in a [[1966 NASA T-38 crash|T-38 crash]] on February 28, 1966, that also took the life of crewmate [[Charles Bassett]]. They were replaced by the backup crew of [[Thomas P. Stafford|Tom Stafford]] and [[Gene Cernan]], while [[Jim Lovell]] and Buzz Aldrin moved up from the backup crew of [[Gemini 10]] to become the backup for Gemini 9,{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=323–325}} and would eventually fly [[Gemini 12]].{{sfn|Cunningham|2010|p=258}}

Gemini 8 launched on March 16, 1966. It was the most complex mission yet, with a rendezvous and docking with an [[uncrewed spacecraft|uncrewed]] [[Agena target vehicle]], and the planned second American [[extravehicular activity|spacewalk]] ([[extravehicular activity|EVA]]) by Scott. The mission was planned to last 75{{nbsp}}hours and 55{{nbsp}}orbits. After the Agena lifted off at 10:00:00 [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]],{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=242–244}} the [[Titan II GLV|Titan II]] rocket carrying Armstrong and Scott ignited at 11:41:02 EST, putting them into an orbit from which they chased the Agena.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=526}} They achieved the first-ever docking between two spacecraft.<ref>{{cite web |title=March 16, 1966: Gemini's First Docking of Two Spacecraft in Earth Orbit |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/march-16-1966-geminis-first-docking-of-two-spacecraft-in-earth-orbit |access-date=April 30, 2018 |date=March 16, 2016}}</ref> Contact with the crew was intermittent due to the lack of tracking stations covering their entire orbits. While out of contact with the ground, the docked spacecraft began to roll, and Armstrong attempted to correct this with the Gemini's [[Orbit Attitude and Maneuvering System]] (OAMS). Following the earlier advice of Mission Control, they undocked, but the roll increased dramatically until they were turning about once per second, indicating a problem with Gemini's [[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude control]]. Armstrong engaged the Reentry Control System (RCS) and turned off the OAMS. Mission rules dictated that once this system was turned on, the spacecraft had to reenter at the next possible opportunity. It was later thought that damaged wiring caused one of the thrusters to stick in the on position.<ref>{{cite web |last=Merritt |first=Larry |title=The abbreviated flight of Gemini 8 |publisher=Boeing |url=http://bts.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2006/march/i_history.html |date=March 2006 |access-date=May 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812222659/http://bts.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2006/march/i_history.html |archive-date=August 12, 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Armstrong and Scott with Hatches Open - GPN-2000-001413.jpg|thumb|alt=A dark gray Gemini capsule floats horizontally in blue water. It is supported by a yellow flotation collar. The hatches are open and the astronauts are visible sitting in their places wearing sunglasses. They are being assisted by three recovery crew in dark gray wetsuits.|Recovery of [[Gemini 8]] from the western Pacific Ocean; Armstrong sitting to the right]]
A few people in the Astronaut Office, including [[Walter Cunningham]], felt that Armstrong and Scott "had botched their first mission".{{sfn|Cunningham|2010|pp=111–112}} There was speculation that Armstrong could have salvaged the mission if he had turned on only one of the two RCS rings, saving the other for mission objectives. These criticisms were unfounded; no malfunction procedures had been written, and it was possible to turn on only both RCS rings, not one or the other.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=270–271}} [[Gene Kranz]] wrote, "The crew reacted as they were trained, and they reacted wrong because we trained them wrong." The mission planners and controllers had failed to realize that when two spacecraft were docked, they must be considered one spacecraft. Kranz considered this the mission's most important lesson.{{sfn|Kranz|2000|p=174}} Armstrong was depressed that the mission was cut short,{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=274}} canceling most mission objectives and robbing Scott of his EVA. The Agena was later reused as a docking target by Gemini 10.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=321–322}} Armstrong and Scott received the [[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]],<ref name="NASA Awards">{{citation |url=https://searchpub.nssc.nasa.gov/servlet/sm.web.Fetch/Agency_Awards_Historical_Recipient_List.pdf?rhid=1000&did=2120817&type=released |title=Agency Awards Historical Recipient List |publisher=NASA |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202083252/https://searchpub.nssc.nasa.gov/servlet/sm.web.Fetch/Agency_Awards_Historical_Recipient_List.pdf?rhid=1000&did=2120817&type=released |archive-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref><ref name=zanesville>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31060661/the_times_recorder/|title=Serious Problem in Space|agency=United Press International|newspaper=The Times Recorder|location=Zanesville, Ohio|page=8|date=March 27, 1966|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and the Air Force awarded Scott the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=143831 |title=Valor awards for David Randolph Scott |publisher=Military Times Hall of Valor|access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301225001/https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=143831 |archive-date=March 1, 2018}}</ref> Scott was promoted to [[lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]], and Armstrong received a $678 raise in pay to $21,653 a year ({{Inflation|US|21,653|1966|fmt=eq}}), making him NASA's highest-paid astronaut.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=274}}