Question: What was the name of the spacecraft launched from Kennedy Space Center in 1966 that suffered the first critical in-space system failure?
Answer: Gemini 8
After blasting off safely from Kennedy Space Center and conducting the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit, the Gemini 8 spacecraft suffered the first critical in-space system failure, putting the lives of astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott in danger and forcing the mission to be aborted.
It was the sixth manned mission of the American space program. The emergency occurred after the Gemini spacecraft was docked with the Agena Target Vehicle. The combined craft began spinning. The astronauts undocked from the Agena, but Gemini continued spinning at a rate that reached one revolution per second, blurring the astronauts’ vision and putting them in danger of losing consciousness.
