Gemini 8 mission launch. The Gemini 8 spacecraft was launched from NASA's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (now Kennedy Space Centre) in Florida, USA, at 16:41 UTC on 16th March 1966. The Gemini 8 mission, piloted by Neil Armstrong and David Scott, achieved the first space rendezvous and docking of two spacecraft in Earth orbit. However, following successful docking to the Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV), the Gemini 8 capsule began rolling uncontrollably. The crew immediately undocked and made an emergency return to Earth just 10 hours after launch. The Agena remained in space until its orbit decayed, at which point it reentered Earth's atmosphere on 15th September 1967.