50th anniversary of NASA's Gemini 8 mission

An Agena Target Docking Vehicle atop an Atlas rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 14 at Kennedy Space Center at 10 a.m., on March 16, 1966, just prior to the Gemini 8 liftoff at nearby Launch Complex 19. The Agena served as a rendezvous and docking vehicle for the Gemini 8 spacecraft. March 16, 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of NASA's Gemini 8 mission, the sixth manned spaceflight conducted during the United States' Project Gemini program. The primary objective of the mission, the successful docking of two spacecraft in orbit, a first in spaceflight, was a success though the crew would experience a critical in-space system failure, forcing them to abandon the mission prematurely. UPI