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< Template:POTD | 2020-03-23
NASA space-flown Gemini medallions were mission-specific commemorative medallions which were approved by NASA and carried aboard the mission spacecraft into orbit. Gemini 8 was a mission in the Gemini program. The craft was launched on March 16, 1966, and astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott conducted the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit. However, the mission suffered the first critical in-space system failure of a U.S. spacecraft which threatened the lives of the astronauts and required an immediate abort of the mission. The crew returned safely to Earth.
Fliteline medallions were made for each of the crewed Gemini flights, being prepared for the astronauts at their request. It is unclear who prepared these early medallions, only that each individual box containing a medallion bore the word "Fliteline".Photograph credit: Heritage Auctions; commissioned by the NASA astronaut office