OTD In Space - August 29: Gemini 5 Breaks Spaceflight Duration Record

On Aug. 29, 1965, two NASA astronauts returned from their record-breaking Gemini 5 mission.

Gordon Cooper and Pete Conrad spent eight days in Earth's orbit, and for the first time, the United States set a world record for the duration of a crewed spaceflight. While in orbit, the astronauts were supposed to test rendezvous capabilities and maneuvers using a pod that deployed from their spacecraft. But due to an electrical problem, they had to cancel those plans along with several science experiments. Pete Conrad later called the mission "eight days in a garbage can," referring to the cramped quarters of the Gemini spacecraft.