Editing David Scott (section)

===Gemini 8===
{{Main|Gemini 8}}

After the conclusion of [[Gemini 5]], Director of Flight Crew Operations [[Deke Slayton]] informed Scott that he would fly with [[Neil Armstrong]] on [[Gemini&nbsp;8]].{{sfn|Scott & Leonov|p=147}} This made Scott the first Group{{nbs}}3 astronaut to become a member of a prime crew, and this without having served on a backup crew. Scott was highly regarded by his colleagues for his piloting credentials; another Group{{nbs}}3 astronaut, [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]], wrote later that Scott's selection to fly with Armstrong helped convince him that NASA knew what it was doing.{{sfn|French & Burgess|pp=79–80}}
[[File:Gemini-Titan-8 Training - Water Egress (7945162054).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|alt=Three men, two of them in space suits, standing on a vessel|Scott (right) and [[Neil Armstrong]] (center) train for water egress.]]

Scott found Armstrong something of a taskmaster, but the two men greatly respected each other and worked well together.{{sfn|French & Burgess|p=80}} They spent most of the seven months before launch in each other's company. One part of the training that Scott undertook without Armstrong was riding the [[Vomit Comet]], where he practiced in preparation for a planned [[Extravehicular activity|spacewalk]].{{sfn|Scott & Leonov|p=154}}

On March 16, 1966, Armstrong and Scott were launched into space, a flight originally planned to last three days. The [[RM-81 Agena|Agena]] rocket with which they were to dock had been launched an hour and forty minutes earlier. They carefully approached and docked with the Agena, the first docking ever accomplished in space. However, after the docking, there was unexpected movement by the joined craft. Mission Control was out of touch during this portion of the orbit, and the astronauts' belief that the Agena was causing the problem proved incorrect, for once they performed an emergency undocking, the spin only got worse. With the spacecraft spinning, there was a risk of the astronauts blacking out or the Gemini vehicle disintegrating. The problem was one of the craft's [[Orbit Attitude and Maneuvering System]] (OAMS) thrusters firing unexpectedly; the crew shut down those thrusters, and Armstrong activated the [[Reaction Control System]] (RCS) thrusters to negate the spin. The RCS thrusters were to be used for reentry, and the mission rules said if they were activated early, Gemini{{nbs}}8 had to return to Earth.{{sfn|French & Burgess|pp=83–87}} Gemini{{nbs}}8 splashed down in the [[Western Pacific Ocean|Western Pacific]] on the day of launch; the mission lasted only ten hours, and the early termination meant that Scott's spacewalk was scrubbed.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[NASA]]|title=Gemini 8|access-date=February 15, 2019|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1966-020A|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502004146/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1966-020A|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to [[Francis French (author)|Francis French]] and [[Colin Burgess (author)|Colin Burgess]] in their book on NASA and the [[Space Race]], "Scott, in particular, had shown incredible presence of mind during the unexpected events of the Gemini{{nbs}}8 mission. Even in the middle of an emergency, out of contact with Mission Control, he had thought to reenable ground control command of the Agena before the two vehicles separated."{{sfn|French & Burgess|pp=87–88}} This allowed NASA to check the Agena from the ground, and use it for a subsequent Gemini mission. Scott's competence was recognized by NASA when, five days after the brief flight, he was assigned to an [[Apollo program|Apollo crew]].{{sfn|French & Burgess|p=88}} Along with Armstrong, Scott received the [[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]],<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[NASA]]|title=All Historical Awards|access-date=April 8, 2022|url=https://searchpub.nssc.nasa.gov/servlet/sm.web.Fetch/Agency_Awards_Historical_Recipient_List.pdf?rhid=1000&did=2120817&type=released|archive-date=December 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202083252/https://searchpub.nssc.nasa.gov/servlet/sm.web.Fetch/Agency_Awards_Historical_Recipient_List.pdf?rhid=1000&did=2120817&type=released|url-status=live}}</ref> and the Air Force awarded him the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] as well. He was also promoted to [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]].<ref name="zanesville" />