GEMINI V Recovery - 1965/08/29 - Helicopter Footage - Gordon Cooper, Pete Conrad - Mission Audio

The recovery of Gemini V, as viewed from the rescue helicopters. Footage is matched with mission audio describing the operations. Sequences are shown in approximate real time, but moments where there was no footage are skipped. Research, editing, color correction and cleanup by RetroSpace HD. ========================================= Gemini V landed 190 hours 55 minutes 14 seconds after launch, 130 kilometers short of the planned landing point. The computer had worked as it should in this case - the error had been human. Earth’s rotation rate is degrees per day. But, in programming the computer, someone had left off the two decimal-place numbers and fed the machine just the 360 degrees. Cooper’s efforts to compensate for what he recognized as an erroneous reading had brought them down closer to the ship than they would otherwise have been. The short landing caused no problems for the U.S. Navy recovery forces. A helicopter soon arrived over the spacecraft and three swimmers dropped into the water.