Liftoff of Gemini 11

Gemini 11 lifts off carrying Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon, who docked with their Agena target within the first orbit of the mission — the fastest rendezvous of the program. The crew then used the Agena's engine to reach an altitude record of more than 850 miles and conducted the first experiment in artificial gravity, spinning the tethered spacecraft to generate a small centrifugal force.