Gemini 5 with C. Gordon Cooper as the commander and Pete (Charles) Conrad, Jr. as the pilot evaluated the Rendezvous, Guidance and Navigation system, demonstrated 8-day capability of spacecraft and crew and evaluated effects on weightlessness for 8-day flight. It was also the first time an American crewed space mission held the world record for duration, set on August 26, 1965, by breaking the Soviet Union's previous record set byVostok 5in 1963. Mission duration: 7 days, 22 hours, 55 minutes, 14 seconds.Launch date: August 21, 1965