Lasers? That is so boring. Consider the floating sphere.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Inertial_Reference_...

The most badass story related to 'using basic tools and a steady hand in a pinch' is Buzz Aldrin pulling out a sextant and sliderule to do some calculations in Gemini XII. The description in the article reads "Aldrin pulled out a sextant and his slide rule and put his MIT doctoral research to work."

More details on the link here: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/gemini-xii-crew-masters-the-cha...

No GPS in the 50s either.