Good Morning...First American Space Walk

[Okla-homey]

June 3, 1965; An American walks in space



Forty-four years ago today, 120 miles above the earth, Major Edward H. White II opens the hatch of the Gemini 4 and steps out of the capsule, becoming the first American astronaut to walk in space.


Ed White (l) and McDivitt (r).

Attached to the craft by a 25-foot tether and controlling his movements with a hand-held oxygen jet-propulsion gun, White remained outside the capsule for just over 20 minutes. As a space walker, White had been preceded by Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei A. Leonov, who on March 18, 1965, was the first man ever to walk in space.



Implemented at the height of the space race, NASA's Gemini program was the least famous of the three U.S.-manned space programs conducted during the 1960s.



However, as an extension of Project Mercury, which put the first American in space in 1961, Gemini laid the groundwork for the more dramatic Apollo lunar missions, which began in 1968.



The Gemini space flights were the first to involve two-man crews, and the extended duration of the missions provided valuable information about the biological effects of longer-term space travel.

When the Gemini program ended in 1966, U.S. astronauts had also perfected rendezvous and docking maneuvers with other orbiting vehicles, a skill that would be essential during the three-stage Apollo moon missions.

[TUSooner]

Our space program in the 60s seemed - and still seems - like one of the most competent and near-perfect enterprises in history. Everything seemed planned to the tiniest degree and executed to perfection. No obstacle could not be overcome. The notable exception was the Apollo fire that killed White, Grissom, and Chaffee. Even that tragedy resulted in immediate corrections and improvements.

[swardboy]

I remember that day. I was such a 10 year old space program nerd. I even remember Shepard's sub-orbital flight four years earlier.

As soon as Armstrong stepped on the moon, the tenor in the country changed. Instead of "we can do anything", the networks were full of "How could that NASA money be better spent on welfare programs on earth." Even as a teenager I was shocked at the change in attitude towards our space program, it was that blatant.

[picasso]

Incredible photos! Too bad that was all fake, just like the moon landing.

[TUSooner]

I remember that day. I was such a 10 year old space program nerd. I even remember Shepard's sub-orbital flight four years earlier.

As soon as Armstrong stepped on the moon, the tenor in the country changed. Instead of "we can do anything", the networks were full of "How could that NASA money be better spent on welfare programs on earth." Even as a teenager I was shocked at the change in attitude towards our space program, it was that blatant.

I do not recall that last part.