Gemini 4’s Space Walk
On June 3, 1965, Ed White became the first American to conduct a spacewalk (also called an EVA, for ‘extra vehicular activities), lasting twenty-three minutes. The Russians had completed the first EVA in March, but the US caught up quickly. White was supplied with a “maneuvering gun” that would provide a puff of oxygen to help him move around, a tether, and an oxygen cord attached to the suit. He stepped out of the craft, and into open space.
White pushed away from the spacecraft with the gun, then used the tether to pull himself back in. He did this repeatedly. He was having so much fun that NASA had to order him back to the spacecraft – an order he reluctantly followed, initially saying, “I’m not coming in…this is fun!” When he finally relented and returned to the ship, he said it was the “saddest moment of my life.”
