American astronaut Edward White became the first from his country to perform a spacewalk on June 3, 1965 as part of the Gemini 4 mission. Here’s more about White’s colourful life…
Technically, it is referred to as an extravehicular activity (EVA). Most of us know it probably as spacewalks. Any activity done by astronauts in outer space outside their spacecraft is referred to as an EVA. These include both spacewalks and surface examinations and have contributed immensely to our space explorations. Be it through repair works, or the construction of the International Space Station (ISS), spacewalks have become a crucial tool in an astronaut’s arsenal.
We’ve been doing it for less than 50 years only though. Both the first and second spacewalks were performed in 1965. The second of those, which was the first American spacewalk, was performed by Edward White on June 3, 1965.
Born to fly
Born on November 14, 1930 in San Antonio, Texas, Edward Higgins White II was the son of Edward White Sr., an accomplished pilot and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Born to fly, White got his first taste of it when he was just a 12-year-old as his father allowed him to take control of a T-6 trainer aeroplane mid-flight!
Naturally, White decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, graduating from West Point and enlisting with the U.S. Air Force in 1952. It wasn’t long before he earned his wings, flying the F-86 Sabre and F-100 Super Sabre jet fighters in Germany.
Life-changing article
Once the Soviets ushered in the space age in 1957, White encountered an article explaining the likely role astronauts would play later that same year. He immediately realised that this was the kind of thing he was cut out for and everything that he did then onwards seemed to be in preparation for space flight.
He returned to the U.S. from Germany along with his wife and two children, and earned his master’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1959. When the Mercury Seven — America’s first seven astronauts — were announced that year, White noticed that each of them was a test pilot and decided to become one himself.
Flies Ham and Glenn
Once he became a test pilot, he started flying experimental aircraft. His first tryst with NASA was as a pilot for large cargo planes that were employed to train astronauts for zero-gravity. His passengers included Ham, a chimpanzee that went on to become the first hominid in space, and John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth.
When NASA moved from Project Mercury to Project Gemini, their second generation of human spaceflight, they began looking for a new group of astronauts. Recruitment began in April 1962 and White was one among nine selected from over 200 applicants, forming the next group nicknamed NASA’s Next Nine.
First spacewalk
White, along with James McDivitt, were selected for the Gemini 4 mission that was to include a spacewalk. Just like how Soviets pipped the U.S. to launch the world’s first satellite, they also ticked off the first spacewalk when cosmonaut Alexei Leonov performed it during the Voskhod 2 mission on March 18, 1965. The Americans, however, weren’t too far behind.
On June 3, 1965, White and McDivitt lifted off as part of the Gemini 4 mission. As an attempt to rendezvous with the Titan II booster rocket’s second stage proved more difficult than thought, they moved onto the next, more important objective of performing an EVA.
During their third revolution over Earth, they began depressurising the cabin as they approached Australia. When flying over the tracking station in Hawaii, White pulled the handle to open his hatch and stepped out. Using a Hand-Held Maneuvering Unit that was informally referred to just as a “zip gun,” White was able to manoeuvre himself outside the capsule, attached by just an umbilical cord tether that provided oxygen and communications from the spacecraft.
The greatest experience. It’s just tremendous.
“This is the greatest experience,” White said during his spacewalk, before adding, “It’s just tremendous.” Despite his zip gun running out of fuel, it was with reluctance that White followed the order to pull himself back into the spacecraft after a 23-minute spacewalk.
During the rest of the four-day mission, White and McDivitt conducted 11 scientific experiments in the course of 62 orbits around the Earth. Re-entry on June 7 took place without incident and White and McDivitt were welcomed back as heroes.
Apollo 1 tragedy
White’s success meant that he was to be the Senior Pilot for the Apollo 1 mission to test the new three-man Apollo command module while in Earth’s orbit, along with Gus Grissom as command pilot and Roger Chaffee as pilot. During a launch pad rehearsal on January 27, 1967, however, tragedy struck as a cabin fire killed all three astronauts on board.
This was the first and last fatal training accident in NASA’s history as they learnt from it, rethinking human safety and redesigning the Apollo command module. White’s colourful life might have come to a grim, early end, but it wasn’t before he had walked out onto space and achieved what few even dreamt of during his time.
White’s walk:
A picture of White performing this spacewalk is encoded in the Golden Record (a phonograph record containing selected sounds and images to portray the diversity of life on Earth) on the Voyager spacecraft. This spacecraft has now left the solar system and serves as a way of preserving the memory of White’s walk.
Sources of external media:
Edward White performing what was just humanity’s second spacewalk. Image: NASA / picryl
The video showing Edward White as he became the first American, and second person, to walk in space on June 3, 1965 is from here.
First published in The Hindu In School
