Astronaut Ed White performing the first space walk by an American, on 3rd June 1965 during the Gemini IV mission. White spent 21 minutes performing his extravehicular activity (EVA), tethered to the spacecraft with an umbilical cord that carried oxygen and communications equipment. White is reported to have so enjoyed the experience that he described returning to the spacecraft as the saddest moment of my life. Edward Higgins White II (1930-1967) was a military test pilot before joining NASA, and piloted Gemini IV. He was designated senior pilot on the Apollo 1 mission, and was killed along with his colleagues Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee during a fire in the spacecraft during a launch test, on 27th January 1967. |