Edward H. White II
LT COLONEL, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
SENIOR PILOT, APOLLO 1
Edward White, Apollo 1 Senior Pilot, was born in San Antonio, Texas on 14
November 1930. He was graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in
1952 and proudly served in the United States Air Force, eventually attaining
the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Lt. Colonel White became the first American to walk in space on the flight of
Gemini 4 (3 June 1965).
 (a video of the space walk can be downloaded from our Multimedia page)
Every item used on this first EVA (extravehicular activity) was new ~ from the
cameras to the first American space suit specifically built to protect the
astronaut in the harsh void of space. Propelling himself about with a handheld
AMU (propulsion gun), he performed a 100% successful EVA, reporting that he
could see "the whole coast of California".
Mission Commander, Major James McDivitt, joined in the fun from the spacecraft
by shouting "You smeared up my windshield, you dirty dog!".
Ed reported no sensation of falling, and loved every second of the
approximately 20 minutes spent outside of the spacecraft in a spectacularly
successful space walk.
Ed was awarded the:
 NASA Exceptional
Service Medal
The Astronaut
Hall of Fame Medal of Honor.
On 17 December
1997, Ed was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
We will always REMEMBER
Contact the Foundation
|