Gemini 4 (Replica)
By June 1965, the United States was starting to catch up with the Soviet Union in the "Space Race," but was still behind: Russians had already set records for endurance (Vostok 5 had been up for five days in 1963), and for the first spacewalk (Alexei Leonov in Voshkod 2 in March 1965). It was important that the United States achieve both as soon as possible--if Americans were to beat the Soviets to the Moon, long endurance flights and spacewalks were necessary. Gemini 4 was selected to do both.
James McDivitt and Ed White, both members of the second class of American astronauts, were selected as the crew for Gemini 4; neither had been in space before. There would be challenges: the Gemini capsule was not much bigger than the front seats of the average car, which would make sleeping difficult. Unlike the Soviets, who used an inflatable airlock to allow Leonov to get out of the Voshkod, White would simply open the hatch and "step outside." The latter did save weight and time, but if for some reason the hatch could not be closed, both astronauts would die on reentry.
The launch of Gemini 4 on 3 June 1965 went generally smoothly, and after separation, McDivitt tried to fly close to the second stage of the Titan launch vehicle, as practice for eventual space rendezvous; he was unsuccessful, since it was hard to see the Titan, which was also spinning.
On the third orbit, White made his spacewalk. He was tethered to the capsule, and had a small handheld compressed air gun to help him maneuver in space. Unlike Leonov (whose spacesuit inflated dangerously and nearly kept him from reentering Voshkod), White had no problem, and actually had to be ordered back into the capsule after 20 minutes in space--with White trying to make excuses to stay out longer. The hatch indeed had problems closing, but luckily McDivitt knew what the problem was, fixed it, and got the hatch secured.
Following White's spacewalk, the crew performed several scientific experiments and tried (unsucessfully) to get some sleep. After 62 orbits and four days in space, Gemini 4 reentered Earth's atmosphere; the computer failed just before reentry, causing Gemini 4 to overshoot the landing area by 43 miles, but otherwise the reentry, while a little rough, went well.
Following the Gemini 4 flight, McDivitt would go on to command Apollo 9, and retired from NASA in 1972. White was selected as the command module pilot for Apollo 1, but tragically died in the Apollo 1 fire with Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee (both of whom had been in Mission Control during Gemini 4) on 27 January 1967. The Gemini 4 capsule, after being examined by NASA, was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 1967.
This replica of Gemini 4 is on display at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum at McMinnville, Oregon, showing Ed White on his spacewalk. As far as I know, this is only a replica and not an actual Gemini capsule.
Gemini 4 (Replica)
By June 1965, the United States was starting to catch up with the Soviet Union in the "Space Race," but was still behind: Russians had already set records for endurance (Vostok 5 had been up for five days in 1963), and for the first spacewalk (Alexei Leonov in Voshkod 2 in March 1965). It was important that the United States achieve both as soon as possible--if Americans were to beat the Soviets to the Moon, long endurance flights and spacewalks were necessary. Gemini 4 was selected to do both.
James McDivitt and Ed White, both members of the second class of American astronauts, were selected as the crew for Gemini 4; neither had been in space before. There would be challenges: the Gemini capsule was not much bigger than the front seats of the average car, which would make sleeping difficult. Unlike the Soviets, who used an inflatable airlock to allow Leonov to get out of the Voshkod, White would simply open the hatch and "step outside." The latter did save weight and time, but if for some reason the hatch could not be closed, both astronauts would die on reentry.
The launch of Gemini 4 on 3 June 1965 went generally smoothly, and after separation, McDivitt tried to fly close to the second stage of the Titan launch vehicle, as practice for eventual space rendezvous; he was unsuccessful, since it was hard to see the Titan, which was also spinning.
On the third orbit, White made his spacewalk. He was tethered to the capsule, and had a small handheld compressed air gun to help him maneuver in space. Unlike Leonov (whose spacesuit inflated dangerously and nearly kept him from reentering Voshkod), White had no problem, and actually had to be ordered back into the capsule after 20 minutes in space--with White trying to make excuses to stay out longer. The hatch indeed had problems closing, but luckily McDivitt knew what the problem was, fixed it, and got the hatch secured.
Following White's spacewalk, the crew performed several scientific experiments and tried (unsucessfully) to get some sleep. After 62 orbits and four days in space, Gemini 4 reentered Earth's atmosphere; the computer failed just before reentry, causing Gemini 4 to overshoot the landing area by 43 miles, but otherwise the reentry, while a little rough, went well.
Following the Gemini 4 flight, McDivitt would go on to command Apollo 9, and retired from NASA in 1972. White was selected as the command module pilot for Apollo 1, but tragically died in the Apollo 1 fire with Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee (both of whom had been in Mission Control during Gemini 4) on 27 January 1967. The Gemini 4 capsule, after being examined by NASA, was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 1967.
This replica of Gemini 4 is on display at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum at McMinnville, Oregon, showing Ed White on his spacewalk. As far as I know, this is only a replica and not an actual Gemini capsule.