GEMINI 4 - ED WHITE'S SPACEWALK

From the Discovery Channel series "Rocket Science": Ed White performs NASA's first EVA during Gemini IV. (Full series available at www.foolishearthling.com)

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Space
• NASA
• Space Age
• Ed White
• McDivitt
• Gemini
• EVA
• floating
• orbit
• Soviet
• Leonov
• hero
• adventure
• Extra-vehicular Activity
• Outer Space
• Environment

[sciencehighway]

@Tweekerhead While it's impossible to speculate about what teams Deke Slayton and Al Shepard would have assigned to which missions, I couldn't agree more with your assessment. No matter what positive, mission-saving alterations may have emerged from the Apollo One pad fire (and there were many), the loss of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee was an incalculable blow.

[Tweekerhead]

@sciencehighway I saw an Aldrin interview in which he said he followed White into the NASA corp.

I really think White would've been there on the first descent, I always got the feeling he was a shining jewel at NASA after Gemini 4...or even before I guess!?

[sciencehighway]

@Tweekerhead They were, as the astronauts tended to bond within their recruitment groups; eg. Gus Grissom's best friend was fellow Mercury 7 astronaut Wally Schirra (MA5, Gemini VI, Apollo VII), White's was his Group Two buddy Frank Borman (Gemini VII, Apollo VIII), and Roger Chaffee was tight with Gene Cernan (Gemini IX, Apollo 10 and 17.) Of course we'll never know how the missions might have laid out had the fire not occurred, but Ed White would have played a huge role in Apollo.

[Tweekerhead]

@sciencehighway I always wondered if Ed White had lived, would he have been next to Mr. Armstrong in that lander? And would he have been on the right or the left during the descent? Hahaha some questions....Who couldn't love this guy White eh'

I believe the White family and the Armstrong family were good friends.

[sciencehighway]

@eddsworldfan333 No apology required. In fact I was very moved by your comment, which is why I responded. By an interesting coincidence I was 14 years (and 2 months) old when the Apollo One pad fire happened. I'd followed the space program since its beginning and while I didn't know much about Roger Chaffee (who hadn't flown yet), I felt like Gus Grissom and Ed White were old friends. That's why this story still haunts me. Thanks again for your thoughtful and moving comments.

[eddsworldfan333]

Respond to this video... i'm 14 years old, and i commented to the best of my abilities, i didnt know where the fire started, but thanks for the response :)

[eddsworldfan333]

@sciencehighway thanks for the quick response

[sciencehighway]

@eddsworldfan333 Well put, although of course he couldn't have known what fate lay in store. Nor would Ed have seen the initial spark (which happened under Gus Grissom's left-side couch) sitting in the Command Module's far-right seat, though all three certainly saw the flames licking their way up the up the bulkhead in that pure oxygen environment. We covered Apollo One in detail during our Discovery Channel series. It was a moment that haunts NASA (and me) to this day.

[eddsworldfan333]

2nd saddest moment of his life. 1st going to seeing thta spark in apollo 1

[samubabe101]

R.I.P__ED WHITE