Editing Ed White (astronaut) (section)

== NASA career ==
=== Gemini program ===
White was one of eleven pilots whose names the Air Force submitted to NASA in 1962 as potential candidates for [[NASA Astronaut Group 2|the second group of astronauts]].{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=10–11}} He was then selected as one of 32 finalists who would undergo medical and psychological examinations at [[Brooks Air Force Base]] in San Antonio.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=32–33}} White arrived at the Aerospace Medical Center at Brooks AFB on July 30, 1962.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|p=38}} He ran around the perimeter of Brooks every day during the testing to keep in shape.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|p=36}}

White was one of nine men chosen by [[NASA]] as part of Astronaut Group 2 in September 1962.<ref name="roundup" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americaspace.com/2012/09/15/the-best-all-around-group-nasas-astronauts-of-62/|title="The Best All-Around Group": NASA's Astronauts of '62|last=Evans|first=Ben|date=September 15, 2012|website=AmericaSpace|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516235646/https://www.americaspace.com/2012/09/15/the-best-all-around-group-nasas-astronauts-of-62/|archive-date=May 16, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=May 16, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33352619/the_tampa_tribune/|title=Here are the Next Nine Astronauts Who Will Join in U.S. Race to the Moon|newspaper=The Tampa Tribune|location=Tampa, Florida|date=September 18, 1962|page=4|via=Newspapers.com|agency=UPI}}</ref> Their selection was announced at a press conference in Cullen Auditorium at the [[University of Houston]] on September 17, 1962.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=64–66}} Like their predecessors, the [[Mercury Seven]], each of the new astronauts was assigned an area of specialization within the crewed space program: in White's case, flight control systems.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=165–167}}

==== Gemini 4 ====
{{Main|Gemini 4}}
[[File:Gemini 4 McDivitt and White with training plans.jpg|thumb|left|Edward White with [[James McDivitt|Jim McDivitt]] (left) reading training plans for Gemini 4 mission]]
White was selected to be the pilot of Gemini 4, with McDivitt as his command pilot.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-H-White-II|title=Edward H. White II|date=January 25, 2019|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515011632/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-H-White-II|archive-date=May 15, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref> The [[Chief of the Astronaut Office]], Mercury Seven astronaut [[Deke Slayton]], paired them because they knew each other well, having attended the University of Michigan and test pilot school together.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|pp=137–138}} The mission objectives were ill-defined at first, but consideration was given to performing [[extravehicular activity]] (EVA), [[space rendezvous]] and [[orbital station-keeping]].{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|pp=137–138}}

Knowing that EVA (or spacewalk) was a possibility, McDivitt pressed for it to be included in the mission. As a result, NASA management agreed to ensure that the [[Gemini space suit]] for the mission was capable of being used for EVA. [[Kenneth S. Kleinknecht]] told the July 1964 press conference that announced the mission that one of the crew might open the hatch and stick his head outside, but this attracted little attention. On March 18, 1965, [[cosmonaut]] [[Alexei Leonov]] became the first man to perform an EVA, on the [[Voskhod 2]] mission, but not until May 25 was EVA approved for Gemini 4 by [[List of administrators and deputy administrators of NASA|NASA administrator]] [[James E. Webb]].{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=240–242}}

White was a devout [[Methodist]]. On the Gemini 4 mission he carried three pieces of religious jewelry to take with him on his EVA: a gold cross, a [[Saint Christopher#Medals|St. Christopher Medal]] and a [[Star of David]]. White commented: "I felt while I couldn't take one for every religion in the country, I could take the items most familiar to me."{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2003|p=181}}

On June 3, 1965, the Gemini 4 crew was launched into space to begin its four-day mission. After separation from the [[Titan II GLV|Titan II]] upper stage, McDivitt attempted to rendezvous with the booster. However, this was unsuccessful since the astronauts were not adequately trained to rendezvous in orbit. The objective had to be abandoned since the allocated propellant had been used up, and the maneuvers had pushed the spacecraft's orbit too far away from Earth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/g/gemini4.html|title=Gemini 4|last=Wade|first=Mark|website=Encyclopedia Astronautica|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716093046/http://www.astronautix.com/g/gemini4.html|archive-date=July 16, 2019|access-date=January 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670095754.pdf|title=Gemini/Program Mission Report|date=June 1965|website=NASA Technical Reports Server|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701002525/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670095754.pdf|archive-date=July 1, 2019|access-date=January 18, 2020}}</ref> The mission also included 11 different scientific experiments, including the use of a [[sextant]] for celestial navigation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/gemini-iv-learning-to-walk-in-space|title=Gemini IV: Learning to Walk in Space|last=Granath|first=Bob|date=June 1, 2015|website=NASA|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716000654/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/gemini-iv-learning-to-walk-in-space/|archive-date=July 16, 2019|access-date=January 18, 2020}}</ref>

After the failed rendezvous attempt, White appeared tired and hot, so the EVA was postponed from the second revolution to the third revolution. At 19:46 UTC, White became the first American to make an EVA.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-043A|title=NASA – NSSDCA – Spacecraft – Details|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|access-date=May 15, 2019}}</ref> During his spacewalk, White used an oxygen-propelled gun called the [[Hand-Held Maneuvering Unit]] to propel himself. White found the experience so exhilarating that he was reluctant to terminate the EVA at the allotted time, and had to be ordered back into the spacecraft.{{sfn|Barbree|2007|pp=111–112}}
[[File:EdWhiteFirstAmericanSpacewalker.1965.ws.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Edward White during [[Extra-vehicular activity|EVA]]. During the [[Gemini 4]] mission, White became the first American astronaut to perform a spacewalk]]
While White was outside, a spare thermal glove floated away through the open hatch of the spacecraft, becoming an early piece of [[space debris]] in [[low Earth orbit]], until it burned up upon [[atmospheric entry|re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere]].{{sfn|Barbree|2007|pp=111–112}}<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2009/02/spacestuff/|title=Lost in Space: 8 Weird Pieces of Space Junk|last=Moskowitz|first=Clara|date=February 13, 2019|magazine=Wired|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225171828/https://www.wired.com/2009/02/spacestuff/|archive-date=December 25, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=May 16, 2019}}</ref> There was a mechanical problem with the hatch mechanism, which made it difficult to open and to relatch. McDivitt was able to get the door locked by using his glove to push on the gears that controlled the mechanism. This added to the time constraint of the spacewalk and could have threatened the lives of both men if McDivitt had been unable to get the hatch latched, as they could not re-enter the atmosphere with an unsealed hatch.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/McDivittJA/JAM_6-29-99.pdf|title=Oral History Transcript|last=McDivitt|first=James|interviewer=Doug Ward|date=June 29, 1999|website=National Aeronautics and Space Administration|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622104517/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/McDivittJA/JAM_6-29-99.pdf|archive-date=June 22, 2011|access-date=January 19, 2020}}</ref>
{{blockquote|I'm coming back in... and it's the saddest moment of my life.|Astronaut Edward H. White while reentering the spacecraft after his EVA|<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/mission_trans/GT04_TEC.PDF |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/mission_trans/GT04_TEC.PDF |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title= Composite Air-to-ground and Onboard Voice Tape Transcription of the GT-4 Mission (U) |publisher= NASA |date= 31 August 1965 |page= 54}}</ref>}}

When they returned to Earth, the two astronauts found that they were now celebrities. President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] came to [[Houston]] to congratulate them,{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=252–253}} and he promoted them to the rank of [[lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Remarks in Houston at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center |date=June 11, 1965 |publisher= he American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-houston-the-nasa-manned-spacecraft-center |access-date=August 27, 2021}}</ref> Later that week they traveled to the [[White House]] where Johnson presented them the [[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]].<ref name="johnson">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32065450/longview_newsjournal/|title=Johnson Honors Space Twins in Washington|newspaper=Longview News-Journal|agency=UPI|date=June 17, 1965|page=1|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> They were given a [[ticker tape parade]] in Chicago, and went to the 1965 [[Paris Air Show]], where they met cosmonaut [[Yuri Gagarin]].{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=253–254}}

White's next assignment after Gemini 4 was as the backup for [[Gemini 7]] command pilot [[Frank Borman]], with [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]] assigned as his pilot.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/g/gemini7.html|title=Gemini 7|website=Astronautix|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517001010/http://www.astronautix.com/g/gemini7.html|archive-date=May 17, 2019|url-status=dead|access-date=May 16, 2019|quote=The backup crew for the flight, which would last up to 14 days, would be Edward H. White II and Michael Collins.}}</ref>{{sfn|Shayler|2001|p=109}} He was also named the astronaut specialist for the flight control systems of the [[Apollo command module]]. Under the usual procedure of crew rotation in the Gemini program, White would have been in line for a second flight as the command pilot of [[Gemini 10]] in July 1966, which would have made him the first of his group to fly twice.{{sfn|Shayler|2001|p=109}} Instead, he was selected for the Apollo 1 spaceflight.

=== Apollo program ===
{{Main|Apollo 1}}
[[File:Apollo1-Crew 01.jpg|left|thumb|Apollo 1 crew: [[Gus Grissom|Grissom]], White, and [[Roger B. Chaffee|Chaffee]]]]
In March 1966, White was selected as senior pilot (second seat) for the first crewed Apollo flight, designated AS-204. His fellow astronauts would be Command Pilot [[Virgil Grissom|Virgil "Gus" Grissom]], who had flown in space on the [[Mercury-Redstone 4]] mission in 1961 and as commander of the [[Gemini 3]] in 1965, and Pilot [[Roger Chaffee]], who had yet to fly into space.<ref name="nasabio" /> The mission, which the men named ''Apollo 1'' in June, was originally planned for late 1966 to coincide with the last Gemini mission, but the impracticality of making the Gemini capsule and systems compatible with Apollo and delays in the spacecraft development pushed the launch into 1967.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2012/08/before-the-fire/|title=Before the Fire: Saturn-Apollo Applications (1966)|last=Portree|first=David|date=August 25, 2012|magazine=Wired|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517024002/https://www.wired.com/2012/08/before-the-fire/|archive-date=May 17, 2019|access-date=May 16, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/01/50-years-on-apollo-1-safer-future/|title=50 years on, reminders of Apollo 1 beckon a safer future|last=Gebhardt|first=Chris|date=January 26, 2017|website=NASA Spaceflight.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519203729/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/01/50-years-on-apollo-1-safer-future/|archive-date=May 19, 2019|access-date=May 19, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

The launch of Apollo 1 was planned for February 21, 1967. The crew entered the spacecraft at 13:00 on January 27, mounted atop its [[Saturn IB]] booster on [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34|Launch Pad 34]] at [[Cape Kennedy]], for a "plugs-out" test of the spacecraft.<ref name="Mary White" /> The test was to demonstrate all of the space vehicle systems and procedures, which included an abbreviated countdown and flight simulation. It was not classified as hazardous since the rocket would not be fueled during the test. The test's progress was delayed by problems with a cabin odor and poor communications between the ground stations and the crew. At 18:31, a fire broke out in the pure oxygen-filled cabin, killing all three crewmen.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|pp=2–8}}{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=214–217}}

Emergency roles had called for White to actuate the inner hatch release handle; then, Grissom would assist him in the removal of the cover, while Chaffee would maintain communications. White had apparently tried to do his part: his body was found in his center seat, with his arms reaching over his head toward the hatch.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|pp=2–8}} Removing the cover to open the hatch was impossible because the [[plug door]] design required venting normally slightly greater-than-atmospheric pressure and pulling the cover into the cabin.<ref name=":3">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2011/01/0127apollo-1-fire-kills-3-astronauts/|title=Jan. 27, 1967: 3 Astronauts Die in Launchpad Fire|last=Long|first=Tony|date=January 27, 2011|magazine=Wired|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517225344/https://www.wired.com/2011/01/0127apollo-1-fire-kills-3-astronauts/|archive-date=May 17, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=May 17, 2019}}</ref> Grissom was unable to reach the cabin vent control to his left, where the fire's source was located. The intense heat raised the cabin pressure even more, to {{convert|29|psi|kPa}}, at which point the cabin walls ruptured.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/01/26/50-years-ago-three-astronauts-died-in-the-apollo-1-fire/|title='We have a fire in the cockpit!' The Apollo 1 disaster 50 years later.|last=Larimer|first=Sarah|date=January 26, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref> The astronauts were killed by [[asphyxia]]tion, [[smoke inhalation]], and [[thermal burn]]s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/orbital-missions/apollo1.cfm|title=Apollo 1 (AS-204)|website=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411100402/https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/orbital-missions/apollo1.cfm|archive-date=April 11, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref>

=== Aftermath ===
[[File:Apollo 1 fire.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of the Apollo 1 [[Apollo Command/Service Module|Command Module]], in which White was killed along with Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee]]
The fire's ignition source was determined to be a spark that jumped from a wire on the far left of the spacecraft, under Grissom's seat.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.space.com/17338-apollo-1.html|title=Apollo 1: The Fatal Fire|last=Howell|first=Elizabeth|date=November 16, 2017|website=Space.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417221603/https://www.space.com/17338-apollo-1.html|archive-date=April 17, 2019|url-status=dead|access-date=May 13, 2019}}</ref> Their deaths were attributed to a wide range of lethal hazards in the early Apollo Command Module design: workmanship and conditions of the test, including the highly pressurized 100% oxygen pre-launch atmosphere, many wiring and plumbing flaws, flammable materials used in the cockpit and the astronauts' flight suits, and a hatch which could not be quickly opened in an emergency.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollo204/find.html|title=Findings, Determinations And Recommendations|date=April 5, 1967|work=Report of Apollo 204 Review Board|publisher=NASA|quote=No single ignition source of the fire was conclusively identified.|access-date=March 7, 2011|archive-date=December 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231023149/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollo204/find.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> After the incident, these problems were fixed, and the Apollo program carried on successfully to reach its objective of landing men on the Moon.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=228–232}}

White was buried with full [[military honors]] at [[West Point Cemetery]] while Grissom and Chaffee are both buried in [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usma.edu/history/SiteAssets/SitePages/Cemetery/West%20Point%20Cemetery.pdf|title=West Point Cemetery|publisher=United States Military Academy West Point|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225231003/https://www.usma.edu/history/SiteAssets/SitePages/Cemetery/West%20Point%20Cemetery.pdf|archive-date=February 25, 2014|access-date=January 25, 2018}}</ref> NASA officials attempted to pressure Patricia White, his widow, into allowing her husband also to be buried at Arlington, against what she knew to be his wishes; their efforts were foiled by astronaut [[Frank Borman]].{{sfn|Borman|Serling|1988|p=170}} Patricia received $100,000 from the life insurance portion of the contract the astronauts signed to give two publishing firms exclusive rights to the stories and photographs of the astronauts and their families. She also received $16,250 annually for the life of the contract.<ref>{{cite news|title=Widows Will Get $100,000 From Life Insurance|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12155840/apollo_1_as204_widows_receive/|date=January 29, 1967|newspaper=[[Bridgeport Sunday Post]]|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=July 5, 2017|page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812055615/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12155840/apollo_1_as204_widows_receive/|archive-date=August 12, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Patricia later remarried and continued to reside in Houston. On September 6, 1983, she took her own life after surgery earlier in the year to remove a tumor.<ref>{{cite web |author=UPI |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/08/obituaries/widow-of-astronaut-is-dead.html |title=Pat White's obituary in New York Times |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 8, 1983 |access-date=November 28, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/moon/peopleevents/p_wives.html |title=NASA Wives and Families |publisher=Pbs.org |access-date=November 28, 2013}}</ref>

White's younger brother James resolved to follow in his older brother's footsteps. He graduated from the Air Force Academy and became a fighter pilot. He set his sights on becoming a test pilot and then an astronaut. He thought that air combat experience would facilitate this, so he volunteered for service in the [[Vietnam War]]. While flying a combat mission on November 24, 1969, with [[357th Tactical Fighter Squadron]], he was killed when his aircraft crashed. Nearly half a century later his remains were identified, and they were buried adjacent to White's in West Point Cemetery on June 19, 2018.<ref name="brother"/>