Editing Ed White (astronaut) (section)

=== 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.