| THE GEMINI PROGRAM | ||
NASA, in response to the spacewalk of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov during the Soviet Voskhod 2 mission, quickly added a new objective to the Gemini 4 mission, an American spacewalk, or extra-vehicular activity (EVA). On June 3, 1965, Gemini 4 launched from Cape Canaveral with astronauts James McDivitt and Ed White on board. During orbit over Hawaii, astronaut Ed White opened the hatch and performed the walk in space. The EVA proved NASA's ability to engineer space suits and life support systems that were capable of sustaining humans outside the protection of a spacecraft. This was essential for the planned future Moon landings. |
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