Today in history: First ever American spacewalk took place June 3rd, 1965

Morgan Giordano
Updated
First Ever American Spacewalk Took Place 50 Years Ago
First Ever American Spacewalk Took Place 50 Years Ago



Half a century ago, one man forced heads to turn away from the battle brewing in Vietnam, and instead look 120 miles above Earth.

Major Edward H. White II stepped out of the doors of the Gemini IV on June 3rd, 1965, to become the first American astronaut to walk in space, only three months after the very first spacewalk by the Soviets.

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50 years ago today, astronaut Ed White floated out of the Gemini IV spacecraft to become the first American to walk in space during the first Mission Controlled from Houston's manned spacecraft center. In this image, White floats in the microgravity of space outside the Gemini IV spacecraft. Behind him is the brilliant blue Earth and its white cloud cover. White is wearing a specially-designed space suit. The visor of the helmet is gold plated to protect him against the unfiltered rays of the sun. In his left hand is a Hand-Held Self-Maneuvering Unit with which he controls his movements in space. Credits: NASA/Jim McDivitt #nasa #space #gemini #otd #spacewalk #eva #spacewalk50 #suitup #missioncontrol #houston

A post shared by NASA (@nasa) on Jun 3, 2015 at 7:19am PDT



White's tether allowed him to stretch 25 feet outside of his craft. He floated in space and moved around using a jet-propulsion gun for 20 minutes before re-entering.



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