[Illustration: 11. _Gemini 4_ lifts off, June 3, 1965.]
[Illustration: 12. Well over 1.6 million kilometers (1 million
miles) later, _Gemini 4_ is hoisted from the Atlantic Ocean.]
Floating at the end of a gold “umbilical cord” attached to the _Gemini
4_ spacecraft, Edward H. White II became the first American to have only
his space suit for protection from the space environment. White directed
his movements during the historic 20-minute “walk” with a hand-held
maneuvering device, while command pilot James A. McDivitt took pictures
from within the craft.
Launched June 3, 1965 atop 3 Titan II booster, the _Gemini 4_ spacecraft
made 62 revolutions during the four-day flight. Although _Gemini 4_
failed to rendezvous with the Titan II’s second stage as planned,
because the stage fell away too rapidly to catch, astronauts McDivitt
and White did demonstrate that the Spacecraft could be moved in and out
of its orbital plane with ease.
The crew also photographed the Earth successfully. The pictures brought
back from _Gemini 4_ enhanced interest in photographic surveys of Earth
from space.
_Gemini 4_ splashed down in the Atlantic at 12:12 P.M. (EST) on June 7,
1965. McDivitt and White were on the deck of recovery carrier U.S.S.
_Wasp_ in less than one hour.
The spacecraft frame is titanium and it is covered with steel and
beryllium shingles. Displayed here is the basic spacecraft which
includes the pressurized cabin vessel, the heat shield at the base, and
the cylindrical reentry attitude-control system section on the nose.
The heat shield is a curved section of fiberglass honeycomb filled with
a phenolic-epoxy resin. During reentry, the craft’s kinetic energy was
converted to heat by friction with the atmosphere. The heat-shield
material melted and vaporized and was blown away from the craft,
carrying the heat with it. This process is called ablation.
The _Gemini_ was a true spacecraft, capable of maneuvering widely in
space, changing its configuration for different phases of the flight,
and allowing the two-man crew to work both inside and outside the craft.
Prime contractor for _Gemini 4_ was the McDonnell Aircraft Company.
_Gemini 4_ is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Length 5.6 m. (18 ft., 4 in.) in orbit; 2.3 m. (7 ft.,
4 in.) at splashdown
Base diameter Adapter, 3.1 m. (10 ft.); spacecraft, 2.3 m. (7
ft., 6 in.)