Extravehicular Activity (1965)

On June 3, 1965, NASA launched Gemini 4, the second manned space mission in Project Gemini. Over the next four days, astronauts James McDivitt and Edward White circled the Earth 66 times. The highlight of the mission, however, occurred on the third revolution. At 7:46 PM UTC, White exited the spacecraft to perform the first American extravehicular activity. (Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov performed the first ever space walk in March 1965.) This NASA government film focuses on the historic feat, with White providing narration over footage of his 20-minute journey into open space.