Ed White’s EVA Photos from NASA’s Gemini 4 Mission

Undoubtedly, the most memorable part of NASA’s Gemini 4 long-duration mission was the first EVA (extra-vehicular activity), or “spacewalk”, performed by an American astronaut. Launched on June 3, 1965 with USAF Major James A. McDivitt as the mission’s command pilot and USAF Major Edward H. White, Jr. as the pilot (see “NASA Selects the ‘New Nine’ – September 17, 1963”), White exited the spacecraft’s cabin during the mission’s third revolution as they were passing over Hawaii and remained outside for 20 minutes as Gemini 4 passed from the Pacific Ocean and over North America to the Gulf of Mexico (see “The Forgotten Mission of Gemini 4”).

Unlike today, where live video coverage of EVAs is standard practice, there was no television camera on board Gemini 4 to provide a view of this historic event as it happened. Video cameras would not become standard equipment on American crewed spaceflights until the Apollo program (see “Apollo 7: Rise of the Phoenix”). Everyone on planet Earth had to wait until after the return of Gemini 4 from orbit on June 7 for the photographic film recording the event to be retrieved, developed and prepared for release. In the days and weeks following the mission, probably the most spectacular images from a crewed spaceflight to date were published in the print media with the motion pictures shared on television and elsewhere.

The Gemini 4 reentry module shown shortly after divers had attached a floatation collar to stabilize the spacecraft following its splashdown on June 7, 1965. (NASA)

Among the cameras used to record the EVA were a pair of Maurer 16mm motion picture cameras. Also known by the technical name “Data Acquisition Cameras”, one was mounted on the exterior of the spacecraft by White before he exited the spacecraft while the other was placed in McDivitt’s window on the left side. All of the motion pictures of White’s EVA, shown below, were acquired using these cameras. McDivitt also had a handheld Hasselblad 500C 70mm camera which he used to record White’s activities outside. Most of the 14 photographs McDivitt took with this camera, plus selected stills from the Maurer 16mm cameras are the sources of all the iconic images most space enthusiasts have seen over the last six decades.

But in addition to these three cameras, there was a fourth camera used during this historic EVA: the one carried by Ed White. Mounted on top of the Hand Held Maneuvering Unit carried by White during his EVA (which used compressed oxygen as a propellant) was a Zeiss Ikon Contarex 35mm camera with a roll of GAF Anscochrome D-200 color film. White managed to take 17 photographs during his EVA. But aside from the original investigators followed by space historians and, more recently, diligent space enthusiasts who have stumbled upon the proper online NASA image archives, the general public has never seen these photographs.

The Hand Held Maneuvering Unit used during the Gemini 4 mission with a Zeiss Ikon Contarex 35mm mounted on top. (NASA)

Shown below are 15 of the original 17 photographs taken by Ed White during his historic EVA. Excluded are GT4-37199-006 (which showed no discernable features) and 015 (which was an overexposed blank image).

GT4-37199-001: A partial frame showing the Gemini spacecraft with the open hatch on the pilot side of the reentry module. The 35mm film had not been advanced far enough before taking the first image with the left side of the image lost to exposure to ambient light during loading (a common mistake made with the 35mm cameras of the time). (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-002: A view down the nose of the Gemini reentry module showing the command pilot’s window. Light leakage, most likely from either loading or unloading of the film, caused the diffuse band across the image. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-003: A view showing the open pilot door with the Earth beyond. This photograph was also affected by light leakage. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-004: An underexposed view of the exterior of the Gemini reentry module. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-005: A view of clouds over the Pacific Ocean. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-007: An underexposed photograph showing the rear portion of the Gemini spacecraft. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-008: A view of clouds over the Pacific Ocean. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-009: A view of a Pacific coastline of Baja California. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-010: A partial frame showing what is likely northern Mexico. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-011: A view back towards the Pacific Ocean and the horizon beyond with Baja California, the Gulf of Baja and Mexico to the right. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-012: A close up view of a pair of thrusters at the base of Gemini’s Adaptor Section. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-013: A view of the coast of Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico beyond. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-014: A close up of the spacecraft showing some sort of deposit that has rubbed off during the EVA. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-016: A view of the Earth out to the horizon. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

GT4-37199-017: One last view of the horizon of a cloudy Earth. (NASA/JSC/ASU)

While certainly of interest to space historians and enthusiasts, we can now see that none of these photographs are especially notable and are frequently plagued by various issues. This would explain why these photographs were never shared with the general public. The motion picture stills and photographs taken by McDivitt using the Hasselblad camera were of superior quality. Nonetheless, it is satisfying to see this particular record of this historic event – the first photographs taken by an astronaut during an EVA.

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Related Video

Here is a classic NASA documentary on the mission of Gemini 4 entitled The Four Days of Gemini 4:

Related Reading

“The Forgotten Mission of Gemini 4”, Drew Ex Machina, June 3, 2015 [Post]