James McDivitt

First U.S. spacewalk; Ed White floating in space over south California

Gemini IV, June 3-7, 1965, orbit 3, 004:39:00 GET

A vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso.
19 x 19.4cm (7.5 x 7.6in)

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
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Lot Essay

Tethered by a looping, golden umbilical cord, Ed White moved freely 100 miles above Earth for 21 minutes. Using the guidance gun in his right hand, he maneuvered at will until its compressed oxygen ran out. He thus became the world’s first propelled space man.

Though orbiting at 17,500 miles an hour, the space walker “had little sensation of speed and no sensation of falling, only a feeling of accomplishment” (National Geographic, September 1965, p. 440).

Completely entranced by the experience, he resisted repeated calls from Houston to get back to the spacecraft.

From the mission transcript as Ed White was back into the spacecraft after the EVA:

005:14:40 White: That was something.
005:14:47 White: That was the most natural feeling, Jim.
005:14:50 McDivitt: Yeah. I know it. You looked like you were in your mother’s womb.