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Revision as of 22:28, 4 May 2007 by Feddhicks (talk | contribs) (→Legacy: postage stamp of space walk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Edward Higgins White, II | |
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| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Test pilot, Astronaut |
| Space career | |
| Astronaut | |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel, USAF |
| Time in space | 4d 01h 56m |
| Selection | 1962 NASA Group |
| Missions | Gemini 4, Apollo 1 |
| Mission insignia |   |
Edward Higgins White, II (Lt.Col , USAF) (November 14, 1930 – January 27, 1967) was an American astronaut.
Physical description
Weight: 176 lb (80 kg)
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Hair: Reddish Brown
Eyes: brown
Early years
He was born in San Antonio, Texas and earned a B.S. from the U.S. Military Academy in 1952, and an M.S. in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1959. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force and was a pilot of F-86 and F-100 fighter jets. White was an experimental test pilot for the Aeronautical Systems Division and logged more than 3,000 flight hours, including 2,200 in jet aircraft. He was married to Patricia Finegan White and had two children, Bonnie Lynn and Edward III.
NASA
He was chosen with the second group of astronauts in 1962. Within an already elite group, White was considered a high-flyer by the NASA management. As pilot of Gemini 4, he was the first American to make a spacewalk (on June 3 1965) and was backup command pilot for Gemini 7. White was also made Astronaut specialist for the flight control systems of the Apollo CSM. By the usual process of crew rotation in the Gemini programme, White would have been in line for a second orbital flight as Command Pilot of Gemini 10 — making him the first of his group to be selected to fly twice — but instead was 1966 promoted to be command module pilot for the first fateful Apollo program flight AS-204.
Death
He died with fellow astronauts "Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee in the Apollo 1 fire at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. He was buried with full military honors at West Point Cemetery and posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Legacy
Edward White Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida was named in his honor. Edward H. White Elementary School in Chicago, Edward H. White Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, Ed White Middle School in Huntsville, Alabama Ed White Elementary School in El Lago, Texas, Ed White Memorial High School in League City, Texas, and Edward H. White Senior High School in Jacksonville, Florida were named in his honor. The star Iota Ursae Majoris was named "Dnoces" ("Second", as in "Edward Higgins White the Second", spelled backwards) in his honor. A hill on Mars is also named after him as part of the Apollo 1 Hills.
An artificial island in Long Beach Harbor off Southern California, is also named for him.
Later in 1967, White was honored on a U.S. postage stamp though his name was not mentioned. The stamp featured his space walk.
White in the movies
White was played by Steven Ruge in the 1995 film Apollo 13 and by Chris Isaak in the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.
Notes
- Prior to establishment of the United States Air Force Academy in 1954, officers in the United States Air Force were drawn from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.
- http://www.skyimagelab.com/gemspacwal.html