Space and Physics
PUBLISHED
On March 18 1965, one man boldly walked where no man had walked before.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Outside the Soviet spacecraft Voskhod 2 and attached only by a tether of 5.35 meters (17.5 feet) in length, Alexey Leonov made history as the first human to walk in space.
Called an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) in NASA-talk, this landmark spacewalk was a brief stint into the unknown for the intrepid explorer at only 12 minutes and 9 seconds.
On June 3 1965, another man celebrated a world first. Emerging from America’s Gemini IV spacecraft on its third orbit, Edward White became the first American astronaut to take a saunter in space with a 23-minute-long spacewalk.
Gemini IV orbited the Earth 62 times over a 4-day mission before its descent and splashdown into the Atlantic Ocean on June 7.
These epic maiden voyages marked the first of many manned missions into space. Check out "Suit Up" below, a NASA documentary marking the 50 years of EVAs since these historic moments.
