There he found that internal pressure had caused his suit to balloon slightly. With Gemini IV moving rapidly toward night, White reluctantly returned to the cockpit. America's first spacewalker reported later that he was more comfortable during his EVA than at any other time during the Gemini IV flight.
As with Leonov's Berkut, oxygen passing through White's 10.7-kilogram G4C suit flushed exhaled carbon dioxide, heat, and moisture into space. If the umbilical had for any reason ceased to supply him with oxygen, his chest-mounted Ventilation Control Module (VCM) could have supplied him with enough to return safely to his seat. White's life-support umbilical was covered in a thin layer of gold to protect it from the fierce sunlight of low-Earth orbit. At 0834 UTC, over northern Africa, the 30-year-old cosmonaut pulled himself through the hatch, kicked off the hatch rim, and floated away until he reached the end of his 5.35-meter-long safety tether and rebounded. Belyayev then depressurized Volga, and Leonov opened its 65-centimeter-wide inward-opening outer hatch. Following inflation - a process that lasted seven minutes - Volga extended 2.5 meters out from Voskhod 2's silvery hull.Īt 0828 UTC, as the spacecraft neared the end of its first orbit, Leonov entered Volga and Belyayev sealed the Voskhod 2 hatch behind him. The airlock was necessary because Voskhod 2's electronics were air-cooled, so would overheat if its cramped cabin were depressurized. The 5682-kilogram spacecraft carried a 1.2-meter-diameter inflatable airlock called Volga mounted over the inward-opening crew hatch of its 2.3-meter-diameter spherical reentry module. As soon as Voskhod 2 entered a 167-by-475-kilometer orbit inclined 64.8° relative to Earth's equator, Belyayev assisted Leonov with preparations for the mission's main objective: to accomplish humankind's first-ever spacewalk.
Notes are welcome at Please mention in what newspaper or web site you read this column.At 0700 UTC on 18 March 1965, the Soviet Union's Voskhod 2 spacecraft lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Soviet Central Asia bearing rookie cosmonauts Pavel Belyayev and Alexei Leonov. Peter Becker is Managing Editor at The News Eagle in Hawley, PA. With a strong meteor shower such as the Geminids, it's probably best that you don't close your eyes and make a wish, because you might miss the next one! Let me know how many meteors you see and your impression. They are actually bits of rock or dust from outer space, caught by the Earth's gravity and giving off light as they vaporize, falling through the upper atmosphere. You may have to wait several minutes as you never know when to expect one.Īlthough often called shooting stars, meteors, of course, are not falling or shooting stars at all. Remember, meteor watching takes patience. A large window may allow you to see some from the warmth of indoors, with the lights off, although not likely as many. Lying on a deck chair will relieve neck strain. You should let your eyes adjust to the darkness first this can be done from indoors, with the lights off. Unless you live far south, you will probably need to dress quite warm to stay out a while and see the Geminids.