Gemini 4 (GT-4), launched on June 3, 1965, was the Gemini program’s second crewed mission, with astronauts James A. McDivitt and Edward H. White II aboard. The mission aimed to evaluate the effects of four days in space on the crew, spacecraft, and control systems. Its highlight was the first American extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or “spacewalk,” during which White remained tethered outside the spacecraft for 22 minutes. NASA accelerated this EVA following Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov’s historic first spacewalk on March 18, 1965.
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| A GT-4 launch cover from "Orbit Covers" postmarked at Cape Canaveral on June 3, 1965, signed by Edward White and James McDivitt. - RRAuction |
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| Photo: Gemini 4 astronauts Edward White and James McDivitt. |
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| Photo: Edward White and James McDivitt playfully using a stethoscope following their comprehensive physical exam on June 1, 1965. |
Gemini 4 was the United States’ first multi-day spaceflight, showing that humans could remain in space for extended periods. The mission lasted four days and completed 66 orbits, though it fell short of the five-day record set by the Soviet Vostok 5 in June 1963. Subsequent Gemini missions were planned for longer durations, demonstrating that astronauts could withstand the time needed for a round-trip mission to the Moon.
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| Photo: Edward White and James McDivitt having breakfast before preparing for their four-day Gemini 4 mission on June 3, 1965. |
The Gemini program was managed by the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston, Texas. With Gemini 4, the MSC's new Mission Control Center took over flight control duties from the Mercury Control Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, marking the first flight run by the Houston-based control center. Throughout the mission, the Gemini 4 spacecraft was in range of 20 tracking stations, spanning from the Canary Islands to Tananarive. Data sent from the spacecraft to these stations was relayed to the computer center at Goddard near Washington, D.C., where it was processed and then forwarded to the Mission Control Center in Houston.
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| Photo: Alan Shepard (right) and Frank Borman (center) at the Pad 19 blockhouse during the final countdown seconds before the liftoff of the Gemini 4 spacecraft. Borman served as the backup crew member for Gemini 4. |
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| A GT-4 tracking station cover from the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, postmarked at Webster, Texas, on June 3, 1965, the launch day of the Gemini 4 mission. |
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| Photo: Liftoff of the Gemini 4 spaceflight on June 3, 1965. |
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| Photo: U.S. President Johnson watching the televised launch of Gemini 4. |
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| A GT-4 launch cover postmarked at Cape Canaveral on June 3, 1965, signed by Edward White. |
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| Photo: Flight surgeon Charles A. Berry monitoring the health status of Edward White and James McDivitt from the Mission Control Center in Houston. |
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| A GT-4 tracking station cover from Grand Canary postmarked on June 3, 1965. The medical condition of the Gemini 4 astronauts was monitored as they passed over the Manned Space Flight Tracking Station at Grand Canary. |
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| Photo: A map showing the path of Edward White’s spacewalk during the third orbit around Earth. |
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| A GT-4 tracking station cover from Antigua Auxiliary Air Force Base, featuring a small rubber stamp detailing the spaceflight information and an illustrated stamped cachet of an astronaut performing a spacewalk. |
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| Photo: Edward White exiting the Gemini 4 spacecraft and preparing to float in space for a 20-minute spacewalk, tethered to the spacecraft. |
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| Photo: Edward White floating on his back, using his oxygen gun to maneuver around the Gemini 4 spacecraft during his spacewalk. |
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| A GT-4 launch cover from "Celestial", featuring an illustration of an astronaut in a spacewalk, postmarked at Cape Canaveral on June 3, 1965. This cover is signed by Edward H. White and James A. McDivitt. Edward White made history as the first American to complete a spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission. - RegencyStamps |
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| Photo: Edward White propelling himself past the open hatch of the Gemini 4 spacecraft during his spacewalk. The image was captured by command pilot James A. McDivitt using a 16mm movie camera. |
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| Photo: USS Wasp, the primary recovery ship for the Gemini 4 mission. |
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| A GT-4 splashdown cover from "Centennial", postmarked at Cape Canaveral on June 7, 1965. |
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| Photo: The Gemini 4 capsule splashing down in the North Atlantic Ocean, with the crew being lifted from a life raft into the recovery helicopter. |
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| A GT-4 recovery cover with a rare hand-canceled postmark from the USS Wasp, dated June 7, 1965, features signatures from several notable individuals: Francis M. Rogallo (aeronautical engineer, known as the "Father of Hang Gliding"), Clarence O. Fiske (Recovery Helicopter Pilot), Fred Kelly (Flight Surgeon), Dennis W. Bowman (team lead frogman), Roger H. Bates (Frogman), and Joseph E. Heinlein (Commanding Officer, UDT 21). |
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| Photo: James McDivitt and Edward White aboard the USS Wasp after their Gemini 4 mission. |
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| Photo: The recovery of the Gemini 4 capsule from the ocean. |
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| A GT-4 recovery cover from the USS Wasp, featuring a black “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet and the typical machine cancellation, dated June 7, 1965. This cover is signed by James A. McDivitt and Edward H. White. |
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| Photo: Edward White and James McDivitt preparing for a comprehensive physical examination aboard the USS Wasp. |
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| A GT-4 recovery cover from the USS Wasp, featuring an unusual blue "Morris Beck" rubber-stamped cachet without the ocean name. This cover includes autopen signatures from James A. McDivitt and Edward H. White. |
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| Photo: Edward White showing the crew members aboard the USS Wasp how he exited the Gemini 4 capsule for his 20-minute spacewalk. |
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| A GT-4 Captain's Cover from the USS Wasp, postmarked on June 7, 1965, featuring a printed signature of commanding officer Captain James W. Conger. This cover is signed by astronauts James McDivitt and Edward White. - RRAuction |
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| Photo of James McDivitt and Edward White in the chow line aboard the USS Wasp on their second day back on Earth, following four days in orbit. |
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| A GT-4 Crew Cover (Type B) from "Morris Beck" featuring a USS Wasp machine cancel, dated June 7, 1965. Only 25 of these printed covers exist without the printed "B" number. |
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| A GT-3 recovery cover from "Morris Beck" reused during the Gemini 4 recovery, with a postmark from the USS Wasp on June 7, 1965. |
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| Photo: Edward White describing his spaceflight mission with USS Wasp crew members during mealtime on June 8, 1965. |
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| A GT-4 recovery cover from the USS Wasp, featuring a black “Morris Beck” rubber-stamped cachet and the typical machine cancellation dated June 7, 1965. This cover is signed by the commanding officer Captain James W. Conger. It also features an additional USS Wasp hand cancel from Gemini 7 recovery day on December 18, 1965. |
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| Some GT-3 recovery covers from "Morris Beck" were mistakenly sent to the wrong "Owens" ship, causing the covers addressed to USS Robert A. Owens to end up aboard the USS James C. Owens in the Mediterranean on GT-3 launch day. To make up for the mistake, these USS Robert A. Owens covers were postmarked on Gemini 4 launch day, June 3, 1965. |
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| Photo: James McDivitt and Edward White presenting a flown U.S. flag to President Johnson on June 17, 1965. |
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| A postcard featuring Edward White performing a spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission, with the "Space Twins" stamps—the first-ever twin stamps issued by the U.S., featuring one continuous design across both stamps—canceled on the first day of issue, September 29, 1967. The postcard is signed by Edward White. – Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles. |
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| Photo: Astronauts Edward White and James McDivitt greet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who is shaking hands with them on June 19, 1965, at Le Bourget Airport in Paris. U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey stands in the center of the image. |
(Reference from
Gemini 4)
