Remembering the Gutsy and Hilarious Apollo Astronaut Jim McDivitt By Nancy_A
“So, one Saturday morning we were sitting at our breakfast table,” McDivitt recalled. “We finally got to this dramatic moment and I said, ‘Kids, I’m going to tell you something really important. You know that dad’s an astronaut and the astronauts fly in space. I just want to let you know that I’m going to fly in space soon.’ And my older boy, Mike, who was probably seven or eight, says, ‘Oh yeah, dad, I heard that at school.
While White’s spacewalk is remembered for its historic nature and how White appeared to be having such a wonderful experience that he didn’t want to come back inside the Gemini spacecraft, McDivitt shared a little-known story of how the spacewalk almost didn’t happen because the hatch to the capsule wouldn’t open initially.
McDivitt and White had a long history, as they both attended the University of Michigan, were both in the Air Force, and had gone through the astronaut selection together. When White died tragically in the Apollo 1 fire, McDivitt said that Ed White “was the best friend I ever had.” The crew of Apollo 9: Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot Dave Scott and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart. Credit: NASA
But Schweickart credits the great relationship between McDivitt and himself, where the crewmates had complete sense of trust with each other, where each of them knew innately the spacewalk was going to work, with Schweickart up to the task.
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