Edward White

In 1997, White was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. White was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Aviation Hall of Fame on July 18, 2009.

White was played by Steven Ruge in the 1995 film Apollo 13, by Chris Isaak in the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, and by Matt Lanter in the 2015 ABC TV series The Astronaut Wives Club. In 2018, he was portrayed by Jason Clarke in First Man.

White's wife Patricia received $100,000 from the life insurance portion of the contract the astronauts signed to give two publishing firms exclusive rights to the stories and photographs of the astronauts and their families. She also received $16,250 annually for the life of the contract. Patricia later remarried and continued to reside in Houston. On September 7, 1983, she took her own life after surgery earlier in the year to remove a tumor.

White, along with nine other Gemini astronauts, was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1982. President Clinton presented the White and Chaffee families with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1997 (Grissom's family received the medal in 1978).

The launch of Apollo 1 was planned for February 21, 1967. The crew entered the spacecraft at 1:00  pm on January 27, mounted atop its Saturn IB booster on Launch Pad 34 at Cape Kennedy, for a "plugs-out" test of the spacecraft. The test was to demonstrate all of the space vehicle systems and procedures, which included an abbreviated countdown and flight simulation. It was not classified as hazardous since the rocket would not be fueled during the test. The test's progress was delayed by problems with a cabin odor and poor communications between the ground stations and the crew. At 6:31  pm, a fire broke out in the pure oxygen-filled cabin, killing all three men.

White's next assignment after Gemini 4 was as the backup for Gemini 7 Command Pilot Frank Borman. He was also named the astronaut specialist for the flight control systems of the Apollo Command/Service Module. By the usual procedure of crew rotation in the Gemini program, White would have been in line for a second flight as the command pilot of Gemini 10 in July 1966, which would have made him the first of his group to fly twice.

White was selected as one of the second group of astronauts. He was assigned as pilot of Gemini 4 alongside command pilot James McDivitt. On June 3, 1965, White became the first American to walk in space. He was then assigned as senior pilot of the first crewed Apollo mission, Apollo 1. White died on January 27, 1967, alongside astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger B. Chaffee in a fire during pre-launch testing for Apollo 1 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his flight in Gemini 4 and was then awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor posthumously.

White was one of nine men chosen as part of the second group of astronauts in 1962. Within an already elite group, White was considered to be skilled by the management of NASA. He was selected to be the pilot of Gemini 4, serving alongside Command Pilot James McDivitt.

In 1957, White read an article about the future of astronauts, and decided to become an astronaut. He believed that getting an advanced degree would improve his chances of becoming selected. In 1958, White enrolled in the University of Michigan under Air Force sponsorship to study aeronautical engineering, where he received his Master of Science degree in 1959. After it became clear that being a test pilot would improve his chances of becoming selected as an astronaut, he attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in July 1959. He earned his credentials as a test pilot and was assigned to the Aeronautical Systems Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. There, he did flight tests for weapons development, and helped make recommendations for aircraft design. As weightlessness and extended flight training captain, he also piloted the planes used to train astronauts in weightlessness, such as the C-131, the C-135, and the F-100F. Some of his passengers included John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, and Ham, the first hominid in space. During his career, White would log more than 3,000 flight hours with the Air Force, including about 2,200 hours in jets, and would ultimately attain the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Upon graduation from West Point, White was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force, an option made available to both USMA/West Point and USNA/Annapolis graduates in the years before the Air Force established its own service academy. White received his initial pilot training at Bartow Air Base, Florida, and his jet training at James Connally Air Force Base, Texas. After receiving his pilot wings in 1953, White was assigned to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, for Fighter Gunnery School. He was then assigned to the 22nd Fighter Day Squadron at Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, where he spent three and a half years flying in F-86 Sabre and F-100 Super Sabre squadrons in the defense of NATO. Among his colleagues were Buzz Aldrin, who was a year ahead of him at West Point.

After graduating from West Point in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree, White was sent to flight training, and assigned to the 22nd Fighter Day Squadron at Bitburg Air Base, West Germany. There, he flew in F-86 Sabre and F-100 Super Sabre squadrons. In 1958, he enrolled in the University of Michigan to study aeronautical engineering. White then received test pilot training at Edwards Air Force Base, California, before being assigned as a test pilot for the Aeronautical Systems Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Due to the nature of his father's job, White's family moved often to different military bases across the country throughout his childhood. The White family moved from San Antonio, Texas to Dayton, Ohio, where he attended Oakwood Junior High School. They then moved to Washington, D.C., where White attended Western High School. After graduating in 1948, he was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where in 1952 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree.

Edward Higgins White II (November 14, 1930 – January 27, 1967) was an American aeronautical engineer, United States Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut.