Project Gemini was the second phase of America's manned space flight program. It was designed to provide experience in orbiting maneuvers, rendezvous and docking, space flights lasting up to 14 days and manned scientific investigations in space. Gemini 4, in June of 1965, was the first extended duration mission, a successful flight that more than tripled the manned space flight time that had been accumulated by the United States, bringing the total to about 257 man-hours (a total US manned spacecraft time in space of 154 hours).<BR><BR>The highlight of Gemini 4 was America's first EVA or "space walk," performed by astronaut Ed White, which allowed the US to catch up with the Soviet Union, who had already performed the world's first space walk. White's EVA was so successful that he had to be ordered back into the Gemini capsule after its completion.<BR><BR>Even with a flight plan containing an over-optimistic collection of tasks, Gemini 4 was considered a major success; a combination of goals accomplished and valuable lessons learned for future manned space missions. Command Pilot Jim McDivitt and Pilot Ed White completed their planned 62 revolutions of the Earth over a period of four days, enjoying a new sunrise every 90 minutes. They likened the view from their 160-milehigh orbit (300 km) to the view from an aircraft at 40,000 feet, the details of ground features being of much better resolution than what was received from Earth orbiting satellites at 400 miles or more altitude.<BR><BR>From the official files of NASA, this book gives the complete account of the Gemini 4 mission. Filled with information on the mission's crew, engineers, and equipment, the guide explores the research, training and problems encountered by the crew wearing a thin suit that would hopefully hold up in the dangerous vacuum of space.<BR><BR>For space fans and engineers, a companion DVD is included which features spectacular photographs, videos and documents from the NASA archives.