TONY RIGGS: It was time for Ed White to end his space walk. James McDivitt had to beg him to return. White was having a wonderful time. He wanted to stay out longer. Finally, he climbed back inside. He had floated around in the emptiness of space for twenty-one minutes.
Then a problem developed. The door of the spacecraft refused to shut tightly. The astronauts' clothing protected them during the flight. But what would happen during re-entry? James McDivitt had to try to repair the door.
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HARRY MONROE: Scientists always knew it would not be easy for humans to work in the weightlessness of space. Each time an astronaut puts pressure in one direction, their body moves in the opposite direction. There is no gravity to hold them in place.
NASA scientists had tried to solve the problem by designing new tools for use in space. McDivitt tried one of the new tools. It worked. He was able to repair the broken door so it shut tightly.
TONY RIGGS: Solving this problem, however, created a new one. The astronauts had planned to re-open the door during their four-day flight. They had planned to throw away materials they no longer needed, including uneaten food. But now they decided it would not be wise to re-open the door.
Soon, the inside of the spacecraft began to fill up with all kinds of junk. McDivitt and White had to learn to sleep and work as things floated around their heads.
HARRY MONROE: On the sixty-second orbit, the astronauts prepared to return to Earth. They fired the spacecraft's control rockets. The spacecraft slowed and began to re-enter the atmosphere. It landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25