McDivitt had already joined the US Air Force in 1951 and flew more than 140 combat missions during the Korean War. He later
Wikipedia - Gemini 4
The First American Spacewalk
James Alton McDivitt was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1929. He was educated at Kalamazoo High School, Jackson Junior College and later, the University of Michigan where he received a BSc degree in aeronautical engineering in 1959.
NASA selected McDivitt as an astronaut in 1962 and was the command pilot for Gemini 4.  This 4-day mission orbited the Earth 66 time, during which time fellow astronaut Edward White became the first American to carry
McDivitt caused much excitement amongst UFO enthusiasts when he reported (whilst flying over Hawaii) seeing something resembling "a beer can with an arm sticking out". There has never been a satisfactory explanation as to what this object could have been!
Ciaran Brown with Jim McDivitt
'Apollo 9' Mission Insignia
Jim McDivitt on board 'Apollo 9'
Jim McDivitt
'Gemini 4' patch
'Gemini 4' patch
Jim McDivitt on board 'USS Guadalcanal' after splashdown
Crew of 'Apollo 9' - Jim McDivitt, Dave Scott & Rusty Schweickart
The Lunar Module 'Spider' piloted by Jim McDivitt, as seen from the Command Module 'Gumdrop' during the Apollo 9 mission
The crew of 'Gemini 4' - Ed White and Jim McDivitt
Ed White was the first American to walk in space.
Ed White & Jim McDivitt feature on the cover of 'Time Magazine' June 11th 1965
carry out a spacewalk. This took place on 3rd June 1965.
Wikipedia - James McDivitt
After the mission, both  men were presented with medallions by President, Lyndon B Johnson.
In 1969, McDivitt was  Commander of the Apollo 9 mission (along with fellow astronauts Dave Scott and Rusty Schweickart) which orbited the Earth for 10 days, testing various items of lunar equipment. This included the first flight of the Lunar Module (nicknamed Spider) when McDivitt and Schweickart flew 113 miles away from Scott in the Command Module (nicknamed Gumdrop).
This was to be McDivitt's last flight into space, but he might have had more.  He would probably have been the Lunar Module pilot on the Apollo 14 mission but for a 'falling out' with Alan Shepard over seniority.  At
After leaving NASA, McDivitt took up various senior executive positions in the business world bef no

James McDivitt was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1993.
later graduated as a test pilot, and when he retired from the US Air Force in 1971, he had achieved the rank of Brigadier General.
Jim McDivitt in US Air Force uniform
'Gemini 4' lifts off from Cape Canaveral in June 1965
Jim McDivitt signed photograph
The Apollo 9 mission was largely overlooked and under-reported because, four months earlier, Apollo 8 had already gone to the moon, although without a Lunar Module, no landing was made.
Medallion presented to Jim McDivitt by US President Lyndon B Johnson
'Apollo 9' lifts off
this time, McDivitt was a manager
of the Apollo  programme, but resigned from NASA in 1972 ove
over an incident that concerned Gene Cernan and a crashed helicopter. McDivitt had demanded that Cernan be taken off the Apollo 17 mission because of this, but was overruled, and this prompted his immediate resignation.
Wikipedia - Apollo 9
Apollo 9 - Hamish Lindsay
The US Astronaut Hall of Fame
The Gene Cernan Helicopter Incident
Jim McDivitt
Jim McDivitt
McDivitt & White in Gemini 4
Jim McDivitt signed this photograph for me at Autographica
He likes to use a green pen whenever he can!
The Apollo 9 crew - Jim McDivitt, Dave Scott & Rusty Schweickart
Apollo 9 Mission Insignia
Jim McDivitt
Jim McDivitt in US Air Force Uniform
Ed White & Jim McDivitt
Jim McDivitt & Ed White in 'Gemini 4'
Gemini 4 lifts off from Cape Canaveral
Ed White's Gemini 4 Spacewalk
Medallion presented to Jim McDivitt by President Johnson
Jim McDivitt on board Apollo 9
Jim McDivitt on USS Guadalcanal
after splashdown
'Apollo 9' splashes down in the Pacific Ocean
Apollo 9 splashes down in the
in the Pacific Ocean
before finally retiring in 1997.  He now lives with his second wife Judy, in Rapid City, Michigan.
The Lunar Module Spider piloted by McDivitt
as seen from the Command Module Gumdrop
during the Apollo 9 mission
Apollo 9 lifts off
I was very excited to meet top American astronaut Jim McDivitt at the Autographica event held at the Birmingham Hilton in April 2008.  Jim retired from the US Air Force with the rank of Brigadier General!
He signed a NASA photo for me - in green, as he usually does!
Jim McDivitt
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