Central Florida
Central Florida is a region of the Southern U. S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Orlando area, it is one of Florida's three directional regions, along with South Florida. It includes the following counties: Brevard, Hardee, Hillsborough, Indian River, Manatee, Orange, Pasco, Polk, Seminole and Volusia. Like many vernacular regions, Central Florida's boundaries are not official or consistent, are defined differently by different sources. A 2007 study of Florida's regions by geographers Ary Lamme and Raymond K. Oldakowski found that Floridians surveyed identified Central Florida as comprising a large swath of peninsular Florida; this area encompassed the interior, including the Orlando metropolitan area, coastal stretches from the Big Bend south to the Tampa Bay Area in the west and from Daytona Beach south to Martin County in the east. In addition, North Central Florida has emerged as a vernacular region representing the interior area in the northern part of the state.
Central Florida is one of Florida's three most common directional regions, the others being North Florida and South Florida. Lamme and Oldakowski note that the directional region is more used in the interior areas rather than on the coast. In fact, while coastal areas have their own regional vernacular identities such as the Space Coast and the Nature Coast, no vernacular regions were reported on the interior of the state other than Central Florida. Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development agency, identifies "Central Florida" as one of eight economic regions used by the agency and other state and outside entities, including the Florida Department of Transportation; this definition covers much of the same area as in Lamme and Oldakowski's survey, with some exceptions. It excludes North Central Florida, as well as the southern coastal counties; the Central region includes the Orlando metropolitan area and Sumter Counties in the interior, Volusia and Brevard Counties on the coast. The central cities of both metropolitan areas are in close proximity, as a result, their two metropolitan areas blend together in the area of Lakeland to make up a larger contiguous population center referred to as the I-4 corridor.
This is a population concentration that stretches from Tampa Bay on the west coast to Daytona Beach and Cape Canaveral on the east coast of the state. With the exception of hill terrain in southern Lake County, Hernando County, Pasco County and Polk County, Central Florida is flatland with significant amounts of open space and over 1,500 lakes and ponds. There is a mixture of wetlands, Oak and Pine forests, pastures and coastline. Major rivers include the St. Johns River, the Ocklawaha River, the Halifax River, the Econlockhatchee River. Major lakes include Lake Apopka, Lake Tohopekaliga, East Lake Tohopekaliga, Lake Louisa, Lake Monroe, Lake Jessup, the Butler Chain of Lakes. There are over 100 miles of coastline in Central Florida along the Atlantic Coast. Major beaches include Canaveral National Seashore, New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach, Indialantic Beach near Melbourne. Hurricanes are a threat to the coastal cities as evident by the 2004 hurricane season, which brought three major hurricanes to the Central Florida area: Charley and Frances.
Winters are dry and temperate with the average winter high temperature in Orlando being 72 °F. Summers are hot and humid with high temperatures averaging 92 °F. Peak summer heat arrives in early June and continues to early October; the combination of high temperatures, high humidity, opposing sea breezes from both the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, results in significant thunderstorm activity from June to September for the interior counties. Central Florida records more lightning strikes per area than any other region in Florida, Florida records more lightning strikes than any other state in the USA; as a result and more Central Florida, is referred to as the "Thunderstorm capital of the USA", or "Lightning Alley". These severe thunderstorms make Central Florida prone to many tornadoes. However, they are small, short lived, always rated as EF0 or EF1 size storms. At the end of the Civil War most of Central Florida was barely-inhabitable wetlands, it took a major drainage project financed by Philadelphia businessman Hamilton Disston in the 1880s to make the land available for settlement.
Sanford was incorporated in 1877 as port city at the intersection of Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River, it was envisioned as a transportation center, the city's founder, Henry S. Sanford, nicknamed it "the Gate City of South Florida", it became a hub for shipping agricultural products, which earned the city another nickname, "Celery City". Kissimmee boomed in the 1880s, it was the headquarters of Hamilton Disston's drainage company, The city was an important regional steamship port, owing that status to its location on Lake Tohopekaliga. The expansion of the railroads into Central Florida eliminated the need for Kissimmee's steamship industry; the Great Freeze of 1894-95 ruined citrus crops which had a detrimental ripple effect on the economy. The hard-packed sand of Volusia County's beaches lent itself to auto races beginning in 1903, before paved roads were common, leading to the area's reputation for cars and racing. Ormond Beach was a popular spot for those who liked fast cars after the
Satellite Beach, Florida
Satellite Beach is a coastal city situated in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 10,109 at the 2010 United States Census, it is located with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Indian River to the west. Satellite Beach is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Satellite Beach is located at 28°10′24″N 80°35′48″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.3 square miles. 2.9 square miles of it is land and 1.4 square miles of it is water. The Atlantic Ocean forms its eastern border, it is located on the local barrier island directly south of Patrick Air Force Base. It is part of the South Beaches. With both ocean and river frontage, the city is the largest beachside community in South Brevard County. There are 7.7 miles of shoreline in the City, including 2.8 miles of Atlantic Ocean beach, 1.3 miles of Banana River shoreline, 3.6 miles of shoreline fronting navigable canals connected to the Banana River. Satellite Beach is located in the region where temperate climatic zones overlap.
A study commissioned by NASA lends credence to the perception that Satellite Beach is located in a portion of the North American Atlantic shoreline with a reduced incidence of catastrophic hurricanes. Extremes range from 24 °F on December 24, 1989 to 99 °F on July 15, 1981. Threatened Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles nest on the city's ocean beaches at densities of one nest per 10 feet of shoreline per year. Endangered green sea turtles deposit an average of tens of nests along the city's ocean beach each year Endangered North Atlantic right whales calve off the city's shoreline. Endangered West Indian manatees the Banana River. Bald eagles forage over Samsons Island; the 12 acres of wetland created as mitigation by a local developer on Samsons Island provide nutrient-rich, sheltered aquatic habitat serving as finfish nursery and feeding ground for a diverse assemblage of birds and mammals. The city established Samsons Island Nature Park, the only gopher tortoise relocation recipient site on the barrier island.
It is occupied by 42 relocated tortoises and three, living on the island when development began. The city has erected five osprey nesting platforms on Samsons Island Nature Park, from which young have been fledged. Efforts are now under way to create habitat for use by gopher tortoises and scrub jays. Xeric scrub around the local county library, until the late 1990s, hosted a family of threatened Florida scrub jays; the city is working with faculty of the Florida Institute of Technology to promote graduate student research and class projects on Samsons Island Nature Park and to assist in devising and implementing maintenance programs to preserve and enhance desirable wildlife habitats. Due to the moderating influence of surrounding water bodies, the climate on the barrier island supports tropical species of plants found far to the south. Brevard County's barrier island to Cape Canaveral, constitutes the northernmost limit of the range of many of these plant species. At the same time, the infrequency and mildness of freezes in the Central Florida region serves to define the southern limit of many plants found in temperate zones.
Vegetated sand dunes are found along most of the beach's length and provide the major defense against storm events. Native plant species found on the dunes include sea oats, Sabal palmetto, sea grape, railroad vine, dollar weed, coral bean, Spanish bayonet, wax myrtle, yaupon holly, several grass species. More salt-tolerant and wind-tolerant species, such as sea oats and railroad vine, are found predominantly on the ocean side of the dune, while other dune vegetation species do not show such zonation; these plants assist in building the dune by trapping windblown sand and in stabilizing the dune with extensive lateral root systems. There are 10 acres of coquina rock outcrops exposed along the low-tide line of the city's ocean beach; the National Marine Fisheries Service has classified the rock as an Essential Fish Habitat-Habitat Area of Particular Concern. It found only in a few locations along the Eastern seaboard. On the city's ocean beach can be found fossil Atlantic ghost crabs, the remnants of a unique set of geological circumstances which preserved these creatures when they died in their burrows about 110,000 years ago.
There are significant deposits of sand, marl and phosphate within the city limits. In 1994, Satellite Beach was awarded the first annual Florida Excellence in Coastal Management Award; the city continued to develop its oceanfront. Volunteers have provided more than 10,000 hours each year to youth and public service programs. In 2010, the city began planning for a rise in sea level resulting from global warming. In 2011, the city became one of a few areas in the United States participating in an initiative to install solar panels on municipal buildings. In 2013, the city announced that it would undertake $36 million worth of work to restore beach areas and dunes along the coast, to areas battered by hurricanes in 2004; the project was underwritten by Brevard County and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. On December 4, 2013, there was a parade in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. There were one hundred Menorah-topped vehicles, a Menorah lighting, free food, live entertainment.
The annual Ocean and Beach Festival is organized by the Surfrider Foundation, Pure Ocean TV Productions and Anglers for Conservation. The Banana River Sail and Powe
Space Ghost
Space Ghost is a fictional character created by Hanna-Barbera Productions and designed by Alex Toth for CBS in the 1960s. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his teen sidekicks Jan and Blip the monkey, fought supervillains in outer space. In the 1990s, Space Ghost was brought back as a host for his own fictional late-night talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. In the 2000s, he was revamped as a serious superhero once again in a mini-series by DC Comics; the original series debuted in 1966. In the original series, Space Ghost was an intergalactic crime fighter from the Ghost Planet, he had the ability to be invisible and shoot various rays from the powerbands on his wrists. Space Ghost would fight such recurring supervillains as Moltar, Black Widow, Metallus and Creature King with the help of his sidekicks: Jan and their pet monkey, Blip; the original series shared time with an unrelated segment called Dino Boy in the Lost Valley. During its original run, there were a total of 18 Dino Boy episodes.
The series remained in syndication during the 1970s. Space Ghost was voiced by Gary Owens, best known for being the announcer for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Twenty-two new Space Ghost segments appeared on Space Stars on NBC in 1981; the episodes introduced a new assortment of villains including an evil version of Space Ghost named Space Spectre who came from an alternate universe. As in the original series, Space Ghost came to the aid of The Herculoids and vice versa; the Phantom Cruiser was given a more modern redesign as well. They frequently crossed paths with the Teen Force and it appeared that Jan and Teen Force member Kid Comet were dating as well. Gary Owens reprised his role as Space Ghost, while Steve J. Spears played the role of Jace and Alexandra Stoddart played Jan; the character Space Ghost hosts a talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, which began broadcasting in 1994 on Cartoon Network. One-time villains Zorak and Moltar were Space Ghost's sidekicks; the show spoofed late-night talk show.
Space Ghost is voiced by George Lowe. In this version, Space Ghost's real name is Tad Ghostal, his twin brother Chad once attempts to hijack his show; the show reused animation cels from the Hanna-Barbera archives. The show ran from 1994 to 1999, returned with two new episodes in 2001, moving to the Adult Swim programming block that year; the characters of Jan and Blip appeared twice on the show. After eight seasons, the show went into hiatus. New episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast appeared on the "Animation" channel of the GameTap service, beginning on May 30, 2006. On May 31, 2008, the show ended. Following the popularity of Coast to Coast, the show provided Cartoon Planet. Cartoon Planet was an hour-long cartoon block hosted by Space Ghost with his imprisoned sidekicks Zorak and Brak. Due to the popularity of the series' songs, two albums were released: Space Ghost's Surf & Turf and Space Ghost's Musical Bar-B-Que. Lowe provided the voice for Space Ghost on both records. Space Ghost appeared in some of the Adult Swim projects: In the Robot Chicken episode "Suck It," he was seen as a member of the Adult Swim Council alongside Peter Griffin and Master Shake.
In an episode of Perfect Hair Forever, he is friends with a shark. Space Ghost appeared in four episodes of The Brak Show. Space Ghost and Zorak make cameos in Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters, where he is killed by a missile that Meatwad launches. In a scene of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Multiple Meat", when an older version of Frylock returns home, Space Ghost can be seen in a dumpster outside the Aqua Teen's home. Space Ghost along with Birdman appeared in the background in multiple scenes of the Season 4 episode of The Powerpuff Girls titled "Members Only", they are shown as members of the Association of World Super Men. Space Ghost and his sidekicks appear in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Bold Beginnings" with Gary Owens reprising his role of Space Ghost, Jan voiced by Cathy Cavadini, Jace voiced by James Arnold Taylor, he teams up with Batman to fight Creature King who had captured Jan and Blip. Space Ghost appears in the Wacky Races episode "The Wack Stuff".
Three voice actors played Space Ghost in the three "main" Space Ghost series: Gary Owens in Space Ghost, Space Stars, Batman: The Brave and the Bold. George Lowe in Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Cartoon Planet, The Brak Show, Perfect Hair Forever, Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters, Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion Andy Merrill in Space Ghost Coast to Coast as "Live Action Space Ghost" and Cartoon Planet as "Living Ghost" Space Ghost has appeared in the following comic books: Space Ghost Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes Golden Comics Digest TV Stars Space Ghost Cartoon Network Presents Space Ghost Future Quest Scooby-Doo Team Up Green Lantern/Space Ghost Annual #1 Space Ghost's Coast to Coast version was released as an action figure by Toycom, complete with a desk and chair, a series of cue cards and a mug. Included were several different sets of hands, allowing the figure to be used either as the
Bascule bridge
A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or "leaf", throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or double-leafed; the name comes from the French term for balance scale. Bascule bridges are the most common type of movable span because they open and require little energy to operate, while providing the possibility for unlimited vertical clearance for marine traffic. Bascule bridges have been in use since ancient times. However, it was not until the adoption of steam power in the 1850s that long, heavy spans could be moved enough for practical application. There are three types of bascule bridge designs, counterweights required to balance a bascule's span may be located either above or below the bridge deck; the fixed-trunnion rotates around a large axle. The Chicago bascule name derives from the location where it is used, is a refinement by Joseph Strauss of the fixed-trunnion; the rolling lift trunnion, raises the span by rolling on a track resembling a rocking chair base.
The "Scherzer" rolling lift is a refinement patented in 1893 by the American engineer William Donald Scherzer. The rarer Rall type combines rolling lift with longitudinal motion on trunnions, it was patented by Theodor Rall. One of the few surviving examples is the Broadway Bridge, in Oregon. Drawbridge List of bascule bridges Moveable bridges for a list of other movable bridge types
Alan Shepard
Rear Admiral Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, businessman. In 1961 he became the first American to travel into space, in 1971 he walked on the Moon. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Shepard saw action with the surface navy during World War II, he became a naval aviator in 1946, a test pilot in 1950. He was selected as one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959, in May 1961 he made the first crewed Project Mercury flight, MR-3, in a spacecraft he named Freedom 7, his craft was not capable of achieving orbit. He became the second person, the first American, to travel into space, the first space traveler to manually control the orientation of his craft. In the final stages of Project Mercury, Shepard was scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 10, planned as a three-day mission, he named Mercury Spacecraft 15B Freedom 7 II in honor of his first spacecraft, but the mission was canceled. Shepard was designated as the commander of the first crewed Project Gemini mission, but was grounded in 1963 due to Ménière's disease, an inner-ear ailment that caused episodes of extreme dizziness and nausea.
This was surgically corrected in 1969, in 1971, Shepard commanded the Apollo 14 mission, piloting the Apollo Lunar Module Antares to the most accurate landing of the Apollo missions. At age 47, he became the fifth, the oldest, the earliest-born person to walk on the Moon, the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to do so. During the mission, he hit two golf balls on the lunar surface, he was Chief of the Astronaut Office from November 1963 to July 1969, from June 1971 until his retirement from the United States Navy and NASA on August 1, 1974. He was promoted to rear admiral on the first astronaut to reach that rank. Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was born on November 18, 1923, in Derry, New Hampshire, to Alan B. Shepard Sr. and Pauline Renza Shepard. He had a younger sister, known as Polly, he was one of many famous descendants of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren. His father, Alan B. Shepard Sr. known as Bart, worked in the Derry National Bank, owned by Shepard's grandfather. Alan Sr. joined the National Guard in 1915 and served in France with the American Expeditionary Force during World War I.
He remained in the National Guard between the wars, was recalled to active duty during World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Shepard attended Adams School in Derry. In 1936, he went to the Pinkerton Academy, a private school in Derry that his father had attended and where his grandfather had been a trustee, he completed years 9 to 12 there. Fascinated by flight, he created a model airplane club at the Academy, his Christmas present in 1938 was a flight in a Douglas DC-3; the following year he began cycling to Manchester Airfield, where he would do odd jobs in exchange for the occasional ride in an airplane or informal flying lesson. Shepard graduated from Pinkerton Academy in 1940; because World War II was raging in Europe, his father wanted him to join the Army. Shepard chose the Navy instead, he passed the entrance exam to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1940, but at sixteen was too young to enter that year. The Navy sent him to the Admiral Farragut Academy, a prep school for the Naval Academy, from which he graduated with the class of 1941.
Tests administered at Farragut indicated an IQ of 145. At Annapolis, Shepard enjoyed aquatic sports, he was a keen and competitive sailor, winning several races, including a regatta held by the Annapolis Yacht Club. He learned to sail all the types of boats the academy owned, up to and including USS Freedom, a 90-foot schooner, he participated in swimming, rowed with the eight. During his Christmas break in 1942, he went to Principia College to be with his sister, unable to go home owing to wartime travel restrictions. There he met Louise Brewer, whose parents were pensioners on the du Pont family estate, like Renza Shepard, were devout Christian Scientists. Owing to the war, the usual four-year course at Annapolis was cut short by a year, he graduated and was commissioned as an ensign on June 6, 1944, ranked 463rd in his class of 915; the following month he became secretly engaged to Louise. In 1944 he received a Bachelor of Science at the United States Naval Academy. After a month of classroom instruction in aviation, Shepard was posted to a destroyer, USS Cogswell, in August 1944.
At the time the destroyer was deployed on active service in the Pacific Ocean. Shepard joined it when it returned to the naval base at Ulithi on October 30. After just two days at sea Cogswell helped rescue 172 sailors from the cruiser USS Reno, torpedoed by a Japanese submarine escorted the crippled ship back to Ulithi; the ship was buffeted by Typhoon Cobra in December 1944, a storm in which three other destroyers went down, battled kamikazes in the invasion of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945. Cogswell returned to the United States for an overhaul in February 1945. Shepard was given three weeks' leave; the ceremony took place on March 3, 1945, in St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in Delaware, his father, served as his best man. The newlyweds had only a brief time together before Shepard rejoined Cogswell at the Long Beach Navy Yard on April 5, 1945
Florida
Florida is the southernmost contiguous state in the United States. The state is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Straits of Florida. Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, the 8th-most densely populated of the U. S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States; the Miami metropolitan area is Florida's most populous urban area. Tallahassee is the state's capital. Florida's $1.0 trillion economy is the fourth largest in the United States. If it were a country, Florida would be the 16th largest economy in the world, the 58th most populous as of 2018. In 2017, Florida's per capita personal income was ranking 26th in the nation; the unemployment rate in September 2018 was 3.5% and ranked as the 18th in the United States. Florida exports nearly $55 billion in goods made in the 8th highest among all states.
The Miami Metropolitan Area is by far the largest urban economy in Florida and the 12th largest in the United States with a GDP of $344.9 billion as of 2017. This is more than twice the number of the next metro area, the Tampa Bay Area, which has a GDP of $145.3 billion. Florida is home to 51 of the world's billionaires with most of them residing in South Florida; the first European contact was made in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, who called it la Florida upon landing there in the Easter season, known in Spanish as Pascua Florida. Florida was a challenge for the European colonial powers before it gained statehood in the United States in 1845, it was a principal location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans, racial segregation after the American Civil War. Today, Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth, as well as for its increasing environmental issues; the state's economy relies on tourism and transportation, which developed in the late 19th century.
Florida is renowned for amusement parks, orange crops, winter vegetables, the Kennedy Space Center, as a popular destination for retirees. Florida is the flattest state in the United States. Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in the U. S. state of Florida. Florida's close proximity to the ocean influences many aspects of daily life. Florida is a reflection of multiple inheritance. Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, continues to attract celebrities and athletes, it is internationally known for golf, auto racing, water sports. Several beaches in Florida have emerald-colored coastal waters. About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of the Atlantic Ocean. Florida has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States 1,350 miles, not including the contribution of the many barrier islands. Florida has a total of 4,510 islands; this is the second-highest number of islands of any state of the United States.
It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the state is characterized by sedimentary soil. Florida has the lowest high point of any U. S. state. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south; the American alligator, American crocodile, American flamingo, Roseate spoonbill, Florida panther, bottlenose dolphin, manatee can be found in Everglades National Park in the southern part of the state. Along with Hawaii, Florida is one of only two states that has a tropical climate, is the only continental state with either a tropical climate or a coral reef; the Florida Reef is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States, the third-largest coral barrier reef system in the world. By the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major Native American groups included the Apalachee of the Florida Panhandle, the Timucua of northern and central Florida, the Ais of the central Atlantic coast, the Tocobaga of the Tampa Bay area, the Calusa of southwest Florida and the Tequesta of the southeastern coast.
Florida was the first region of the continental United States to be visited and settled by Europeans. The earliest known European explorers came with the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2, 1513, he named the region Florida. The story that he was searching for the Fountain of Youth is mythical and only appeared long after his death. In May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land, he described seeing a thick wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet, with intertwined and elevated roots making landing difficult. The Spanish introduced Christianity, horses, the Castilian language, more to Florida. Spain established several settlements with varying degrees of success. In 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, making it the first attempted settlement in Florida, but it was abandoned by 1561.
In 1565, the settlement of St. Augustine was established under the leadership of admiral and
Ed White (astronaut)
Edward Higgins White II, was an American aeronautical engineer, U. S. Air Force officer, test pilot, NASA astronaut. On June 3, 1965, he became the first American to walk in space. White died along with astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger B. Chaffee during prelaunch testing for the first manned Apollo mission at Cape Canaveral, he was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his flight in Gemini 4 and was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor posthumously. White was born on November 14, 1930, in San Antonio, Texas, to parents Edward Higgins White Sr. who became a Major General in the U. S. Air Force, Mary Rosina White, he attended school in his hometown and became a member of the Boy Scouts of America, where he earned the rank of Second Class Scout. After graduation from high school in 1948, he was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where in 1952 he earned his Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force.
He attended flight school, a course that takes just over a year. Following graduation from flight school in 1953, White was assigned to the 22nd Fighter Day Squadron at Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, he spent three and a half years in West Germany flying in F-86 Sabre and F-100 Super Sabre squadrons in the defense of NATO. After graduating from West Point, White competed for a spot on the U. S. Olympic team in the 400 meter hurdles race, he missed making the team by only 1/10 second. His hobbies included squash, swimming and photography. 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. Following graduation, White was selected to attend the U. S. Air Force Test Pilot School at California, he earned his credentials as a test pilot in 1959 and was assigned to the Aeronautical Systems Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. During his career, White would log more than 3,000 flight hours with the Air Force, including about 2,200 hours in jets, would attain the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
In 1953, White married Patricia Finegan. The Whites would have Edward White III and Bonnie Lynn White. White was a devout Methodist. White was one of nine men chosen as part of the second group of astronauts in 1962. Within an elite group, White was considered to be a high-flier by the management of NASA, he was chosen with Command Pilot James McDivitt. White became the first American to make a walk in space, on June 3, 1965, he found the experience so exhilarating that he was reluctant to terminate the EVA at the allotted time, had to be ordered back into the spacecraft. While he was outside, a spare thermal glove floated away through the open hatch of the spacecraft, becoming an early piece of space debris in low Earth orbit, until it burned up upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. There was a mechanical problem with the hatch mechanism, which made it difficult to open and to relatch, which added to the time constraint of the spacewalk, could have threatened the lives of both men if McDivitt had been unable to get the hatch latched, as they could not re-enter the atmosphere with an unsealed hatch.
I'm coming back in... and it's the saddest moment of my life. White's next assignment after Gemini 4 was as the backup for Gemini 7 Command Pilot Frank Borman, he was 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. In March 1966 he was selected as senior pilot for the first manned Apollo flight, designated AS-204, along with Command Pilot Virgil "Gus" Grissom, who had flown in space on the Mercury 4 Liberty Bell 7 mission and as commander of the Gemini 3 Molly Brown mission, Pilot Roger Chaffee, who had yet to fly into space; the mission, which the men named Apollo 1 in June, was planned for late 1966, but delays in the spacecraft development pushed the launch into 1967. The launch of Apollo 1 was planned for February 21, 1967.
The crew entered the spacecraft on January 27, mounted atop its Saturn IB booster on Launch Pad 34 at Cape Kennedy, for a "plugs-out" test of the spacecraft, which included a rehearsal of the launch countdown procedure. Midway through the test, a fire broke out in the pure oxygen-filled cabin. White's job was to open the hatch cover in an emergency, which he tried to do. Removing the cover to open the hatch was impossible, because the plug door design required venting slightly greater-than-atmospheric pressure and pulling the cover into the cabin. Grissom was unable to reach the cabin vent control to his left; the intense heat raised the cabin pressure more, to the point where the cabin walls ruptured. The astronauts were killed by smoke inhalation; the fire's ignition source was determined to be a spark that jumped from a wire on the far left of the spacecraft, under Grissom's seat, but their deaths were attributed to a wide range of lethal hazards in the early Apollo Command Module design and workmanship and conditions of the test, including the pressurized 100% oxygen pre-launch atmosphere, many wiring and plumbing fl
