On June 3, 1965, astronaut Edward H. White II became the first American to perform an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) or "spacewalk." During his 20 minutes outside Gemini IV, White remained connected to the spacecraft's life-support and communications systems by the golden "umbilical cord," and he used a hand-held jet thruster to maneuver in space. His crewmate, James A. McDivitt, remained inside the spacecraft. The first EVA had been performed three months earlier by Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei A. Leonov, who remained outside his spacecraft for about 10 minutes.