Furthest In Space

[Ginnie]

I'm feeling a bit lazy in the research area, so I'm going to ask you guys this question because I know someone can answer it really quickly:

What was the furthest man had been into space before the Apollo program? I know it has to be a Gemini mission, but which one?

[laurel]

Gemini 11.
www.astronautix.com/flights/gemini11.htm

The site also says about Gemini 12, "Among the secondary objectives were tethered vehicle evaluation, experiments, third revolution rendezvous and docking, automatic reentry demonstration, docked maneuvering for a high-apogee excursion, docking practice, systems tests, and Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) parking. The high-apogee excursion was not attempted because an anomaly was noted in the GATV primary propulsion system during insertion, and parking was not attempted because the GATV's attitude control gas was depleted. All other objectives were achieved."

[Ginnie]

They did good work.
They docked with the Agena and restarted its engine to get them 850 miles out. Then docked and undocked four more times.
No EVA was attempted, but they did de-pressurize and open the hatch and did photographic experiments. It was called a "standup EVA", which is a term I've never heard before. I'm just getting this information now from one of my books at home.
It is later on in this mission that Gordon rides the capsule like a pony.
The more I read about the Gemini missions, the more interesting they become.
I also noticed that Apollo was actually started before Gemini.

[laurel]

There was also a standup EVA later, on Apollo 15. They did it soon after they landed on the Moon.

[Bob B.]

A standup EVA, or SEVA, occurs anytime an astronaut partially, but not completely, exits the spacecraft. They were pretty common during the Gemini and Apollo missions. Here is a list:

Gemini 10 - Collins
Gemini 11 - Gordon
Gemini 12 - Aldrin (2 each)
Apollo 9 - Scott
Apollo 15 - Scott, Irwin
Apollo 16 - Duke
Apollo 17 - Schmitt

The Gemini SEVA were mainly to perform photography. The Apollo 9 SEVA was to observe Schweickart during the PLSS test. Scott's Apollo 15 SEVA was to survey the LM landing site. The remaining SEVA were to assist the CMP's EVA during retrieval of film cartridges from the SM.