To Fly Free in Space
Explanation:
What would it be like to fly free over the seas and clouds of Earth?
The first to experience such an
"un
tethered
space walk" were
NASA astronauts
Bruce McCandless and
Robert Stewart during
Space Shuttle mission
41-B in 1984.
McCandless,
pictured above, used a
Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) to move in and
around the cargo bay of the space shuttle.
The
MMU works by shooting jets of
nitrogen and has since been used to help deploy and
retrieve satellites.
On
Earth, an MMU weighs over 140 kilograms,
but, like everything, is weightless in space.
The MMU was replaced in 2001 with the
SAFER backpack propulsion unit.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
