To Fly Free in Space
Explanation:
What would it be like to fly free in space?
At about 100 meters from the cargo bay of the
space shuttle Challenger,
Bruce McCandless II was living the dream --
floating farther out than anyone had ever been before.
Guided by a
Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), astronaut McCandless,
pictured, was
floating free in space.
McCandless and fellow
NASA astronaut
Robert Stewart were the first to
experience such an
"un
tethered
space walk"
during
Space Shuttle mission
41-B in
1984.
The MMU worked by shooting jets of
nitrogen
and was used to help deploy and
retrieve satellites.
With a mass over 140 kilograms, an
MMU is heavy
on
Earth,
but, like everything, is weightless when drifting in orbit.
The MMU was replaced with the
SAFER backpack propulsion unit.
Memorial:
Astronaut
Bruce McCandless II Dies at 80
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.
