Astronaut Bruce McCandless II floats untethered away from the safety of the space shuttle, with nothing but his Manned Maneuvering Unit keeping him alive. The first person in history to do so.

Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by tysenburg
image showing Astronaut Bruce McCandless II floats untethered away from the safety of the space shuttle, with nothing but his Manned Maneuvering Unit keeping him alive. The first person in history to do so.

the--larch on May 2nd, 2019 at 04:55 UTC »

I wonder what happened to version I?

MasterCrander on May 2nd, 2019 at 04:58 UTC »

His description of the experience:

I was grossly over-trained. I was just anxious to get out there and fly. I felt very comfortable ... It got so cold my teeth were chattering and I was shivering, but that was a very minor thing. ... I’d been told of the quiet vacuum you experience in space, but with three radio links saying, ‘How’s your oxygen holding out?’, ‘Stay away from the engines!’ and ‘When’s my turn?’, it wasn’t that peaceful ... It was a wonderful feeling, a mix of personal elation and professional pride: it had taken many years to get to that point.

bustduster on May 2nd, 2019 at 05:50 UTC »

Suspended motionless at 17,268 mph