Bruce McCandless II was an American NASA astronaut and United States Navy officer best known for making the first untethered spacewalk in history in February 1984, using a jet-propelled backpack called the Manned Maneuvering Unit to fly freely away from the Space Shuttle Challenger. The photograph of McCandless drifting alone against the black of space, with no tether or umbilical connecting him to the spacecraft, became one of the most iconic images of the Space Shuttle era. He flew two Shuttle missions during his career.
Facts
Defining ContributionFirst untethered spacewalk, using the Manned Maneuvering Unit 2 Notable Mission Dating
Selection Year In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Bruce McCandless II (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia Bruce McCandless II lead section infobox, selection field (w-bbfill-edspace5-0927)View the Source 2. Bruce McCandless II - Wikipedia
Infobox, birth_date
1937-06-08
Early life and education
was born on June 8, 1937
Infobox, death_date
2017-12-21
Lead, sentence 1
was an American Navy officer
STS-41-B
This mission marked the first checkout of the MMU
Lead, sentence 1 [defining-contribution]
completed the first untethered spacewalk
View the SourceWikidata: Bruce McCandless II
Wikidata Q433608, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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