How does it really feel to fly in area with none attachments to a spaceship? Surreal, proper? The expertise may be actually out of this world – flying freely within the vastness of the cosmos! Such untethered spacewalks are pivotal in varied area missions, enabling astronauts to carry out duties resembling satellite tv for pc deployment, restore, scientific experiments, and extra.
Right this moment’s NASA Astronomy Image of the Day is a snapshot of a well-known Astronaut Bruce McCandless II flying freely in area! McCandless II discovered himself residing the dream, flying roughly 100 meters away from the cargo bay of the area shuttle Challenger. Drifting farther into the expanse of area than anybody had ventured earlier than, he embodied the epitome of exploration, NASA defined whereas sharing the photograph.
Within the yr 1984, throughout Area Shuttle mission 41-B, McCandless, alongside fellow NASA astronaut Robert Stewart, turned the pioneer of the “untethered area stroll” guided by a Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). The MMU relied on jets of nitrogen as a propellant and performed a vital function in satellite tv for pc deployment and retrieval. “With a mass over 140 kilograms, an MMU is heavy on Earth, however, like every part, is weightless when drifting in orbit. The MMU was later changed with the SAFER backpack propulsion unit,” NASA talked about.
FIRST astronaut to fly untethered
This spacewalk by Astronaut Bruce McCandless II is iconic as he turned the primary astronaut to fly untethered from his spacecraft. Sadly, he handed away on Dec. 21, 2017, on the age of 80.
His contributions prolonged past that extraordinary second captured within the {photograph}. McCandless served as a mission specialist on two area shuttle missions. Throughout STS-41B in 1984, he launched into the well-known spacewalk, showcasing his exceptional braveness and talent. Subsequently, on STS-31 in 1990, he performed a vital function within the deployment of the Hubble Area Telescope, a monumental achievement that expanded our understanding of the universe. NASA has knowledgeable that McCandless logged greater than 312 hours in area, together with 4 hours of flight time utilizing the MMU.
