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Free Flying Orbital EVA
To Fly Free in Space

Product Description
At about 100 meters from the cargo bay of the space shuttle Challenger,
Bruce McCandless II was farther out than anyone had ever been before.
Guided by a
Manned
Maneuvering Unit (MMU),
astronaut McCandless,
pictured
above, was floating free in
space.
McCandless
and fellow
NASA
astronaut Robert
Stewart were the first to
experience
such an
"untethered
space
walk"
during Space
Shuttle mission
41-B
in
1984.
The MMU
works by shooting jets of
nitrogen
and has since been 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.
Credit:
STS-41B,
NASA Text: APOD
Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless II, is seen further away from the confines and safety of his ship than any previous astronaut has ever been. This space first was made possible by the Manned Manuevering Unit or MMU, a nitrogen jet propelled backpack. After a series of test maneuvers inside and above Challenger's payload bay, McCandless went "free-flying" to a distance of 320 feet away from the Orbiter.
This stunning orbital panorama view shows McCandless out there amongst the black and blue of Earth and space.
At about 100 meters from the cargo bay of the space shuttle Challenger, Bruce McCandless II was further out than anyone had ever been before. Guided by a Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), astronaut McCandless, pictured above, was floating free in space. McCandless and fellow NASA astronaut Robert Stewart were the first to experience such an "untethered space walk" during Space Shuttle mission 41-B in 1984. The MMU works by shooting jets of nitrogen and has since been 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.