Technology has changed a lot since the first spacewalk 50 years ago. One such innovation is the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), which was tested by Bruce McCandless on the first ever untethered EVA on STS 41B in 1984. Join Outside the Spacecraft exhibition curator Jennifer Levasseur as she discusses the MMU and the use of maneuvering units over the course of EVA history and to present day.
Meet at the nose of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird in the Boeing Aviation Hangar.
About the Ask an Expert Series: On the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at 12:30 pm at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, a Museum staff member talks to the public about the history, collection, or personalities related to a specific artifact or exhibition in the Museum. For topics of upcoming Ask and Expert talks at the Udvar-Hazy Center, click here.
On February 7, 1984 during Space Shuttle mission STS 41-B, astronaut Bruce McCandless made the first untethered spacewalk as he flew some 300 feet from the Shuttle in the first test of the MMU. This image was taken several days later on February 11.