Pulse-Pounding Images Recall NASA’s Historic First Untethered Spacewalk, 40 Years On

“It might have been one small step for Neil,” McCandless quipped in reference to Armstrong’s well-known phrases, “but it surely’s a heck of a giant leap for me.” As The New York Instances reported on the time, “Freed from any lifeline and propelled into the darkish void by tiny jets, they turned, in impact, the primary human satellites.”

The MMUs have been powered by two dozen gaseous nitrogen thrusters saved in tanks on the astronaut’s backpack, enabling free motion in area. Management was achieved via hand controllers, permitting spacewalkers to regulate thrust and path for exact navigation throughout extravehicular actions. The know-how demonstration labored, however “many within the company have been fearful about the usage of a self-propelled and untethered backpack in area,” as NASA historian Jennifer Ross-Nazzal wrote in her retrospective.