If you’re older than a Gen Z, you might remember the "most terrifying space photo" depicting astronaut Bruce McCandless II, taken from the space shuttle Challenger on February 7, 1984.
Nearly forty years later, we finally have the full story behind this groundbreaking yet petrifying historical moment, with footage behind the revolutionary photo recently resurfacing on social media.
On February 7 and again on February 9, 1984, Bruce and fellow astronaut Bob Stewart strapped themselves into Manned Maneuvering Units (MMUs) and left the safety of their ship to make an unconfined spacewalk as they and Challenger hurtled along at nearly 28,900 kilometers per hour (18,000 miles per hour), IFLScience reported.
The full story behind the "most terrifying space photo" with resurfaced footage has gone viral
Image credits: NASA
As history goes, Bruce was the first to take the leap and become the first human in history to make an untethered spacewalk, as per the publication.
In a piece for the Guardian in 2015, Bruce recalled: "My wife was at mission control, and there was quite a bit of apprehension. I wanted to say something similar to Neil [Armstrong] when he landed on the moon, so I said, 'It may have been a small step for Neil, but it’s a heck of a big leap for me.' That loosened the tension a bit."
Image credits: NASA
Relative to Challenger, the MMU enabled the two astronauts to hurtle along at 28,900 kilometers per hour (18,000 miles per hour) without feeling the nauseating and terrifying speed, using nitrogen for thrust.
Astronaut Vance D. Brand explained on NASA's website in 2020: “It was supposed to be an early-day Buck Rogers flying belt, if you know what I mean, except it didn’t have the person zooming … real fast.
Astronaut Bruce McCandless II became the first human in history to make an untethered spacewalk
Image credits: NASA
“It was a huge device on your back that was very well designed [and] redundant so that it was very safe, but [it] move[d] along at about one to two or three miles per hour. It used cold nitrogen gas coming out in spurts to thrust you around and everything.”
Despite experiencing a trailblazing moment which had never been done before, Bruce reportedly felt a sense of professional accomplishment, as he said: "I don’t like those overused lines 'slipped the surly bonds of Earth'; but when I was free from the shuttle, they felt accurate.
“It was a wonderful feeling, a mix of personal elation and professional pride: it had taken many years to get to that point."
Bruce and fellow astronaut Bob Stewart strapped themselves into Manned Maneuvering Units (MMUs), hurling along at 28,900 kilometers per hour
Image credits: NASA
Now, footage behind the spectacular moment has been going viral on the nextf**kinglevel Reddit forum.
In the video, Bruce is seen slowly floating away from the ship, levitating further and further away until he is seen just slowly drifting into the empty void that is the universe.
Another Redditor wrote: “Hard to believe he’s not being pulled into orbit with b*lls of steel.”
A separate person chimed in: “Super-ultra-mega-nope. I want to invent like 20 more variants of nope, just for this. It's the most nope.”
You can watch the footage behind the groundbreaking photo below:
After receiving numerous accolades, including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1974 and the Legion of Merit in 1988, Bruce died on December 21, 2017, at age 80.
He was survived by his second wife, Ellen Shields McCandless, two children, and two grandchildren.
Bob is still living at the age of 81. According to Hville Blast, the retired astronaut’s name has been honored as a street in Cummings Research Park, located primarily in the city of Huntsville, Alabama, and is the second largest research park in the US.
Besides his notable contribution to space research, Bob also retired as a US Army brigadier general and served as deputy commanding general of the US Strategic Defense Command at Redstone Arsenal.
Redditors and space enthusiasts shared their terror after watching the footage
