It was forty years ago this week that two NASA astronauts embarked into uncharted orbital waters, becoming the first to perform a spacewalk without the benefit of a tether. These thrilling photos remind us of this extraordinary moment in spaceflight history.
Over the decades, hundreds of astronauts have bravely ventured outside their spacecraft to work in the dangerous void that is space. For the vast majority of these spacewalks, there was a common thread, so to speak—a safety tether linking the astronaut to their orbital home. In 1984, NASA experimented with an innovative approach to spacewalks, giving astronauts the freedom to zip around the Space Shuttle, and to do so while unattached. The tests were successful, but it never took off as an idea. Nonetheless, this experiment left us with some wild photos.
