On February 7, 1984, 370 kilometres above the earth, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless II floated into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Challenger and prepared to make history. Strapped to his back was a bulky device resembling a futuristic chair, known as the Manned Maneuvering Unit or MMU. As he gently touched the joysticks on the twin armrests, jets of nitrogen gas propelled him out of the payload bay and out into the void. In that moment, McCandless achieved the ultimate dream of every astronaut, becoming the first human in history to fly freely and untethered outside the safety of a spacecraft. Rocket packs are a staple of science fiction, allowing heroes and villains alike to zip around freely both in space and on the ground indeed, where would the Mandalorians in Star Wars be without them? Today, however, Extravehicular Activities or EVAs AKA “spacewalks” are always performed with the astronauts safely tethered to their spacecraft. But wouldn’t a space jetpack give them greater mobility? Why aren’t devices like the MMU used anymore? Well, strap into your chair and let’s dive into it all shall we? This is the long and fascinating history of the space jet pack.

Author: Gilles Messier
Host: Simon Whistler
Editor: Daven Hiskey
Producer: Samuel Avila

0:00 The Story of the Jet Pack
19:42 Getting Stuck Out There