First ‘Human Satellite’ Orbits the Earth 30 Years Ago Today [VIDEO]

It's hard to believe that it has been 30 years since a human first orbited the Earth untethered from their spacecraft. It was 30 years ago today Bruce McCandless orbited 170 above the Earth independent of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

This mission, STS-41-B, marked the maiden voyage of the MMU, the Manned Maneuvering Unit. At times during his excursion from the shuttle, McCandless drifted freely at distances of 320 feet from Challenger. McCandless himself designed the bulky thruster pack used for the mission.