Astronaut Bruce McCandless born 1937

Bruce McCandless II, born June 8, 1937 in Boston, Massachusetts, went into space twice. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1958, and received flight training from the Naval Air Training Command in Pensacola, Florida and in Kingsville, Texas.

He was selected as an astronaut in the NASA Astronaut Group 5 at age 28, the youngest member of the group. He served as mission control capsule communicator (CAPCOM) during Apollo 11.  He served as CAPCOM for Apollo 14, as well as astronaut support crew.  He was reassigned to the Skylab program, serving as CAPCOM for Skylab 3 and Skylab 4.

His first mission was aboard Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-41-B) as mission specialist in February 1984. During the mission he performed the first untethered spacewalk, using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), traveling 322 ft away from the shuttle. He spent eight days in space.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-31) as mission specialist in April 1990. He was planning to conduct an EVA with fellow astronaut Kathryn Sullivan to fix and array that could not be deployed through ground control, but the problem was fixed without the need of an EVA.  He returned to Earth after 5 days in space.

McCandless passed away in December 2017.

Happy birthday, astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson!

Robert "Hoot" Gibson, born October 30, 1946 in Cooperstown, New York, is a veteran of five space shuttle missions.

His first mission was as pilot on Challenger (STS-41-B) in February 1984.  It was the first flight to involve an untethered spacewalk.  He spent almost 8 days in space and completed 128 orbits.

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-61-C) as commander in January 1986, the last shuttle mission before the Challenger disaster. He spent over 6 days in space and completed 98 orbits.

Gibson's third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-27) as commander in December 1988.  It was a classified payload for the US Department of Defense. He spent over four days in space and completed 68 orbits.

His fourth flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-47) as commander in September 1992.  He carried the first Japanese astronaut, Mamoru Mohri, and the first African-American woman, Mae Jemison into space.  He spent almost 8 days in space and completed 126 orbits.

His fifth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-71) in June-July 1995 to the Russian space station Mir.  It was the first space shuttle docking with Mir.  He spent almost 10 days in space and completed 153 orbits. 

He married fellow astronaut Rhea Seddon in May 1981.  He retired from NASA in November 1996 and became a pilot for Southwest Airlines.  

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Robert Stewart!

Robert Stewart, born August 13, 1942, in Washington, DC, is a veteran of two space flights.

His first mission was aboard Challenger (STS-41-B) as mission specialist in February 1984.  He performed the first untethered EVAs with fellow astronaut Bruce McCandless.

His second and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-51-J) as mission specialist in October 1985.  The mission carried a payload for the Department of Defense.

Stewart is a retired brigadier general of the US Army. 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Michael Coats!

Michael Coats, born January 16, 1946 in Sacramento, California, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. 

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-41-B) as pilot in August-September 1984.  The  mission involved deploying three commercial communications satellites.

His second flight was again aboard Discovery (STS-29) as commander in March 1989.  The primary mission was the third and final component of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS).

His third and final flight was aboard, of course, Discovery (STS-38) as commander in April-May 1991.  This payload was for the Department of Defense, so not much info about this flight.

Happy birthday, Apollo and Space Shuttle astronaut Vance Brand!

Vance D. Brand, born May 9, 1931 in Longmont, Colorado, is a former NASA astronaut, who flew on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and three Space Shuttle missions.

In July 1975, he was Command Module Pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project with Tom Stafford and Deke Slayton, the first joint mission between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. 

In November 1982, he served as Commander aboard Columbia (STS-5), the first mission to deploy satellites.

His third  trip into space was Commander aboard Challenger (STS-41-B) in February 1984. which featured the first untethered spacewalk  by Bruce McCandless.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Columbia (STS-35) in December 1990.  At the time he  was the oldest person to go into space at 59.

Remembering astronaut Bruce McCandless II (1937-2017)

Bruce McCandless II, Space Shuttle astronaut, passed away December 21, 2017.  He is best known for being the first astronaut to fly untethered from his spacecraft. On the fourth day of mission STS-41-B aboard Challenger in February, Bruce operated the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) for the first time. McCandless ventured out about 320 feet from the shuttle.

His second and final mission was on Discovery (STS-31) in April 1990, when he helped deploy the Hubble Space Telescope.

McCandless passed away at his home in California.  He was 80 years old.

Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-41-B) launched 1984, first untethered space walk

L-R Seated: Commander Vance B. Brand; Pilot Robert L. Gibson.  

L-R Standing: Mission Specialist Robert L. Stewart, Ronald McNair,, Bruce McCandless II.

The tenth Space Shuttle mission, STS-41-B, blasted off February 3, 1984 on the Challenger. IIt  was the first space flight for Ronald McNair.  Both McCandless and Stewart performed the first untethered EVAs on the fourth day.  They are pictured above in the Manual Maneuvering Units.

Unfortunately, Challenger and McNair met their end on January 28, 1986