3. Manned manoeuvring unit
Like Gagarin, Bruce McCandless must have some rock-solid goolies. Would you push off into outer space with only a gas-filled rocket pack strapped to your back? McCandless did, so we salute him and the device he used.
Not so much a spacecraft as an extra-vehicular device, but when it's the only thing that's going to allow you to get back to your extraterrestrial conveyance, we think you'll afford it the same respect as any other.
The MMU got its debut on 7 February 1984 when McCandless used it and was made famous by two photographs taken on 12 February, when McCandless used it to put a distance of 97m between himself and Columbia.
Propulsion was provided by nitrogen pumped out of 24 nozzles at the rear of the MMU, and it could run for around 6 hours, depending on what the astronaut was up to. NASA retired the manoeuvring unit in 1986, after the Challenger disaster, because it was deemed too risky -- many of the jobs it would be used for had been cancelled for safety reasons anyway. Astronauts now stay tethered to their craft, and you can hardly blame them.
Photo credit: NASA
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters