1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
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While in orbit 170 miles above Earth, Navy Cap. Bruce McCandless II became the first human to perform an untethered space walk on this date in 1984. McCandless exited the U.S. space shuttle Challenger and maneuvered freely, using a bulky white rocket pack of his own design. He orbited Earth in tangent with the shuttle at speeds greater than 17,500 mph — the speed at which satellites normally orbit Earth — and flew up to 320 feet away from the Challenger. After an hour and a half testing and flying the jet-powered backpack and admiring Earth, McCandless safely re-entered the shuttle. Later that day, Army Lt. Col. Robert Stewart tried out the rocket pack, a device considered important for future operations to repair and service orbiting satellites and to assemble and maintain large space stations.
(History)
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