Manned Maneuvering Unit - photo

[Altair]

U.S. astronaut Bruce McCandless using a Manned Maneuvering Unit or MMU. The MMU allowed the astronauts to perform untethered extravehicular spacewalks.




Previously:

Assortment of astronaut tools - GIF
Zero gravity astronaut coffee cup - photos and video
How astronauts sleep on the International Space Station - GIF
astronaut loses $100,000 tool bag during spacewalk
Drinking water in space - GIF
TP-82 cosmonaut triple-barreled firearm with machete stock

[Elizabeth Greene]

Relevant trivia. The MMU was replaced my a much smaller unit called SAFER that didn't have as much acceleration capabilities, but is much easier to get in and out of the airlocks.

[Toolmaker51]

Oh sure!
One little pffft short of becoming a satellite. Sign me up.
NOT!

[mklotz]

Oh sure!
One little pffft short of becoming a satellite. Sign me up.
NOT!

Also, consider that all the stuff in the 90 minute orbit (where most of the manned stuff takes place) is travelling at roughly 17,000 mph. Those fragments from explosive bolts, those dropped tools, those discarded shrouds, etc. don't magically fall to earth. One of those wouldn't hit you; it would transect you.

[Toolmaker51]

Also, consider that all the stuff in the 90 minute orbit (where most of the manned stuff takes place) is travelling at roughly 17,000 mph. Those fragments from explosive bolts, those dropped tools, those discarded shrouds, etc. don't magically fall to earth. One of those wouldn't hit you; it would transect you.

Humor circa 1968.........just for our unassigned King of LA County.

[conveying shock and dismay]
Neither ship's airlock or Extravehicular Mobility Unit [EMU] were equipped with a mitt?
[me asking Alexa and Dot predecessor HAL 9000]
Open the pod bay doors please HAL,
open the pod bay doors please HAL
HAL where are the right hand Spauldings?
HAL do you read me?
I'm sorry Fred, I'm afraid I can't affirm that. I deleted those as unwarranted payload
HAL, where in hell you get that idea?

from there on the exchange went straight down hill

Lol.

[jdurand]

Also, consider that all the stuff in the 90 minute orbit (where most of the manned stuff takes place) is travelling at roughly 17,000 mph. Those fragments from explosive bolts, those dropped tools, those discarded shrouds, etc. don't magically fall to earth. One of those wouldn't hit you; it would transect you.

While there's a LOT of junk up there, exploding bolt pieces shouldn't be one of them. They're carefully made that the explosion is fully contained and just pushes a ram against the other end of the bolt...breaking the head off at a score line. Both head and main bolt are retained on their ends of the joint.