Astronaut floats in space completely untethered and away from safety of shuttle

Team Udayavani, Jun 22, 2022, 11:27 AM IST

Simply follow NASA on social media to receive frequent doses of captivating images and videos. Nearly every week, the space agency posts some unusual images or movies that go viral on social media.

A few weeks ago, the space agency captured the internet’s attention with a remarkable visualisation that mimicked a black hole’s look as seen from its edge.

The visualization demonstrated how a black hole’s gravity may warp our perception of the world, making it appear as though we are looking through a “carnival mirror.”

However, this week NASA released one of the most horrifying images ever taken in orbit.

The image brings to life some of the most breathtaking scenes from sci-fi films and television series.

Bruce McCandless II, an astronaut, is captured in the image floating free in space, far from the security of his space shuttle. According to reports, the only thing keeping him alive while he was floating was his Manned Maneuvering Unit.

Perhaps the most-terrifying space photograph to date. Astronaut Bruce McCandless II floats completely untethered, away from the safety of the space shuttle, with nothing but his Manned Maneuvering Unit keeping him alive. The first person in history to do so.
Credit: NASA pic.twitter.com/uapVOFwS2u

— Curiosity (@Sciencenature14) June 20, 2022

McCandless made history by being the first man to float in space entirely unrestrained. The amazing image received more than 1.61 lakh likes and more than 21,000 retweets after being posted to the Twitter account “Curiosity.”

Curiosity informed: “Bruce McCandless II was a United States Navy officer and aviator, electrical engineer, and NASA astronaut. In 1984, during the first of his two Space Shuttle missions, he completed the first untethered spacewalk by using the Manned Maneuvering Unit.”