Bruce McCandless II (born Byron Willis McCandless; June 8, 1937 – December 21, 2017) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer and

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the ...

, and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

. In 1984, during the first of his two

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

missions, he completed the first untethered spacewalk by using the Manned Maneuvering Unit.

Early life and education

Byron Willis McCandless was born on June 8, 1937, in Boston, Massachusetts. A third-generation U.S. Navy officer, McCandless was the son of Bruce McCandless and grandson of Willis W. Bradley, both

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

recipients. His mother changed his name on June 6, 1938, to Bruce McCandless II. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson Senior High School,

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, in 1954. In 1958, he received a B.S. from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

, graduating second, behind future

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National secu ...

John Poindexter, in a class of 899 that also included John McCain. During his professional career, he also received an M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1965 and an M.B.A. from the University of Houston–Clear Lake in 1987.

United States Navy

Following his commissioning, McCandless received flight training from the Naval Air Training Command at Naval Air Station Pensacola,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

, and Naval Air Station Kingsville,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. In March 1960, he was designated a United States Naval Aviator and proceeded to

Naval Air Station Key West Naval Air Station Key West , is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 NAS Key West is an ...

for weapons system and carrier landing training in the Douglas F4D-1 Skyray. Between December 1960 and February 1964, he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 102 (

VF-102 Strike Fighter Squadron 102 (VFA-102) is a United States Navy Strike Fighter squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. Their call sign is Diamond, with the tail code NF, and they fly the F/A-18F Super Hornet. History Two distinct squ ...

), flying the Skyray and the

McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bowe ...

. He saw duty aboard and , including the latter's participation in the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the Unite ...

. For three months in early 1964, he was an instrument flight instructor in Attack Squadron 43 ( VA-43) at Naval Air Station Oceana,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, and then reported to the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps unit at Stanford University for graduate studies in electrical engineering. During Naval service he gained flying proficiency in the Lockheed T-33B Shooting Star,

Northrop T-38A Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet Supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and the most produced, supersonic trainer. The T-38 remains in service in several air forces. The United States Air Force (USA ...

, McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II, Douglas F4D Skyray, Grumman F11F Tiger, Grumman F9F Cougar, Lockheed T-1 Seastar, and Beechcraft T-34B Mentor, and the Bell 47G helicopter. He logged more than 5,200 hours flying time, including 5,000 hours in jet aircraft.

NASA career

At the age of 28, McCandless was selected as the youngest member of NASA Astronaut Group 5 (jokingly labeled the "Original Nineteen" by John W. Young) in April 1966. According to space historian Matthew Hersch, McCandless and Group 5 colleague

Don L. Lind Don Leslie Lind (May 18, 1930 – August 30, 2022) was an American scientist, naval officer, aviator, and NASA astronaut. He graduated from the University of Utah with an undergraduate degree in physics in 1953. Following his military service ...

were "effectively treated ... as scientist-astronauts" (akin to those selected in the fourth and sixth groups) by NASA due to their substantial scientific experience, an implicit reflection of their lack of the test pilot experience highly valued by Deke Slayton and other NASA managers at the time; this would ultimately delay their progression in the flight rotation. He served as mission control capsule communicator (CAPCOM) on

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, a ...

during the launch and during the first lunar moonwalk ( EVA) by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin before joining the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 14 mission, on which he doubled as a CAPCOM. Thereafter, McCandless was reassigned to the

Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operation ...

program, where he received his first crew assignment as backup pilot for the space station's first crewed mission alongside backup commander Rusty Schweickart and backup science pilot Story Musgrave. Following this assignment, he again served as a CAPCOM on Skylab 3 and Skylab 4. Notably, McCandless was a co-investigator on the M-509 astronaut maneuvering unit experiment that was flown on Skylab; this eventually led to his collaboration on the development of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) used during Space Shuttle EVAs. Although he was classified as a Shuttle pilot until 1983, McCandless ultimately chose to work on the MMU as a mission specialist due to the prestige of the program (which ensured a flight assignment) and his lack of test pilot experience. He was responsible for crew inputs to the development of hardware and procedures for the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS),

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ver ...

, the Solar Maximum Repair Mission, and the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

program. McCandless logged over 312 hours in space, including four hours of MMU flight time. He flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-B and STS-31.

STS-41-B

'' Challenger'' launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on February 3, 1984. The flight deployed two

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Ear ...

s, and flight-tested rendezvous sensors and computer programs for the first time. This mission marked the first checkout of the MMU and

Manipulator Foot Restraint Manipulation (psychology) , Manipulator is a person who uses devious means to exploit, control, or otherwise influence others to their advantage. Manipulator may also refer to: * Manipulator (device), a device used to manipulate materials withou ...

(MFR). McCandless made the first untethered free flight on each of the two MMUs carried on board, thereby becoming the first person to make an untethered spacewalk. He described the experience,

I was grossly over-trained. I was just anxious to get out there and fly. I felt very comfortable ... It got so cold my teeth were chattering and I was shivering, but that was a very minor thing. ... I'd been told of the quiet vacuum you experience in space, but with three radio links saying, 'How's your oxygen holding out?', 'Stay away from the engines!' and 'When's my turn?', it wasn't that peaceful ... It was a wonderful feeling, a mix of personal elation and professional pride: it had taken many years to get to that point.

McCandless's first EVA lasted 6 hours and 17 minutes. The second EVA (in which Stewart used the MMU), lasted 5 hours and 55 minutes. On February 11, 1984, after eight days in orbit, ''Challenger'' made the first landing on the runway at Kennedy Space Center.

STS-31

On this five-day ''Discovery'' flight, launched on April 24, 1990, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crew deployed the Hubble Space Telescope from their record-setting altitude of . During the deployment of Hubble, one of the observatory's solar arrays stopped as it unfurled. While ground controllers searched for a way to command HST to unreel the solar array, Mission Specialists McCandless and

Kathryn D. Sullivan Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan (born October 3, 1951) is an American geologist, oceanographer, and a former NASA astronaut and US Navy officer. She was a crew member on three Space Shuttle missions. A graduate of University of California, Santa Cruz ...

began preparing for a contingency spacewalk in the event that the array could not be deployed through ground control. The array eventually came free and unfurled through ground control, while McCandless and Sullivan were pre-breathing inside the partially depressurized airlock. ''Discovery'' landed at Edwards Air Force Base,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, on April 29, 1990.

After NASA

After retiring from NASA in 1990, McCandless worked for Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Organizations

* United States Naval Academy Alumni Association (class of 1958) * United States Naval Institute *

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...

(IEEE) * American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) * Association for Computing Machinery * National Audubon Society He was a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the American Astronautical Society and former president of the

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

Audubon Society.

Awards and honors

* NASA Exceptional Service Medal (1974) * National Defense Service Medal (1974) * Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1974) * American Astronautical Society Victor A. Prather Award (1975 and 1985) * NASA Space Flight Medal (1984) * Defense Distinguished Service Medal (1985) * NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal (1985) * National Aeronautic Association Collier Trophy (1984) *

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

National Air and Space Museum Trophy (1985) *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

(1988) * International Space Hall of Fame (1995) * United States Astronaut Hall of Fame (2005) He was awarded a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling disclo ...

for the design of a tool tethering system that was used during

spacewalks.

Personal life

McCandless was married to Bernice Doyle McCandless (1937–2014) for 53 years, and the couple had two children: Bruce III (born August 15, 1961) and Tracy (born July 13, 1963). His recreational interests included

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

photography Photography is the visual art, art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It i ...

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chri ...

, and

flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ''Flying'' (UFO album), 1971 * ''Fl ...

. He also enjoyed cross-country skiing. In an August 2005 ''Smithsonian'' magazine article about the MMU photo, McCandless is quoted as saying that the subject's anonymity is its best feature. "I have the sun visor down, so you can't see my face, and that means it could be anybody in there. It's sort of a representation not of Bruce McCandless, but mankind."Footloose
, '' Smithsonian'', August 2005; Retrieved October 9, 2010 On September 30, 2010, McCandless launched a lawsuit against British singer Dido for unauthorized use of a photo of his 1984 space flight for the album art of her 2008 album '' Safe Trip Home'', which showed McCandless “free flying” about 320 feet away from the Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. The lawsuit, which also named Sony Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment and Getty Images as defendants, did not allege copyright infringement but infringement of his persona. The action was settled amicably on January 14, 2011. McCandless wrote the foreword to the book ''Live TV from Orbit'' by Dwight Steven-Boniecki. McCandless died on December 21, 2017, at age 80. He was survived by his second wife, Ellen Shields McCandless, two children and two grandchildren. McCandless was buried at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery at Annapolis on January 16, 2018. McCandless' son, author Bruce McCandless III, wrote about the journey leading to the first untethered space walk in the 2021 book ''Wonders All Around: The Incredible True Story of Astronaut Bruce McCandless II and the First Untethered Flight in Space.''

Legacy

John McCain, who graduated from the United States Naval Academy with McCandless in the Class of 1958, stated after McCandless' death:

The iconic photo of Bruce soaring effortlessly in space has inspired generations of Americans to believe that there is no limit to the human potential.

References

External links

Astronautix biography of Bruce McCandless

Bruce McCandless famous spacewalk
NASA channel on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:McCandless, Bruce II 1937 births 2017 deaths United States Navy astronauts United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees People from Boston Aviators from Massachusetts American electrical engineers People from Long Beach, California American people of Scotch-Irish descent United States Naval Academy alumni Stanford University alumni University of Houston–Clear Lake alumni United States Navy officers United States Naval Aviators Military personnel from Massachusetts Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Collier Trophy recipients Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Wilson Classical High School alumni Engineers from California Burials at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery American flight instructors Space Shuttle program astronauts Spacewalkers Military personnel from California