Space walks (EVAs) from NASA Space Shuttles (1981–2011) revolutionized orbital operations, enabling satellite repairs (including the Hubble Telescope), the construction of the International Space Station (ISS), and the testing of new technologies.
Key moments include the first untethered flight using the MMU jetpack (B. McCandless, 1984) and intensive work on the ISS. The missions utilized advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) suits, which were later adapted for long-term operations on the ISS.
The Beginnings (1980s): The first Space Shuttle spacewalk took place during the Challenger mission (STS-41-B) in 1984, when Bruce McCandless performed the first-ever untethered free-flight spacewalk using the MMU device.
- In the same year, Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first American woman to perform a spacewalk.
Servicing missions (including STS-61, STS-109) demonstrated that shuttle crews could perform precision repairs on satellites in orbit.
The Space Shuttles were pivotal in the construction of the International Space Station. During the STS-49 mission, the first three-person spacewalk was conducted, which was also one of the longest at the time (8h 29min).
On March 11, 2001, two American astronauts – James Voss and Susan Helms – conducted what was then the longest spacewalk in history on a Sunday. They spent 8 hours and 56 minutes outside the spacecraft in open space. The astronauts worked on locations where the Italian transport module Leonardo was to be attached to the International Space Station (ISS) and secured antennas to improve communication with Earth.
Shuttle spacewalkers worked outside, often utilizing the shuttle’s robotic arm (RMS), providing maintenance and expansion of space infrastructure throughout the 30-year duration of the STS program.
The Space Shuttles performed dozens of spacewalks, proving that humans can effectively build and repair complex structures in open space.
The longest single extravehicular activity (EVA) in history lasted 9 hours and 6 minutes and was conducted on December 17, 2024, by Chinese taikonuats from the Shenzhou-19 mission – Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong. They performed maintenance work on the Tiangong station, breaking previous records.
History of the most significant spacewalks
The first person to perform a spacewalk, on March 18, 1965, was Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov from the Voskhod 2 spacecraft. He remained in open space for 12 minutes, tethered to the ship by a line. The first female spacewalker was cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya, who exited the Salyut 7 space station on July 25, 1984.
The first American in open space was Edward Higgins White, who conducted a spacewalk on June 3, 1965, from the Gemini 4 spacecraft. The first American woman in space was Kathryn D. Sullivan, who took part in the STS-41-G mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger on October 11, 1984.
The first spacewalk by an astronaut from another country was performed on December 9, 1988, by Frenchman Jean-Loup Chrétien during his three-week stay on the Mir space station.
The first walk on the lunar surface was performed on July 21, 1969, by Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission. He was later joined by Buzz Aldrin, and their EVAs lasted two hours and fourteen minutes (Armstrong) and one hour and 51 minutes (Aldrin), respectively.
The first untethered spacewalk was performed by American astronaut Bruce McCandless on February 7, 1984, during the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-B.
The record holder for the number of spacewalks performed is Anatoly Solovyev, who ventured into open space 16 times, spending a total of 77 hours and 41 minutes there.
