Bruce McCandless II Bruce McCandless II ( born June 8 , 1937 ) is a former naval aviator with the United States Navy and former NASA astronaut . During the first of his two Space Shuttle missions he made the first ever untethered free flight using the Manned Maneuvering Unit in 1984 . Education . McCandless is the son of Bruce McCandless , and grandson of Willis W . Bradley , both decorated war heroes . He graduated from Woodrow Wilson Senior High School , Long Beach , California . With his father having been awarded the Medal of Honor , McCandless was assured of being appointed to a military academy . In 1958 he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy , followed by a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1965 . In 1987 he received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston – Clear Lake . United States Navy . McCandless graduated second in a class of 899 from the Naval Academy ( Class of 1958 ) , along with John McCain and John Poindexter . Subsequently , he received flight training from the Naval Air Training Command at bases in Pensacola , Florida , and Kingsville , Texas . In March 1960 he was designated a Naval Aviator and proceeded to Naval Air Station Key West , Florida , for weapons system and carrier landing training in the F - 6A Skyray . Between December 1960 and February 1964 he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 102 ( VF - 102 ) , flying the Skyray and the F - 4B Phantom II . He saw duty aboard USS " Forrestal " and USS " Enterprise " , including the latter ' s participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis . For three months in early 1964 , he was an instrument flight instructor in Attack Squadron 43 ( VA - 43 ) at NAS Oceana , Virginia and then reported to the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Unit at Stanford University for graduate studies in electrical engineering . During Naval service he gained flying proficiency in the T - 33B Shooting Star , T - 38A Talon , F - 4B Phantom II , F - 6A Skyray , F - 11 Tiger , F - 9 Cougar , T - 1 Seastar , and T - 34B Mentor airplane , and the Bell 47G helicopter . He logged more than 5 , 200 hours flying time — 5 , 000 hours in jet aircraft . NASA career . McCandless was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966 . He was a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 14 mission , served as CAPCOM during the Apollo 11 mission when Neil Armstrong first set his foot on the Moon ( during the EVA ) , and was backup pilot for the first manned Skylab mission ( SL - 1 / SL - 2 ) . He was a co - investigator on the M - 509 astronaut maneuvering unit experiment which was flown in the Skylab Program , and collaborated on the development of the Manned Maneuvering Unit ( MMU ) used during Shuttle extra - vehicular activities ( EVAs ) . He was responsible for crew inputs to the development of hardware and procedures for the Inertial Upper Stage ( IUS ) , Space Telescope , the Solar Maximum Repair Mission , and the Space Station 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 . Spaceflight experience . STS - 41 - B . " Challenger " launched from Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on February 3 , 1984 . The flight deployed two communications satellites , and flight - tested rendezvous sensors and computer programs for the first time . This mission marked the first checkout of the Manned Maneuvering Unit ( MMU ) and Manipulator Foot Restraint ( MFR ) . McCandless made the first untethered free flight on each of the two MMUs carried on board , thereby becoming the first person ever to make an untethered spacewalk . After eight days in orbit , " Challenger " made the first landing on the runway at Kennedy Space Center on February 11 , 1984 . 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 380 miles ( 612 km ) . " Discovery " landed at Edwards Air Force Base , California , on April 29 , 1990 . Awards and honors . He was awarded a patent for the design of a tool tethering system that is currently used during Shuttle spacewalks . Organizations . He is a fellow of the American Astronautical Society and former president of the Houston Audubon Society . Personal . McCandless married Bernice Doyle , and the couple have two grown children . His recreational interests include electronics , photography , scuba diving , and flying . He also enjoys cross country skiing . On September 30 , 2010 , McCandless launched a lawsuit against British singer singer 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 Inc . as defendants - does not allege copyright infringement , only infringement of his persona . This action was settled amicably on January 14 , 2011 . Ironically , an August 2005 Smithsonian magazine article about the photo quoted McCandless 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 . "