What happens if an astronaut floats off into space?
It’s one of NASA's most iconic images.
Bruce McCandless II free-floating in space more than 320 feet away from the Challenger space shuttle.
Photo: Reuters
McCandless was the first person to spacewalk untethered on February 7, 1984 wearing only a jetpack — or Manned Maneuvering Unit — later used to retrieve faulty communication satellites.
Today, astronauts are always tethered on spacewalks for obvious safety reasons.
They're also equipped with a SAFER backpack (Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue.)
If a tether breaks, the backpack will propel them back to the ISS.
If that fails, saving an astronaut floating off into space might require several tethers hooked together, a SAFER, and, to be honest, a lot of luck.
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