Bruce McCandless II (1937 - 2017)

Born 8 Aug 1937 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Ancestors

Died 21 Dec 2017 at age 80 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Bruce McCandless II is Notable.

Bruce McCandless II 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.

McCandless was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in Group 5^[1] 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.

United States Navy Experience

in 1974, McCandless receieved the National Defense Service Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. In 1985, he received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal. In 1988, he received the Legion of Merit.

Defense Distinguished Service	Legion of Merit

NASA Experience

In 1974, McCandless received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, his first of 2.^[2]

NASA Exceptional Service

McCandless first flew on Challenger STS-41-B, 03 Feb 1984 with Vance Brand, Robert L. Gibson, Ronald McNair and Robert L. Stewart. He received a NASA Space Flight Medal, his first of 2.^[2]

STS-41-B	NASA Space Flight

In 1985, McCandless received the NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal.

He next flew on Discovery STS-31, 24 Apr 1990 with Charles Bolden, Steven Hawley, Loren Shriver and Kathryn Sullivan. He received a NASA Space Flight Medal, his second of 2.^[2]

STS-31	NASA Space Flight

In 1991, McCandless received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, his second of 2.^[2]

NASA Exceptional Service

After NASA

McCandless retired from NASA in 1990 and went to work for Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

In 2005, McCandless was inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia List of Astronauts, by Year
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Agency Awards Historical Recipient List
3. ↑ Hall of Fame Bio

See also:

• Wikipedia: Bruce McCandless II
• Wikidata: Item Q433608, en:Wikipedia
• Find A Grave: Memorial #186060751 retrieved 17 Feb 2018
• Ancestry Profile
• "NASA Remembers Astronaut Bruce McCandless II"
• NASA Bio