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Bruce McCandless is the man behind the space helmet, and also behind the development of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) a dream since Gemini days. The MMU allows astronauts to fly untethered, or remain at a fixed point in space while working. He graduated second in his class at the Naval academy in 1958 and was picked in the fifth group of Apollo astronauts in 1966, but was only named to supporting roles. He stayed with NASA for over 25 years. He flew two early space shuttle missions. One tested the free-flying MMU, the other deployed the Hubble Space Telescope, but it was his flight of the MMU in 1984 that resulted in the iconic photo. His grandfather was a Medal of Honor winner in WWII. SPACEFEST 2009 AUTOGRAPH FEES (Fri-Sun)
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