SPACE ART: Manned Maneuvering Unit

(Above) Art concept of a manned maneuvering unit with stars in background. This viewgraph resembles an insignia.

FAST FACTS: MMU

The Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) is a propulsion backpack which was used by NASA astronauts on three space shuttle missions in 1984. The MMU allowed the astronauts to perform untethered EVA spacewalks at a distance from the shuttle. The MMU was used in practice to retrieve a pair of faulty communications satellites, Westar VI and Palapa B2. Following the third mission the unit was retired from use.