Source: nasa

09-18-2008 15:22

The first EVA was carried out by Alexey Leonov on March 18, 1965 from the Voskhod 2 spacecraft.

Astronaut Stephen K. Robinson, STS-114 mission specialist, anchored to a foot restraint on the International Space Station’s Canadarm2, participates in the mission’s third session of extravehicular activity (EVA). The blackness of space and Earth’s horizon form the backdrop for the image.

The first EVA by an American astronaut was made on June 3, 1965 by Edward White during the Gemini 4 mission.

The first EVA that was a moonwalk rather than a spacewalk was made by American astronaut Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969 when the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle landed on the Moon. He was joined by crewmate Buzz Aldrin, and their EVA lasted 2 hours and 32 minutes.

The first untethered spacewalk was by American astronaut Bruce McCandless II on February 7, 1984, during Challenger mission STS-41-B. He was subsequently joined by astronaut Robert L. Stewart during the 5 hour 55 minute spacewalk.

The first woman to perform an EVA was Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya on July 25, 1984 while aboard the Salyut 7 space station. Her EVA lasted 3 hours and 35 minutes.

The first American woman to make an EVA was Kathryn D. Sullivan, who stepped into space on October 11, 1984 during Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-G.

The first (and only) three-person EVA was performed on May 13, 1992, as the third EVA of STS-49, the maiden flight of Endeavour.[1] Pierre Thuot, Richard Hieb, and Thomas Akers conducted the EVA to capture and repair a non-functional Intelsat VI-F3 satellite, and equipped the satellite with a new motor, that after release, moved it into its planned geosynchronous orbit.

The first EVA by a non-Soviet, non-American astronaut was made on December 9, 1988 by Jean-Loup Chrétien of France during a three-week stay on the Mir space station.

On February 9, 1995, Bernard A. Harris, Jr. and Michael Foale became the first African American and the first Briton, respectively, to perform an EVA.

The first EVA to perform an in-flight repair of the space orbiter was by American astronaut Steve Robinson on August 3, 2005, during "Return to Flight" mission STS-114. Robinson was sent to remove two protruding gap fillers on the Space Orbiter Discovery's heat shield, after engineers determined they might cause damage to the shuttle upon re-entry. Robinson successfully removed the loose material while the Discovery was docked to the International Space Station.

The longest EVA was 8 hours and 56 minutes, performed by Susan J. Helms on March 11, 2001.

Anatoly Solovyev holds the record for most spacewalks (16), and total duration (82 hours, 22 minutes).

Captain Michael Lopez-Alegria holds the all time American record for number of EVA's (10), and for total EVA duration (67 hours and 40 minutes).