›Stepping Out - Celebrating 50 Years of EVA

On 18 March 1965, just four years after Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space Alexei Leonov left the Voskhod 2 spacecraft and became the first person to walk in space. In the fifty years that have passed since that date spacewalking, or Extra Vehicular Activity to give its correct title, has become a regular feature of most missions. In this presentation Dave Shayler explains the developments and techniques that have been devised to accomplish the various activities in EVA operations both in Earth orbit and on the moon. The story of EVA also involves the development of EVA tools and training devices which have allowed astronauts and cosmonauts to conduct extensive EVAs from space stations, repair and maintain satellites and begin to develop the skills necessary to explore new goals deeper in space. Celebrating fifty years of EVA the presentation also looks forward to the next steps in what is one of the most eagerly sought activities in a space explorers career.