June 14, 1996
On your birthday, photons that left distant stars before humans walked the Earth finally completed their journey. You began yours.
Floating Free in Space
Birthday · June 14, 1996
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published June 14, 1996. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
NASA astronauts can float free in space without any connection to a spaceship. Here astronaut Bruce McCandless maneuvers outside the Space Shuttle Challenger by firing nitrogen gas thrusters on his manned maneuvering unit (MMU). This picture was taken in 1984 and records this first untethered spacewalk. The MMU was developed because astronauts found tethers restrictive.