Astronauts conduct spacewalk above Discovery Poster

Astronauts Carl J. Meade and Mark C. Lee (red stripe on suit) test the new Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) system some 130 nautical miles above Earth. The pair was actually performing an in-space rehearsal or demonstration of a contingency rescue using the never-before flown hardware. Meade, who here wears the small back-pack unit with its complementary chest-mounted control unit, and Lee (anchored to the space shuttle Discovery's Remote Manipulator System (RMS) robot arm) took turns using the SAFER hardware during their shared Extravehicular Activity (EVA) of Sept. 16, 1994. The test was the first phase of a larger SAFER program leading finally to the development of a production version for future shuttle and space station applications.