How spacewalks went from risky to routine

Transcript

Walking to Olympus traces the history of extravehicular activity, better known as spacewalking, from the first Soviet and American spacewalks in 1965 to the complex repairs and construction work of the 1990s. It shows how astronauts and cosmonauts learned, step by step, how to work safely and effectively outside their spacecraft. One fascinating detail: early spacewalkers like Alexei Leonov and Edward White faced serious challenges with suit movement, heat, and visibility, while later crews used tools, tethers, foot restraints, and even underwater training to improve performance. And here is the big question: if spacewalking had already become so advanced by 1997, what might the next era of building in space make possible?