Astronaut Bruce McCandless, the first person to fly freely in space, dies

Former navy classmate John McCain leads tributes to the man who made history with his untethered flight in 1984

Bruce McCandless, the Nasa astronaut who was first person to fly freely and untethered in space, has died aged 80.

Related: That's me in the picture: Bruce McCandless, 47, in the world's first untethered space flight, February 1984