STS-49

Pierre Thuot, Richard Hieb and Thomas Akers grab Intelsat VI, STS-49, May 13, 1992 When a capture bar failed on two earlier tries, the crew improvised: three spacewalkers stood in Endeavour's payload bay and seized the 4.5-ton satellite with their gloved hands. It was the first time three people worked outside a spacecraft at once, on the maiden flight of Endeavour, and the six-handed catch let the shuttle fit a new motor and send the satellite on its way.