First juggling in space

NASA pilot Donald E. Williams (USA) became the first person to juggle in outer space, while on board the Space Shuttle Discovery on 15 April 1985. He was able to juggle several pieces of fruit while in orbit. Williams and mission commander Karol Bobko (USA) together were able to keep half a dozen apples and oranges in motion between them. While Williams was only able to try zero-gravity juggling for a few minutes, in October 2008, Richard Garriott (USA) and NASA astronaut Gregory Chamitoff (Canada) held several juggling sessions while on board the International Space Station, making this the record for first juggling (passing) in space. Juggling solo and in tandem with tennis balls, they discovered that without gravity to affect them, the paths of the balls would not arc, so passing had to be done in straight lines. Garriott, a private individual who traveled to space, found that he could juggle three balls by himself most effectively by bouncing them off the floor, ceiling, or walls, doing so while traveling at 17,210 miles per hour, in orbit at 220 miles above the Earth.