Bruce McCandless did float away in space and traveled as far as 320 feet away from the ship untethered using a Manned Maneuvering Unit.
Bruce McCandless II famously floated 320 feet away from the space shuttle using a Manned Maneuvering Unit.
An astronaut named Bruce McCandless II has floated away although no astronaut as fully ever floated away and been lost in space.
Bruce McCandless II died in December of 2017 at the age of 80.
Bruce McCandless II was the astronaut who first floated in space untethered and was famously photographed floating away from the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984 by using a Manned Maneuvering Unit.
A Soviet cosmonaut named Sergei Krikalev was also abandoned in space for 311 days.
Sergei Krikalev, spent 311 days in space during the collapse of the Soviet Union, which exceeded his planned mission duration.
Initially Sergei Krikalev was scheduled for a 5 month stay in space, but he was stranded unexpectedly when the Soviet Union dissolved, and a new crew couldn't be sent to replace him.
The extended stay in space was from May 1991 to March 1992 which earned him the nickname of "the last Soviet" and also highlighted the political upheaval of the time.
And the two abandoned astronauts in space were Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Willians and Barry "Butch" who both remained on the ISS or international space station for 286 days.
They were both stranded on the International Space Station for 9 months as a result of issues with their Boeing Starliner Spacecraft.
Eventually though they were returned to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon Capsule.
Both Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were sent to the ISS or international space station on a test flight of Boeing's Starliner.
Then technical problems with the Starliners, most particularly with it's thrusters, prevented them from returning to earth as planned.
And instead of returning to earth on the Starliner which was deemed to be unsafe, they were incorporated into the regular Crew-9 rotation and remained on the ISS or international space station for 286 days.
Eventually though they were able to return to earth via a SpaceX Dragon Capsule, landing off the coast of Florida.
And despite their extended and unplanned stay, both Williams and Wilmore expressed their positive sentiments about the Starliner and their overall experience, highlighting the capabilities of the spacecraft and the dedication of the teams involved.
They have also since emerged from recovery and are also actively involved in the support of Boeing and NASA programs.