Why do they call it a "Spacewalk"?

Stratosphere stroll. Failing that how about, SHIT HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!!

I wonder how they do actually maneuver themselves from one place to another. Sort of a swimming motion isn’t it? Pushing off of the spacecraft?

To emphasize action on the part of the astronaut.
Space-swim doesn’t quite work and space-glide isn’t even right. there is nothing there.

space negotiation? nah.

Well it’s not like they’re just relaxing in one spot in space. They’re fixing things and using the ships to maneuver themselves around. Not necessarily a walk, just lack of a better word.

Space flight was taken (obviously—it’s how they got there in the first place—even though it’s not really a “flight”, is it?)

And space float? Are you kidding? That would be two scoops of space in a glass of milk, blended at high speed, served in a tall glass.

It’s more of a space swim, isn’t it?

I’d call it a Moon Bounce but that’s taken.

they walk on the space station and shuttles

Because (alleged) journalists are/were too inept to understand extra vehicular activity.

@UScitizen isn’t extra vehicular activity a quickie in a carwash?

@ucme Stratosphere Stroll is great alliteration, but it is all happening far above the stratosphere. Maybe Space Stroll but that isn’t as alliterative.

@wilma It is more drifting than swimming. There is no medium in which to swim, so moving arms and legs does nothing save to cause the body to gyrate in opposition to the limb moved. But Space Drifting sounds like dropping out of life and becoming a lifelong beachcomber or some such. :-)

@UScitizen As @CyanoticWasp points out, it’s pretty learl why they opted not to call it Extra Vehicular Activity. :-)

they are cramped it that craft all that time…..and that is the time to get their exercise and stretch their space legs. So I will call it “Spacercize”. It’s like walkin a dog. They are on a leash.

@jazmina88 Stepping out into the vast emptiness of space probably does provide a nice break from their normal claustrophobic quarters.

I know we were all having fun, but the origin of the word walk as [http://www.westegg.com/etymology/] explains: “In Old English, “wealcan” meant “to roll”; by Middle English meant “to move about, travel”; and only in Modern English came to mean “walk” as we know it. ”

So if we use the Middle English “to move about, travel” space, it all makes sense.

@Phantom2487 Cool. So in space, we still use Middle ENglish. :-)