Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
The future of commercial space travel seems to be here. The first-ever private spacewalk took place early morning on Thursday, September 12. Two of SpaceX‘s private Polaris Dawn astronauts, American billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, took turns and spent about 10 minutes standing up out of their Dragon capsule’s hatch.
The pair have become the first non-professional crew to carry out what is considered one of the riskiest maneuvers in space. As such, only astronauts with government-funded space agencies had performed a spacewalk.
“Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here Earth sure looks like a perfect world,” said Isaacman said as he emerged from the white Dragon capsule to float 435 miles above the Earth below. To keep his position, he gripped the hand and footholds of a structure known as “Skywalker.”
Given that hatch on the craft that has no airlock or doorway between the vacuum outside and the rest of the spacecraft, the four members of the crew—Isaacman, Gillis, Scott “Kidd” Poteet, and Anna Menon—underwent a “pre-breathe” procedure to preventing decompression sickness. This is achieved by replacing nitrogen in the blood with oxygen. The cabin pressure then gradually lowered to match the vacuum of space.
During their time outside, both Isaacman and Gillis spent a few minutes each performing mobility tests on SpaceX’s next-generation EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity) suits, which have been lauded for their slim, sci-fi-like design. The new suits boast heads-up displays, helmet cameras, and enhanced joint mobility systems. The spacewalk ended after an hour and 46 minutes, following cabin repressurisation.
NASA Administrator and Senator Bill Nelson celebrated this achievement. “Congratulations @PolarisProgram and @SpaceX on the first commercial spacewalk in history!” he wrote. “Today’s success represents a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry and NASA’s long-term goal to build a vibrant U.S. space economy.”
Watch the first-ever private spacewalk as it unfolded.
The crew reentered Earth’s atmosphere and splashed down on September 15.
Happy, healthy, home: Polaris Dawn safely splashed down after completing the first spacewalk from Dragon, reaching new heights in Earth’s orbit, testing Starlink in space, and conducting ~40 science experiments. A new era of commercial spaceflight dawns, with much more to come. pic.twitter.com/fIlDm8jdBi
— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) September 15, 2024
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