Billionaire Jared Isaacman achieved a historic milestone in commercial space exploration by leading the first ever private spacewalk on Thursday.
EVA took place about 700 kilometers above the Earth’s surface
The milestone in the Polaris Dawn mission, the historic extravehicular activity (EVA), was reached with a historic spacewalk about 700 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
Isaacman, the 41-year-old creator of Shift4 Payments and leader of the mission, left the Crew Dragon spaceship after completing a series of checks to start the groundbreaking spacewalk. Sarah Gillis, a fellow crew member and SpaceX engineer, followed him shortly after.
The main goal of the spacewalk was to evaluate SpaceX’s recently created EVA suits, intended for upcoming extended missions to the Moon and Mars.
Isaacman conducted a series of mobility tests, delicately adjusting his arms
Isaacman performed a sequence of tests on mobility, delicately adjusting his arms, hands, and legs in different positions to evaluate the flexibility and comfort of the suit in the absence of atmosphere.
The astronauts stayed connected to the spacecraft throughout the spacewalk, relying on a custom “Skywalker” handrail system for support.
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The EVA lasted around two hours
The EVA lasted around two hours, encompassing both the depressurization and repressurization of the Crew Dragon capsule. Isaacman and Gillis both spent approximately 12 minutes outside the spaceship, with Scott Poteet and Anna Menon observing operations from within.
This milestone marks a major progression in SpaceX’s goals for private space travel. The company is one step closer to achieving their goal of allowing human missions beyond low Earth orbit following the successful test of the new spacesuits.
The Polaris Dawn mission, part of the Polaris program’s three scheduled flights, has broken records by achieving the highest Earth orbit since the time of Apollo. As the mission progresses, the crew will carry out more scientific experiments and expand the limits of commercial space travel.
