Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis, two private astronauts of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, performed a spacewalk outside the Dragon capsule. With this step, the first civilian spacewalk was successfully completed.
SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission successful
Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis expanded the industry’s role in space exploration, opening the door to space tourism and private space stations. Accordingly, Isaacman became the first private astronaut to perform an extravehicular activity (EVA) outside the Dragon.
Isaacman, wearing SpaceX spacesuits tailored specifically for the mission, tested the suit by maneuvering around the capsule for about 10 minutes. Gillis stepped into the vacuum of space to make his own assessments.
This historic moment was also the first time that four private astronauts were in space at the same time. Anna Menon and Scott Poteet observed the spacewalk from inside the Dragon cabin. In addition, since the Dragon capsule did not have an airlock, this spacewalk took place in a different way.
After completing their mission, Isaacman and Gillis closed the capsule again, bringing the pressure back to normal. This spacewalk demonstrated that the industry is creating new opportunities for specialized missions in low Earth orbit.
Cameras mounted on the astronauts’ suits and the Dragon capsule broadcast the spacewalk live. It should be noted that the Polaris Dawn mission was successfully completed with this spacewalk.
{{user}} {{datetime}}
{{text}}