SpaceX Polaris Makes History with First Civilian Spacewalk

Fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman led the mission, which launched Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The four-person crew of the Dragon spacecraft adjusted to an orbit of 700 kilometers. Pure oxygen began flowing into their suits on Thursday morning, marking the official start of extravehicular activity (EVA) at 10:12 GMT, according to an AFP report.

Some time later, Isaacman opened the hatch and climbed up by grabbing the hand and foot restraints of a structure known as the Skywalker. From there, he had a breathtaking view of the Earth.

“SpaceX, we all have a lot of work to do back home, but from here, Earth looks like a perfect world,” Isaacman said.

This is a new milestone for SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk.

“Today’s success represents a huge step forward for the commercial space industry and NASA’s long-term goal of building a vibrant American space economy,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson posted on X.

Before opening the hatch, the crew had to perform a 'prebreathe' procedure to remove nitrogen from the bloodstream and thus prevent decompression sickness.

Isaacman and crewmate Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer, each spent a few minutes performing mobility tests on SpaceX's next-generation spacesuits, which feature heads-up displays, helmet cameras and enhanced joint mobility systems, before heading back inside.

Outboard operations were officially terminated after one hour and 46 minutes, after cabin pressure was restored.

Because Dragon has no airlock, the entire crew was exposed to the vacuum of space. Mission pilot Scott Poteet and SpaceX engineer Anna Menon remained strapped in the entire time, keeping an eye on vital support systems.

“The risk is greater than zero, that's for sure, and it's certainly greater than anything that's been achieved on a commercial basis,” former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe told AFP.

The spacewalk followed a daring first phase of the mission, which saw the Dragon spacecraft reach a maximum altitude of 1,400 kilometers, three times higher than the International Space Station.

All four crew members have undergone more than two years of training, including hundreds of hours on simulators, skydiving, scuba diving and climbing a volcano in Ecuador.

Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions under the Polaris program. The space program is a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX.

The financial terms of the mission are not yet known. However, Isaacman, the 41-year-old founder and CEO of Shift4Payments, has reportedly funded this mission with $200 million, the report said.

The latest Polaris mission is scheduled to be the first manned flight of SpaceX's Starship, a prototype of its next-generation rocket, crucial to Musk's ambitions to colonize Mars.

(With input from AFP)

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Published: Sep 12, 2024, 10:33 PM IST