Saturday, September 14, 2024

Polaris Dawn Crew Conducts Historic Spacewalk During SpaceX Mission

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A four-person crew of civilians on board SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission unlocked the hatch of their capsule and made history as the first group of non-government astronauts to conduct a spacewalk.

SpaceX hosted a live webcast of the event — also known as an extravehicular activity (EVA) — which kicked off at 6:12 a.m. ET.

The entire SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle propelling and protecting the crew was depressurized and exposed to the vacuum of space — a dangerous and historic milestone in the Polaris Dawn crew's five-day journey through Earth's orbit. The mission has already set records, traveling farther into space than any human since NASA's Apollo program concluded more than 50 years ago.

The crewmates — which includes Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, Polaris Dawn's financer; his close friend and former US Air Force pilot Scott "Kidd" Poteet; and SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis — had prepared for this spacewalk since taking flight at 5:23 a.m. ET Tuesday.

The team slowly underwent what's called a "pre-breathe" process, a step intended to purge their blood of nitrogen to prevent the gas from bubbling — a potentially lethal condition — as they experienced the vacuum of space.

He walked up a mobility aid — essentially a ladder that SpaceX has dubbed "skywalker" — to venture into the endless void and took in the views.

"Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here — looks like a perfect world," Isaacman said.

Gillis and Isaacman were the only two crewmembers to actually exit the spacecraft, and they did so for a combined total of roughly 20 minutes.

Gillis exited the capsule for about 10 minutes after Isaacman returned to his seat. She spent her time outside wiggling around in her spacesuit — as expected — to help test out its mobility.

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