Billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis made history with the first-ever spacewalk conducted during a commercial mission.
September 12, 2024, marked a significant milestone in space exploration. For the first time, non-professional astronauts performed a spacewalk during the private Polaris Dawn mission. Jared Isaacman, a billionaire and founder of the payment system Shift4 Payments, and Sarah Gillis, an engineer at SpaceX, successfully exited the Dragon capsule at an altitude of 700 kilometers above Earth.
The spacewalk commenced at 11:52 GMT (13:52 Kyiv time) when Isaacman opened the hatch of the Dragon capsule.
“There’s a lot of work to do back home, but from up here, Earth looks like a perfect world,” he remarked, sharing his initial impressions. Gillis joined him 15 minutes later.
In addition to Isaacman and Gillis, the Polaris Dawn crew includes two other members. Scott “Kidd” Poteet, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot and close friend of Isaacman, serves as the mission pilot. Anna Menon, an engineer at SpaceX, is the mission specialist overseeing medical research. Although Poteet and Menon did not participate in the spacewalk, they played a critical role in ensuring the operation's safety from inside the capsule.
This spacewalk set several records. Firstly, it took place at the highest altitude ever for extravehicular activities — 700 km above Earth. In comparison, the International Space Station orbits at approximately 400 km.
Secondly, it was the first time that four individuals were simultaneously in the vacuum of space. Although only Isaacman and Gillis ventured outside, all four crew members wore new SpaceX EVA suits. This was done for safety since the Dragon capsule was fully depressurized.
The preparations for the spacewalk were exceedingly challenging. The crew spent two days breathing pure oxygen to prevent decompression sickness. Unlike the ISS, the Dragon capsule does not have an airlock, so it was completely depressurized before the astronauts exited.
The astronauts utilized new EVA suits from SpaceX for their extravehicular activity. These suits are equipped with advanced technologies, including displays that provide information on life support systems. The suits proved to be flexible enough to be used during launch and landing, as well as while conducting spacewalks.
The Polaris Dawn mission, funded by Isaacman, is part of a series of private spaceflights aimed at expanding humanity's capabilities in space. In addition to the spacewalk, the mission aims to reach the highest Earth orbit since the Apollo program — up to 1400 km above Earth.
The success of the Polaris Dawn mission opens new horizons for space tourism and scientific research. However, experts note that mass space travel is still a long way off due to high costs and technical challenges.
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