Video: SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission sees first-ever private spacewalk

Sep 12, 2024

Karah Rucker Anchor

By Karah Rucker (Anchor), William Jackson (Producer), Ian Kennedy (Video Editor)

Polaris Dawn has once again made history with the first private spacewalk. On Thursday, Sept. 12, tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis ventured out of their Dragon spacecraft, dressed in the latest SpaceX spacesuits, at an altitude of 460 miles—higher than most recent space missions.

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This marked a significant technical milestone and symbolized the growing accessibility of space activities for private entities.

The mission, launched from Florida, reached an orbit not achieved since the Apollo moon missions and focused on testing the durability and functionality of these commercial spacesuits in the vacuum of space.

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During the spacewalk, the crew encountered technical glitches. Isaacman manually opened the hatch due to a malfunction, and Gillis reported seeing bulges in the hatch seal before exiting. Despite these challenges, the operation was successful, closely monitored by SpaceX’s mission control in California.

The milestone marks a significant step forward in enabling private commercial access to spacewalks and possibly future trips to Mars.

Tags: International Space Station, NASA, SpaceX

[KARAH RUCKER]

YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE FIRST EVER PRIVATE SPACEWALK, COURTESY OF POLARIS DAWN AS IT ONCE AGAIN MAKES HISTORY.

ON THURSDAY, TECH BILLIONAIRE JARED ISAACMAN AND SPACEX ENGINEER SARAH GILLIS TOOK THEIR SPACEWALK, SHOWCASING THE EXPANDING ROLE OF PRIVATE ENTITIES IN SPACE EXPLORATION.

THE EVENT MARKING NOT ONLY A SIGNIFICANT TECHNICAL MILESTONE BUT ALSO SYMBOLIZING THE GROWING ACCESSIBILITY OF SPACE ACTIVITIES FOR PRIVATE ENTITIES.

ISAACMAN AND GILLIS, DRESSED IN THE LATEST SPACEX SPACESUITS, VENTURED OUT OF THEIR DRAGON SPACECRAFT FOR NEARLY TWO HOURS AT AN ALTITUDE OF 460 MILES — HIGHER THAN MOST RECENT SPACE MISSIONS. THE MISSION FOCUSED ON TESTING THESE COMMERCIAL SPACESUITS, ASSESSING THEIR DURABILITY AND FUNCTIONALITY IN THE VACUUM OF SPACE.

THE MISSION, LAUNCHED FROM FLORIDA, REACHED AN ORBIT THAT HAS NOT BEEN ACHIEVED SINCE THE APOLLO MOON MISSIONS.

DURING THE SPACEWALK, TECHNICAL GLITCHES AROSE: ISAACMAN MANUALLY OPENED THE HATCH DUE TO A MALFUNCTION, AND GILLIS OBSERVED BULGES IN THE HATCH SEAL BEFORE EXITING.

DESPITE THESE CHALLENGES, THE OPERATION, CLOSELY MONITORED BY SPACEX’S MISSION CONTROL IN CALIFORNIA, WAS SUCCESSFUL — MARKING A SIGNIFICANT STEP FORWARD IN ENABLING PRIVATE, COMMERCIAL ACCESS TO SPACEWALKS AND POSSIBLE TRIPS TO MARS.

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