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Billionaire Pioneers First Private Spacewalk
Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis became the first non-professional crew to perform a spacewalk. The spacewalk was commercially funded by Mr Isaacman, breaking new ground in private space exploration. The SpaceX Dragon capsule was entirely exposed to the space vacuum, posing major risks.
Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis emerged from the SpaceX Dragon capsule around 15 minutes apart, starting at 11:52 BST, wearing specially-designed suits. "Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here Earth sure looks like a perfect world," Mr Isaacman remarked as he exited.
The spacewalk, funded commercially by Mr Isaacman, marks a significant milestone, as previously only astronauts from government-backed space agencies had performed such feats. Live images showed the two crew members float 435 miles (700km) above the Earth's surface.
"It's really exciting and I think it shows again that SpaceX is not afraid to do things in a different way," said Dr Simeon Barber, a research scientist at the Open University. Unlike previous spacewalks from the International Space Station, the SpaceX Dragon capsule was entirely exposed to the space vacuum outside, posing major risks.
Mr Isaacman, the only member of the four-person Polaris mission crew to have been to space before, led the team that included his close friend Scott 'Kidd' Poteet, a retired air force pilot, and two SpaceX engineers, Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis.
The Dragon capsule that the team flew in had previously launched into space 46 times, carrying a total of 50 crew. However, the capsule and spacesuits used had never been tested in this environment, adding to the risks of the mission.
Spacewalks in space are known to be one of the most difficult manoeuvres, making it an impressive feat for a private company to successfully execute one. This recent spacewalk, carried out at an altitude of 435 miles (700 kilometres), broke all previous records and demonstrated the use of cutting-edge technology in the new extravehicular activity (EVA) astronaut suits. SpaceX's upgraded suits include a heads-up display in the helmet, which provides astronauts with real-time information during their spacewalks.
During the spacewalk, astronaut Sarah Gillis used the heads-up display to access critical data while outside of the Dragon capsule. The EVA suits are designed to be comfortable and flexible, so astronauts can wear them not only during spacewalks but also during launch and landing, eliminating the need for separate intravehicular activity (IVA) suits. Furthermore, extra nitrogen and oxygen tanks were built into the suits, allowing all four astronauts to wear them at the same time, breaking the record for the most people in space at once.
The Resilience spacecraft, carrying the astronauts, departed from Earth on a SpaceX rocket, embarking on a mission that aimed to reach an orbit of up to 870 miles (1,400km) - a distance greater than any human has ventured into space since the conclusion of NASA's Apollo programme in the 1970s. The involvement of private companies like SpaceX in transporting astronauts for government space agencies such as NASA is part of a broader initiative to reduce the costs associated with space travel.
Entrepreneurs such as Isaacman and Elon Musk are at the forefront of advancing private space travel, with the goal of making space exploration more accessible to a wider range of people, including amateur astronauts. While this achievement is a significant symbolic step forward in the field of space exploration, the reality of widespread private space travel may still be a long way off due to the current high costs associated with such projects.
Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis became the first non-professional crew to perform a spacewalk
The spacewalk was commercially funded by Mr Isaacman, breaking new ground in private space exploration
The SpaceX Dragon capsule was entirely exposed to the space vacuum, posing major risks
Source: BBC