The world’s first commercial spacewalk is officially underway, headed by billionaire Jared Isaacman.
‘This sure looks like a perfect world’ said Isaacman as he exited the hatch to become the first person to take part in a private spacewalk.
Isaacman held on to a railing nicknamed the ‘Skywalker’ as he left the craft, before giving a ‘hands-free’ demonstration.
After spending around 15 minutes outside the craft, Isaacman successfully returned to the SpaceX Dragon to a rapturous applause from mission control.
He was followed by fellow astronaut Sarah Gillis, who became the second person to embark on the spacewalk a few minutes later.
There was a brief moment of concern following Gillis’ spacewalk as ground control asked the astronaut if the door handle had been stowed in the ‘do not stow’ position, which she confirmed it was not.
All the crew members are now back inside the craft and the hatch has been closed, separating the Polaris Dawn crew from the vacuum of space.
Isaacman and a team of three astronauts launched into space yesterday as part of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, intended to field-test the company’s new EVA spacesuits.
The mission will take around two hours to complete, and will see Isaacman and fellow SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis spend spacewalk for around 15 minutes each.
There is no airlock in the capsule, and the entire craft has been depressurised while the walk takes place, meaning all members of the crew have to rely on their spacesuit to breathe.
Isaacman and Gillis will be tethered by an ‘umbilical’ cord during the walk, which will provide air, cooling and ensure ‘they are not gonna go floating off into space’, a SpaceX commentator explained on the livestream.
Fellow crew members Anna Menon Scott ‘Kidd’ Poteet will remain inside the craft to feed the spacewalkers oxygen and power, and ensure everything runs properly.
Polaris Dawn’s crew are all suited up and ready to perform the EVA suit leak checks before the spacewalk begins.
Footage from the livestream shows them fistbumping as they prepare for depressurisation.
If successful, the mission mark a major milestone in the development and viability of commercial space travel, and is seen as a proof of concept which will lead to easier and cheaper access to space.
To date, only well-funded state-run agencies such as Nasa and Russia’s Roscosmos, have so far managed to carry out spacewalks.
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