Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis this morning became the first private citizens in history to conduct a spacewalk. The spacewalk, which lasted 1 hour and 46 minutes from start to finish, seemed to go off without a hitch. Exiting the Polaris Dawn / SpaceX Crew Dragon early Thursday, September 12, 2024, Isacmann’s helmet camera captured a breathtaking view of the spacecraft’s open hatch, followed by the large blue globe that is our home. The landmark event was part of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, designed to test new spacesuits developed by the company and push the boundaries of private space exploration.
The spacewalk, originally scheduled for 2:23 a.m. Eastern Time, was delayed and finally commenced just before 7:00 a.m. as Isaacman emerged from the hatch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. Wearing SpaceX’s newly designed sleek and flexible spacesuit, Isaacman popped his head and torso out of the hatch and began a series of maneuvers around the spacecraft.
Isaacman, who financed and leads the mission, was tethered to the capsule as he tested the mobility of the suit and gripped special handrails called “skywalkers” installed at the top of the spacecraft. The Polaris Dawn mission was designed, in part, to validate these new spacesuits, which have been in development for over two years and are intended to protect astronauts from the vacuum of space, extreme temperatures, and radiation while allowing for maximum mobility.
“It’s gorgeous,” Isaacman remarked as he floated above the Earth. “Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.”
Isaacman spent about 10 minutes outside the spacecraft, testing the flexibility and responsiveness of the suit in zero gravity, before returning to the safety of the capsule. Shortly after, Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer and mission specialist, became the second private citizen to conduct a spacewalk. She followed a similar path, testing the suit’s mobility and taking in the spectacular views of Earth from over 435 miles above the planet.
Gillis spent about 10 minutes outside, tethered and holding onto the capsule’s handrails while maneuvering her arms and legs to assess the suit’s range of motion. The entire event lasted about 20 minutes combined, with the two astronauts alternating their time outside the spacecraft.
The Crew Dragon capsule was depressurized for about two hours, exposing the crew to the vacuum of space, with Gillis and Isaacman being the only two crewmembers to exit the spacecraft. Inside the capsule, mission pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, and SpaceX mission director Anna Menon monitored the activity while wearing their own spacesuits as a precaution.
Pushing the Limits of Private Space Exploration
The Polaris Dawn mission, which launched at 5:23 a.m. on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, aims to break several records and test new technologies crucial for the future of space exploration. In addition to testing the new spacesuits, the capsule flew higher than any human spaceflight since NASA’s Apollo missions in the 1970s. The spacecraft reached an altitude of 870 miles—more than three times the altitude of the International Space Station (ISS). The crew orbited Earth six times at this altitude before lowering the capsule for the spacewalk.
The mission is part of a broader effort by SpaceX and Elon Musk to advance commercial spaceflight capabilities, with the eventual goal of establishing settlements on Mars and other planets. Isaacman, the CEO of Shift4 Payments, financed the mission as part of the three-flight Polaris program. He previously led the Inspiration4 mission in 2021, which also saw private citizens fly into space for the first time without professional astronauts aboard.
Testing New Spacesuits: A Key Objective
The main focus of the spacewalk was to test the new extravehicular activity (EVA) suits developed by SpaceX. These suits are more flexible and form-fitting than the bulky white suits typically used by NASA astronauts. SpaceX’s goal is to design a suit that allows for greater ease of movement and could be mass-produced in the future, making space travel more accessible. Unlike the spacesuits used on the ISS, which have a Primary Life Support System (PLSS) backpack allowing astronauts to move from place to place freely in space, the SpaceX suits rely on long hoses attached to the spacecraft for life support.
Former NASA astronaut and SpaceX consultant Garrett Reisman praised the development, noting that while the suits lack the PLSS system, they still function as mini-spacecraft in themselves, protecting astronauts from the dangers of space while providing better mobility.
The Polaris Dawn spacesuits were developed by SpaceX in just over two years, a comparative “lightning speed” to the government way of doing things. The suits are part of a larger vision shared by Isaacman and Musk, who foresee the need for tens of thousands of space suits for future colonies on Mars and beyond.
Challenges in Space
Every space mission comes with significant risks, and the Polaris Dawn mission was no exception. In addition to the challenge of testing new technology, the mission’s altitude placed the crew in uncharted territory for a private spaceflight. Ground engineers had to carefully choreograph the trajectory to avoid space debris and satellites orbiting Earth.
“During this mission, Dragon will travel repeatedly through the orbital altitudes of over 10 thousand satellites and bits of space debris,” SpaceX founder Elon Musk wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “No room for error in our calculations.”
The capsule’s depressurization and re-pressurization process, which involved venting air to expose the capsule to space and then filling it back up with oxygen and nitrogen, also posed risks. Isaacman mentioned in a pre-flight interview that the greatest concern during the spacewalk was a failure to re-pressurize the vehicle, which would have left the astronauts reliant solely on their oxygen reserves to return to Earth safely.
A New Era of Space Exploration
The Polaris Dawn mission is the second in a series of three missions Isaacman has planned with SpaceX. Following this mission, Isaacman has proposed a daring trip to the Hubble Space Telescope to raise its orbit and extend its life. While NASA has expressed some reservations about a privately funded mission going to a taxpayer-funded asset, Isaacman is optimistic about the possibility.
The third mission in the Polaris program is expected to involve the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s next-generation Starship rocket. The Starship, currently under development, is intended to carry astronauts to the Moon, Mars, and potentially beyond, with NASA investing approximately $4 billion into its development.
As space travel continues to shift toward commercial enterprises, the success of the Polaris Dawn mission further solidifies the role of private companies in the future of space exploration. With more missions on the horizon, the era of private citizens walking in space is just beginning.
For more information on the Polaris Dawn Program, you can visit their site here.
