Video: First successful spacewalk for a private mission

Arab Weather - SpaceX achieved a historic achievement on Thursday, as the crew of its private flight "Polaris Dawn" carried out the first spacewalk by a non-professional crew. In a special moment, two crew members, wearing their white and gray suits, emerged from their spacecraft "Dragon" in a stunning space show.

You may also like:

After strange sounds heard inside, Starliner spacecraft returns to Earth

SpaceX and the Polaris Dawn crew have completed the first commercial spacewalk!

“SpaceX, back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.” — Mission Commander @rookisaacman during Dragon egress and seeing our planet from ~738 km pic.twitter.com/lRczSv5i4k

— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) September 12, 2024

A giant step in the history of space exploration

American billionaire Jared Isaacman, the mission commander, was the first to step out of the capsule into space, strapped into a metal structure called Skywalker. At 700 kilometers above Earth, far higher than the International Space Station, Isaacman commented on the experience with the phrase: “This is amazing.” He was followed in the exit by Sarah Gillis, who tested SpaceX’s latest spacewalk suit.

Commander @rookisaacman has egressed Dragon and is going through the first of three suit mobility tests that will test overall hand body control, vertical movement with Skywalker, and foot restraint pic.twitter.com/XATJQhLuIZ

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 12, 2024

Space travel challenges

The two remained outside the spacecraft for ten minutes, while the remaining crew members, Scott Petite and Anna Menon, remained inside the capsule to observe the operation. With the hatch open, the crew was exposed to the vacuum of space, as the spacecraft was not equipped with an airlock. Despite these challenges, the operation was successful and lasted an hour and 45 minutes.

• Advanced suits and a promising future

The four crews' suits were specially developed for the mission, optimized to withstand extreme temperatures and enable smoother movement. They are equipped with cameras and real-time information on pressure and humidity displayed on the helmet. SpaceX hopes to produce "millions" of these suits, with the goal of enabling humans to live on other planets like Mars.

• Future Missions: Towards Space Conquest

The Polaris Dawn mission will last five days, and will include 36 scientific experiments and testing laser communications with Starlink satellites. The mission is part of the Polaris program, which aims to accelerate space exploration through private investment, with plans for two more missions, including the first crewed flight of the massive Starship rocket.

See also:

Harvest Moon to light up the sky next week

24 years after its launch, the European Space Agency is preparing to dismantle an artificial satellite