The Polaris Dawn mission has made space exploration history by completing the first private spacewalk. Billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX mission specialist Sarah Gillis became the first non-professional astronauts to venture outside a spacecraft into the vacuum of space. Both successfully completed their extravehicular activities (EVAs) and returned safely to the spacecraft, marking a significant milestone for private space exploration.
The spacewalk commenced at 11:17 BST when pure oxygen flowed into the astronauts’ suits, officially beginning the EVA. Jared Isaacman was the first to exit the spacecraft, standing on a specially fitted platform. Sarah Gillis followed shortly after, making this mission the first private expedition to perform an EVA outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
This mission also tested SpaceX’s new extravehicular activity suits in real space conditions for the first time, having only undergone laboratory testing prior to this flight. Isaacman spent over 10 minutes outside the vehicle, assessing the mobility and functionality of the suit in the challenging conditions of space.