First Private Spacewalk: Polaris Dawn and SpaceX Suits

Early on Thursday morning, a crew of four private astronauts made history by performing the first commercial spacewalk from a SpaceX Dragon capsule. The spacewalk, the riskiest part of the five-day Polaris Dawn mission, began at 6:12 a.m. ET when oxygen started flowing into the astronauts' suits. Although only two of the four crew members exited the capsule, all four were required to wear the new SpaceX suits since the Dragon capsule lacks an airlock, necessitating the depressurization of the spacecraft.

A spacewalk, also known as extravehicular activity, is when astronauts leave the relative safety of their spacecraft to face the vacuum of space. Historically, such activities were carried out only by government astronauts for repairs, maintenance, or scientific experiments. Spacewalks typically last between five and eight hours.

Billionaire and mission leader Jared Isaacman was the first to exit the Dragon capsule. Following him, SpaceX engineer Sara Gillis performed her spacewalk. They used a special ladder device called the "skywalker" that SpaceX added to the Dragon specifically for this mission to assist with exiting the capsule. Isaacman and Gillis spent less than ten minutes outside the spacecraft, checking the functionality and performance of the suits.

"Back home we have a lot of work, but here the world seems perfect," Isaacman said. SpaceX's suits are lighter and more mobile compared to NASA's bulky white suits. A major difference is the absence of the cumbersome life support backpack; instead, life support systems are delivered via a 12-foot umbilical connected to the spacecraft.

While Isaacman and Gillis conducted their spacewalk, the remaining crew members, Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX engineer Anna Menon, closely monitored their progress. After Gillis closed the hatch, the capsule was gradually re-pressurized. The entire operation took less than two hours.

This achievement highlights SpaceX’s ambitious goals in private space travel. If Mars missions are successful, the suits worn by Polaris Dawn astronauts could be the basis for suits used in travel to the Red Planet.

The Polaris Dawn mission has also marked other milestones. Following the launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the capsule ascended to 1400 kilometers, surpassing any previous human missions since Apollo 17. In the remaining days, the crew will conduct scientific experiments and test laser communications with Starlink satellites. The crew is expected to return early Sunday morning and land off the coast of Florida, though the exact return schedule has yet to be announced.