A crew of four civilians aboard SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission is preparing to make history by conducting the first-ever commercial spacewalk. The crew, none of whom are government astronauts, will unlock the hatch of their spacecraft, the Crew Dragon capsule, and venture into the vacuum of space during a live-streamed event.
Set to start at 5:58 a.m. ET, this extravehicular activity (EVA) will involve depressurizing the entire capsule to expose it to the vacuum of space. The mission, already historic for traveling farther into space than any human since NASA’s Apollo program ended, is pushing boundaries in private space exploration.
The crew includes Polaris Dawn mission financier and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, former U.S. Air Force pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis. Isaacman and Gillis will be the ones to leave the spacecraft for the brief spacewalk.
Leading up to the EVA, the crew has undergone a pre-breathe process to remove nitrogen from their blood, preventing dangerous gas bubbles in the vacuum of space. Once outside the spacecraft, Isaacman and Gillis will focus on testing SpaceX’s new extravehicular suits, which were designed specifically for this mission in just two and a half years.
The spacewalk itself will last around 20 minutes, with the crew climbing a mobility aid, dubbed “skywalker,” to float outside the spacecraft. SpaceX’s EVA suits, unlike NASA’s iconic spacesuits, do not include a Primary Life Support System (PLSS). Instead, the Polaris Dawn team will rely on long hoses connected to their spacecraft for life support.
While the EVA will primarily demonstrate the performance of these new spacesuits, it also reflects the broader vision for future space missions. Isaacman, who discussed this vision with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, sees the development of these suits as a step toward a future where tens of thousands of spacesuits are needed for settlements of people living in space. In their discussions, both Isaacman and Musk emphasized the need for affordable spacesuits, unlike the expensive bespoke ones used by space agencies today.
This mission marks a significant step in SpaceX’s ambitions for human spaceflight, showcasing the potential for commercial space exploration to push further into uncharted territory.
