SpaceX achieved a historic milestone early Thursday morning with its first spacewalk, marking a significant achievement for the company. During the private Polaris Dawn mission, two crew members, Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis, exited SpaceX’s Dragon capsule “Resilience,” making this the first spacewalk conducted by civilians rather than government astronauts.
“Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth looks like a perfect world,” said Isaacman, the mission’s commander and benefactor, after completing the spacewalk.
Known as an extravehicular activity (EVA), the spacewalk represents a key milestone for SpaceX in its pursuit of interplanetary travel. The company spent over two years developing specialized suits for astronauts to withstand the harsh conditions of space, in collaboration with the Polaris Program led by Isaacman, the billionaire founder of Shift4 Payments. The Polaris Dawn mission also marks the first spaceflight for SpaceX employees, including mission specialist Gillis and medical officer Anna Menon.
The spacewalk lasted about two hours, with the full crew exposed to the vacuum of space after opening the spacecraft’s hatch. Isaacman and Gillis spent approximately seven minutes outside the capsule, focusing on testing the mobility and functionality of their spacesuits.
Launched on Tuesday, the Polaris Dawn mission not only achieved the spacewalk but also reached an orbit of more than 1,400 kilometers from Earth, the farthest humans have traveled since the Apollo program. The mission includes around 40 science and research experiments and aims to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Isaacman, who previously led the Inspiration4 mission in 2021, is spearheading the Polaris Program to advance private spaceflight. “This is the inspiration side of it,” Isaacman told CNBC before the mission. “Anything that’s different from what we’ve seen over the last 20 or 30 years excites people, making them wonder what the future holds.
