Billionaire Jared Isaacman shared his emotional first words as he completed the world's first private space walk, saying: 'From here Earth sure looks like a perfect world'
More than 435 miles above our heads, the crew of SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission have made history as they completed the world's first private spacewalk.
Isaacman and mission specialist Sarah Gillis have both now completed their spacewalks and returned to their spacecraft. 11:44 BST: Cabin pressure drops below one psi and Mission Commander Jared Isaacman is given the all-clear to begin opening the hatch All four members of the crew underwent suit checks, ensuring that the helmet's heads-up display functions and that there were no air leaks.
Once outside the craft, Isaacman tested the mobility of the EVA suit as he stood on the specially fitted 'Skywalker' platform. Isaacman was followed by Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis , a SpaceX employee who became the second private individual to undertake a spacewalk As she exited the craft, Gillis informed mission control that some of the seals around the hatch were 'bulging' due to the pressure change.
With the hatch closed, air returned to the Dragon capsule slowly bringing the pressure back up to safe levels.At 13:00 BST mission control confirmed that EVA had concluded, bringing the first ever commercial spacewalk to a close. Advertisement Earlier today, SpaceX confirmed that the four-hour window for the spacewalk would take place at 05:58 ET .
The successful conclusion for this mission is a major leap forward for SpaceX's ambitions in commercial spaceflight. Unlike the EVA suits used by NASA's astronauts, the SpaceX suits only get their life support through an umbilical connecting to the ship rather than from a built-in system. Since the Dragon capsule does not have an airlock, the entire four-person crew needed to be wearing EVA suits during the spacewalk. This includes Mission Pilot Scott Poteet and Medical Officer Anna Mennon who remained in the spacecraft
That exposed all four crew members to the harsh conditions of low orbit and broke the current record for most people simultaneously in the vacuum of space. However, the consequences can be far more severe since, just like deep-sea divers, when astronauts enter the vacuum of space the sudden drop in pressure can cause dissolved nitrogen in the blood to expand into bubbles.
In the last half hour before exiting the vehicle, the Polaris Dawn crew moved onto a pure oxygen mixture to purge the last of the nitrogen from their bloodstreams. One commenter wrote on X, formerly Twitter, 'Let's go!! Praying for a safe spacewalk for Polaris dawn.''Humanity once again reaching out towards the stars', another commenter said.Some commenters also shared their amazement at the technological advancements behind this impressive feat.
At that altitude, the Dragon capsule briefly entered Earth's Van Allen Belt - a region where magnetic fields trap highly radiating charged particles. The new helmets also include a 'heads-up display' and a camera which can stream video to Earth via the Dragon spacecraft.
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