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SpaceX Polaris Dawn live: Astronauts complete first ever private spacewalk

Billionaire Jared Isaacman and engineer Sarah Gillis leave the safety of their capsule and return, 435 miles above Earth

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Jared Isaacman leaves the Crew Dragon capsule (Photo: SpaceX via AP)
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Two astronauts have made history after performing the first ever private spacewalk – 435 miles above Earth.

The commander of the Polaris Dawn mission, billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman, was the first to emerge from the hatch of the SpaceX capsule at 6.52am Eastern Time (10.52am UK time) – voicing the words: “Beautiful world.”

Livestreamed back to Earth, Mr Isaacman was seen against the backdrop of the planet far below. He spent several minutes carrying out tests of his spacesuit before returning to the capsule.

“Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world,” he said.

After he returned, Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer, ventured outside the craft, before also returning safely.

The mission aimed to test trailblazing equipment including slim SpaceX-developed spacesuits and a process to fully depressurise the Crew Dragon cabin.

Four astronauts had blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida in the Crew Dragon spaceship on Tuesday. The high-risk endeavour by Elon Musk’s company aims to push the boundaries of commercial spaceflight.

This image made from a SpaceX video shows the crew of the first private spacewalk led by tech billionaire Jared Isaacman inside the capsule, Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (SpaceX via AP)
The inside of the capsule (Photo: SpaceX via AP)

The mission is being funded by Mr Isaacman. Also taking part are retired US Air Force Lt Col Scott Poteet, 50, and mission specialists Ms Gillis, 30, and Anna Menon, 38.

Mr Isaacman – a tech and aviation entrepreneur – has declined to say how much the mission is costing but it is likely to be hundreds of millions of dollars.

Bill Nelson, administrator of Nasa, which helped fund the mission, praised the spacewalk. “Today’s success represents a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry and @NASA’s long-term goal to build a vibrant US space economy,” he wrote on X.

This was the first time that non-government astronauts had attempted a spacewalk. They are highly risky endeavours and the Polaris Dawn crew did not have the usual training seen on a government mission. The capsule does not have an airlock – meaning the two crew members remaining inside also had to wear fully sealed spacesuits to survive.

The walk was delayed by a few hours on Thursday morning.

This image provided by SpaceX on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, shows a view of Earth and the Dragon capsule's Skywalker spacewalk platform shortly after the Polaris Dawn crew launched into an orbit. (SpaceX via AP)
The Dragon capsule’s Skywalker spacewalk platform shortly after the Polaris Dawn crew launched into an orbit (Photo: SpaceX via AP)

Before it began, the capsule was completely depressurised, with the whole crew relying on their SpaceX-developed spacesuits for life support.

On exiting, the two astronauts were aided by a platform attached to the top of the capsule named Skywalker. Outside, theyperformed various tasks to test their spacesuits and procedures for the capsule.

Lt Colonel Poteet, a former fighter pilot, said the Polaris crew had spent two-and-a-half years training for the mission with simulations and “experiential learning” in challenging, uncomfortable environments.

“I can tell you without a doubt this has been some of the most challenging training that I’ve ever experienced,” he said before the launch.

Throughout Wednesday, the spacecraft circled Earth in an oval-shaped orbit between 190 km (118 miles) and 1,400 km (870 miles) high – which is the farthest in space that humans have travelled since the last US Apollo mission in 1972.

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