Polaris Dawn (space mission)

Chronicle

2024: Space Tourists' First Ever Spacewalk

On September 12, 2024, the first ever spacewalk by space tourists took place. As part of the Polaris Dawn private space mission, billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis left the Crew Dragon for a few minutes and returned.

The Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon of the Polaris Dawn mission launched from the site of the Kennedy Space Center on September 10, 2024. The crew of the ship, in addition to Isaeckman and Gillis, included retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott Poteet and SpaceX Chief Space Operations Engineer Anna Menon. The mission is funded by Isaeckman, founder of Shift4 Payments, a retail payment processing company. As of September 12, 2024, Forbes estimates his fortune at $1.9 billion.

Aljazeera.com

During the first ever spacewalk by space tourists, Isaeckman was the first to leave the ship. He was followed by Gillis, while Potit and Menon watched the process from the inside. Isaeckman and Gillis spent about 10 minutes outside the Crew Dragon capsule about 730 km above Earth. The mission, broadcast live on SpaceX's website, tested groundbreaking equipment including thin spacesuits and the process of completely depressurizing the Crew Dragon cockpit, a technology Elon Musk that hopes to be refined for future private missions on. Mars

We all have a lot of work at home. But from here, Earth certainly looks like the perfect world, "Isaeckman said.

Before the spacewalk began, the capsule was completely depressurized, and astronauts used SpaceX-designed spacesuits to produce oxygen, which was supplied through a hose connection from the Crew Dragon. This, as noted, was one of the riskiest missions for SpaceX.^[1]

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