The Polaris Dawn mission by SpaceX has made history as one of its crew members completed the first-ever spacewalk by an amateur astronaut.
Jared Isaacman, a billionaire who funded and led the mission, stepped out of the spacecraft to perform the spacewalk, followed by engineer and mission specialist Sarah Gillis, who was once a violinist.
The crew aimed to test SpaceX’s new Extravehicular Activity (EVA) spacesuits, which were specially designed by a costume designer known for working on superhero movies. This marks the first commercial and privately-funded space mission to complete a spacewalk, as SpaceX is a business, not a government agency like NASA.
The mission still has two days left of its five-day journey, during which the spacecraft will remain 700 km above Earth before returning home. Even though only two crew members actually stepped outside, all four had to wear the EVA suits because the spacecraft’s hatch stayed open, exposing everyone to the vacuum of space.
Experts have praised the crew’s performance, with science correspondent Pallab Ghosh noting that they “carried out their mission like pros.” Dr. Simeon Barber of the Open University commented that SpaceX’s success makes it “a real force to be reckoned with.”
After the spacewalk, SpaceX confirmed that everything went as planned, and the crew was safe and sound.
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