Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4, an integrated payment processing solutions company, participated in the first private spacewalk on Thursday, September 12, 2024. (Source: @SpaceX via X)
A four-person SpaceX crew from the Polaris Dawn mission returned to Earth early Sunday after a historic five-day journey into space that included the world’s first commercial spacewalk.
According to the Associated Press, SpaceX’s Dragon capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near the Dry Tortugas in Florida. The returning crew included billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot.
“Polaris Dawn, our mission is complete,” the operators were heard announcing as the capsule landed safely on the night sea.
According to the report, the spacecraft reached a maximum altitude of 875 miles after launching Tuesday from the press site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Billionaire on SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission performs first private spacewalk
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with Polaris Dawn, a private human spaceflight mission with two crew members expected to conduct the first private spacewalk on September 10, 2024, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. (REUTERS/Joe Skipper / Reuters)
Isaacman, founder and CEO of credit card company Shift4, was the 264th person to perform a spacewalk since the former Soviet Union became the first to do so in 1965, according to the Associated Press. Sarah Gillis of SpaceX was the 265th person to perform a spacewalk. Anna Menon of SpaceX and former Air Force pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet eventually joined the list.
Before this crew’s mission, all spacewalks were conducted by professional astronauts.
Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, Commander Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis, crew members of Polaris Dawn, a private human spaceflight mission, attend a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, on August 19, 2024. Launch via (REUTERS/Joe Skipper / Reuters)
According to the Associated Press, this was the first time SpaceX attempted a water landing near the Dry Tortugas, a group of islands 70 miles west of Key West, Florida.
SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission will test a new spacesuit for extravehicular activity (EVA) during a spacewalk that is three times as far from Earth as the International Space Station. (Image credit: SpaceX / Fox News)
POLARIS DAWN LAUNCHES FROM NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER ON A MISSION TO EARTH’S RADIATION BELTS
The Dragon capsule’s hatch was open for about half an hour during Thursday’s commercial spacewalk. SpaceX broadcast the walk live and millions of viewers watched it on SpaceX.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is shown being prepared for another launch attempt for Polaris Dawn, a private human spaceflight mission, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, September 9, 2024. Two crew members are expected (REUTERS/Joe Skipper / Reuters)
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The spacewalk lasted less than two hours, shorter than spacewalks on the International Space Station, the newspaper reported. Most of the time was needed to depressurize the entire capsule and restore cabin air.
According to its website, SpaceX believes the short mission is a starting point to test spacesuit technology for longer missions in the future, including to Mars.
