Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis Lead First Non-Government Spacewalk on SpaceX's Polaris Dawn Mission

Sep 12, 2024, 10:46 AM

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched early Tuesday, carrying billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crewmates into orbit for the Polaris Dawn mission. The mission aims to set a post-Apollo record and conduct the first non-government spacewalk. On Thursday morning, Isaacman and SpaceX crew trainer Sarah Gillis opened the forward hatch of their Polaris Dawn spacecraft to take turns floating outside. The Crew Dragon's atmosphere was vented to match space pressure, dropping to around 5 pounds per square inch. Isaacman manually opened the hatch at 6:45am EDT while the spacecraft was 730 kilometers over the southern Indian Ocean. The spacewalk is being broadcast live, showcasing Isaacman performing maneuvers near the Crew Dragon Resilience capsule, with Sarah Gillis commanding the hatch opening.