Polaris Dawn astronauts Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis successfully conducted the first-ever commercial spacewalk outside the Crew Dragon spacecraft on September 12. The SpaceX and Polaris crew began preparations at 6:01 a.m. Eastern time, making sure all their gear was in place and donning the SpaceX extravehicular activity (EVA) suits that all four crew members must wear, as opening the Dragon’s hatch would take them out into space. All the air was evacuated from the craft, and pure oxygen was pumped into the suit to check for leaks before Isaacman opened the hatch.
A few minutes before 7 a.m. EST, Isaacman stepped through the hatch and out of the spacecraft. Dragon’s cameras captured his silhouette against the backdrop of Earth. He then performed a series of athletic exercises as scheduled; the purpose of the spacewalk was to test SpaceX’s new EVA suit. Then he returned to the capsule. “We’ve got a ton of work to do back home,” he said as he stepped out of the spacecraft. “But it looks like a perfect world from here.”
After he returned to his seat, SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis prepared for her turn. She had to deal with a slightly bulging hatch seal, but was eventually able to climb out of the hatch and perform a series of mobility drills just as Isaacman had done. After she was done, the team closed the hatch and began repressurizing the Dragon to equalize the air pressure inside, before checking the cabin for leaks. By 7:55 a.m., Dragon was repressurized, concluding today’s spacewalk.
