SpaceX has completed the first spacewalk mission for tourists who are not professional astronauts. Two members of the Dragon capsule crew spent ten minutes each in space, about 700 km above Earth.
The „Polaris Dawn” mission was launched at the initiative of billionaire Jared Isaacman (41 years old), one of the two passengers who ventured outside the spacecraft, as reported by The Guardian.
The capsule hatch was opened around 13:50 - Romania time, and Jared Isaacman went out into space, where he stayed for almost ten minutes. He tested the mobility of the futuristic white space suit designed by Elon Musk's company. "We all have so much to do on Earth, but from here, it seems like such a perfect world," he said.
Isaacman was followed by Sarah Gillis, an engineer at SpaceX.
The two used a structure called Skywalker, located at the front of the capsule and made up of bars, to cling and perform movements.
The spacewalk took place as the capsule flew between Australia and Antarctica, 700 km above Earth. The International Space Station (ISS) is at an altitude of about 400 km.
The other two crew members, pilot Scott Poteet and colleague Anna Menon, an employee of SpaceX, remained aboard the Dragon capsule to ensure everything went according to plan.
Since the spacecraft is not equipped with a decompression chamber, the entire crew was exposed to the vacuum of space after the hatch was opened. The space suits, connected by cords to the spacecraft for oxygen supply, are still in the early stages of development, and Thursday's spacewalk was just a test, as noted by CNN.
The "Polaris Dawn" mission was launched two days ago and will last for three more days, during which the crew will continue nearly 40 experiments and enjoy a sunrise and sunset every 106 minutes, as stated by Anna Menon on Wednesday.
The return to Earth could take place in the early hours of Sunday.