SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn astronauts complete spacewalk: How it happened
Al Jazeera
The four-member civilian crew will return to Earth to cap a five-day trip after completing an experimental spacewalk.
The first-ever spacewalk by private civilians has been successfully attempted, with four passengers on board SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission being subjected to outer space conditions for about one hour.
The four-person crew will now start their journey back down to Earth on board the spacecraft, with a splashdown expected off the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday.
The first-ever commercial spacewalk was delayed for about two and a half hours, with the spacewalk starting at about 10:50 GMT after the hatch of the spacecraft was opened.
Before heading out, the pressure inside the capsule was slowly altered as part of the “pre-breathing” process that prepares the astronauts’ bodies. When the hatch was opened, the spacecraft was travelling at an elliptical orbit of 736km (457 miles) above the surface of the Earth at a speed of more than 25,000km/h (at least 15,500mph).
As billionaire mission commander Jared Isaacman opened the hatch and stepped up to transmit the first view of the planet from outside, the SpaceX crew on Earth erupted into cheers. He began limb movements which he had memorised beforehand to test out mobility in outer space.
