SpaceX makes history with first spacewalk by private citizens

Led by fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman, the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission launched Tuesday from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, venturing deeper into space than any human crew since the Apollo era. The crew's Dragon spacecraft reached a high orbit of 434 miles (700 kilometers), and on Thursday, they began their extravehicular activity (EVA) with pure oxygen flowing into their suits.

Isaacman, the first to exit the spacecraft, emerged through the hatch and held onto the "Skywalker" structure, taking in a stunning view of Earth below. "Earth sure looks like a perfect world from here," he radioed to SpaceX mission control, where cheers erupted.

This marks another major achievement for SpaceX, which was founded by Elon Musk in 2002 and has since become a leader in space exploration, including providing NASA with transportation to the International Space Station. NASA chief Bill Nelson praised the mission, calling it "a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry."

Before the spacewalk, the crew followed a prebreathing procedure to prevent decompression sickness, and the cabin pressure was gradually reduced to match the vacuum of space. Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis took turns outside, testing the mobility of SpaceX’s next-gen suits equipped with helmet cameras and heads-up displays.

The spacewalk lasted an hour and 46 minutes, marking a historic first for the private sector, though it differed from earlier space feats when astronauts floated freely using jetpacks. Since Dragon lacks an airlock, the entire crew was exposed to the vacuum of space, with two remaining inside to monitor support systems.

This spacewalk is part of the first of three Polaris missions, a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX. The crew also reached an altitude of 870 miles, three times higher than the International Space Station, in a dangerous zone filled with high-energy particles. They are set to complete further tasks, including testing laser-based satellite communications and conducting experiments.

The final Polaris mission aims to be the first crewed flight of SpaceX's Starship, the rocket central to Musk's vision of colonizing Mars.