Today, 12 September 2024, mission commander Jared Isaacman will make history as the first astronaut to undertake a commercial spacewalk as part of the Polaris Dawn private space mission.
The crew of four launched into orbit on 10 September 09:23 UTC onboard a Crew Dragon capsule from SpaceX.
Isaacman will exit the Dragon capsule to perform a series of tests to check the mobility of a new extravehicular activity (EVA) suit being developed by SpaceX before returning inside.
The space suits are designed to be lightweight and sleek, eliminating the bulk which made previous suits difficult and painful to use, while still maintaining the same level of protection.
The suits feature the same black and white design already seen on SpaceX's intervehicular activity suits.
As the Crew Dragon capsule wasn't designed to facilitate spacewalks, it has no separate airlock, meaning the whole capsule has to be depressurised and so all four crew members will be wearing the suits.
Click here to read the incredible story of the first ever spacewalk
Then mission specialist Sarah Gillis will repeat the spacewalk shortly afterwards.
Once inside, the spacecraft's hatch will be resealed, and the Dragon capsule repressurised with oxygen and hydrogen, concluding the Polaris Dawn spacewalk.
The entire operation is expected to last around two hours, during which time the pair will be monitored from inside the capsule by mission pilot Kidd Poteet and medical officer Anna Menon, as well as ground support.
You can watch the Polaris Dawn spacewalk here, live!
Click here to read about the first commercial mission to the ISS
