SpaceX attempted to make history on Thursday, September 12, with the first private spacewalk, conducted by non-professional astronauts. A risky business broadcast live.
The departure was imminent at around 12:50 (Paris time) at an altitude of about 700 km above Earth; the International Space Station (ISS) operates at about 400 km altitude. SpaceX delayed the time of the spacewalk by a few hours on Thursday morning, without giving any reason.
The Polaris Dawn mission was launched at the instigation of billionaire Jared Isaacman, 41, one of two passengers who briefly ventured off the ship. The second is SpaceX employee Sarah Gillis. The other two members of the mission, pilot Scott Poteet and SpaceX employee Anna Menon, remain aboard the Dragon capsule to ensure everything goes as planned.
Since the ship is not equipped with an airlock, the entire crew is exposed to the vacuum of space once the hatch is opened. The aim of the operation is to test the first suits from Elon Musk’s company, intended for the vacuum of space, white and futuristic looking.
Two years of training
Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis must take turns going outside, each for 15 to 20 minutes. They will not float freely in space, but will use a structure called a Skywalker, attached to the front of the capsule and made up of bars, to hold on to and perform movements.
“We will give a little impression of dancing”Jared Isaacman explained last month during a press conference. The suits are connected by cables to the ship to provide them with oxygen in particular. The exit is expected to last about two hours, much less than the exits of astronauts from government agencies outside the ISS, where they also perform very technical tasks.
The four crew members underwent more than two years of training to prepare for this historic mission, which included hundreds of hours in simulators, skydiving, scuba diving and climbing an Ecuadorian volcano.
Beyond their spacewalk, the crew must also test satellite laser communications between the spacecraft and the vast constellation of Starlink satellites. They will also need to perform 36 scientific experiments, including tests on contact lenses that incorporate microelectronics to monitor changes in eye pressure in space.
Despite everything, given the altitude and the circumstances, “The risk is not zero, that’s for sure”“This is a very important step forward for NASA,” former NASA director Sean O’Keefe told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “And it is certainly superior to anything achieved by the commercial sector to date”The former NASA chief continues. Since the first release “extravehicular” in 1965, all have been performed by professional astronauts to date.
Business exploration
The suits worn by the four adventurers are derived from those already used by SpaceX on its ships and have been upgraded to withstand extreme temperatures or improve mobility. They are also equipped with a camera and information about the suit’s pressure, temperature and humidity is displayed directly on the helmet.
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SpaceX wants to be able to produce them “millions”to enable humanity to become a multi-planetary species: its stated goal. “Someday someone might take a version of this to Mars”that’s how it is “a great honor” to test them, said Jared Isaacman, head of financial firm Shift4.
The mission took off from Florida on Tuesday for about five days. From day one, the capsule ventured up to 1,400 km (870 miles) in altitude, higher than any crew since the Apollo lunar missions more than half a century ago.
Polaris Dawn marks a new stage in commercial space exploration, and its commander Jared Isaacman defends the usefulness of private investment to accelerate the conquest of space. Polaris Dawn inaugurates the Polaris program, announced two and a half years ago and which should include three missions.
After a second similar one that is currently underway, the third should be the first manned flight of SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket, currently in development and intended for trips to the Moon and Mars.
