The first spacewalk by a private citizen could be another historic event in commercial spaceflight, and it will begin with SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission launch.
Stepping outside SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, billionaire Jared Isaacman hopes to become the first non-professional astronaut to do a private spacewalk. Isaacman has funded a large portion of the expedition.
With an altitude goal of about 870 miles (1,400 kilometers), the mission will be the highest crewed spacecraft since the Apollo missions, which took place more than 50 years ago.
With SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis joining him, Isaacman will conduct his two-hour spacewalk at a lower orbit altitude of about 434 miles (700 km). The two will be donning SpaceX spacesuits that have cameras mounted on the helmet and helmet displays.
However, the Crew Dragon does not have an airlock like other contemporary spacecraft, so before they leave, the entire capsule must be depressurized. This, together with the usage of the new spacesuits, raises the risk to everyone on board.
If all proceeds as planned, the spacewalk will add to the numerous famous and unforgettable occasions when astronauts have ventured outside of their spacecraft with just a few layers of cloth separating them from the vastness of space.
