Smooth operators: SpaceX's historic all-civilian spacewalk was a success [Update]

Update: The first all-civilian carried by SpaceX was a success. First Jared Isaacman, then Sarah Gillis both safely exited and re-entered the Crew Dragon capsule. The whole process took around three hours, even though both astronauts spent only a couple of minutes outside the capsule.

You can re-watch the record breaking milestone on X:

Originally published article continues below:

The ongoing all-civilian Polaris Dawn space mission reached a historic milestone yesterday. The Crew Dragon capsule reached an apogee of more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles), marking the farthest humans have traveled in space since the completion of the Apollo program over 50 years ago. It was the highest crewed Earth orbit in history, surpassing the Gemini 11 mission.

Today, SpaceX and its four civilian astronauts are about to reach another huge milestone. Billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis will exit the Crew Dragon capsule—one by one—for a brief spacewalk.

Before the spacewalk, the Crew Dragon lowered its altitude to an elliptical orbit of roughly 190 x 700 km. The whole process will take almost two hours with the following plan and objectives:

“Dragon’s cabin pressure will slowly lower to vacuum prior to hatch opening. Once opened, all four crewmembers will be exposed to the vacuum of space. Mission Commander Jared Isaacman (EV1) will exit Dragon, perform a series of mobility tests in the newly-designed SpaceX EVA suit, and return to Dragon’s cabin. Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis (EV2) will perform the same series of actions and, after re-entering Dragon, close the spacecraft’s hatch. Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon will monitor vital support systems throughout the operation.

“After hatch closure, Dragon will slowly repressurize while oxygen and nitrogen levels return to normal. The entire spacewalk operation is expected to take approximately two hours.”

Given that the Crew Dragon doesn’t have an airlock, the whole capsule has to be depressurized. Even though only two civilian astronauts will leave the module, all four members will experience the vacuum environment at the same time—another moment for the history books.

Apart from the spacewalk and suit tests, Polaris Dawn—the first of three missions planned as part of the Polaris program—includes 36 research studies and experiments from 31 partner institutions and a test of Starlink laser-based communications in space. Launched into space on Tuesday, the Mission is planned to last only five days before the capsule splashes down in the ocean.