Polaris Dawn Crew Successfully Completes First-ever Private Spacewalk

WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Bernama-UPI) -- The first private spacewalk above Earth went off without a hitch as billionaire space enthusiast and Polaris Dawn commander Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis spent time outside the Dragon spacecraft Thursday morning, United Press International (UPI) reported.

Isaacman and Gillis, however, did more than enjoy the spectacular view of Earth and space from the spaceship. They also performed tests of SpaceX's new spacesuit to see if the sleeker suit was ready for some of the rigours of space.

"SpaceX, back at home we have a lot of work to do, but from here it looks like a perfect world," Isaacman said while standing outside the Dragon staring back at Earth.

Isaacman and Gillis stepped out of the Dragon one at a time for about 15 minutes each. The entire crew wore the new SpaceX EVA suits, made to be lightweight and more flexible while giving humans protection from the harsh environment outside of Earth.

Since the Dragon spacecraft does not have an airlock, the entire interior was exposed to the vacuum of space during the spacewalk. Pilot Scott "Kidd" Poteet and crew member Anna Menon were also be wearing their spacesuits as well.

Cameras mounted inside and outside the Drago, along with others attached to the spacewalkers' suits provided a unique view of space and Earth some 200 miles (321.8 km) higher than the International Space Station.

The private astronauts left Earth on Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Centre on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The crew on Wednesday completed its first goal of orbiting at an altitude of 870 miles (1400km) above Earth.

The private space mission already set records for establishing the farthest orbit around Earth since the Apollo era and the farthest a woman has been in space.

Polaris Dawn and the Dragon spacecraft will now return back to Earth where they are scheduled to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean.

-- BERNAMA-UPI