Billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis have made history as the first non-professional astronauts to complete a spacewalk during a commercial mission.
The duo stepped out of the SpaceX Dragon capsule at 11:52 BST on Thursday, embarking on the historic walk 435 miles (700km) above Earth.
Isaacman, who funded the Polaris Dawn mission, was the first to exit the capsule, testing his specially designed suit while floating in the vacuum of space. “Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here Earth sure looks like a perfect world,” Isaacman commented, marvelling at the view.
He was followed by Sarah Gillis, who narrated her spacewalk and provided updates on her suit’s performance using the heads-up display embedded in her helmet, a new feature of SpaceX’s extravehicular activity (EVA) suits. These suits represent an upgrade from the previous intravehicular activity (IVA) suits, designed to be worn during both launch and landing.
The mission was not without its challenges. The spacewalk, originally scheduled for earlier in the day, was postponed, adding to the tension as the crew prepared for the walk on a spacecraft without an airlock. This meant the entire Dragon capsule had to be depressurised to mimic the space environment outside. The crew also spent two days pre-breathing to avoid decompression sickness, commonly known as “the bends,” caused by the shift in pressure.
Dr Simeon Barber, a research scientist at the Open University, highlighted the differences between this spacewalk and those carried out by government-funded agencies like NASA. Unlike traditional missions where astronauts use an airlock, the SpaceX Dragon capsule had to be fully exposed to the vacuum of space, increasing the complexity and risk. “It’s really exciting, and I think it shows again that SpaceX is not afraid to do things in a different way,” Barber told the BBC.
The crew of the Resilience spacecraft includes Isaacman, his close friend and retired air force pilot Scott ‘Kidd’ Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis. While Isaacman had previously flown to space, this marked a first for the rest of the crew. The Dragon capsule used for the mission had flown to space 46 times before, but this was the first time the EVA suits were tested in such extreme conditions.
This spacewalk took place at a higher altitude than any previous spacewalks, and the mission’s EVA suits were specially designed to be both comfortable and flexible enough to be worn throughout the entire mission, eliminating the need for separate suits.
The Resilience spacecraft launched from Earth on Tuesday, aiming to reach an orbit of up to 870 miles (1,400km), the furthest any human has travelled since NASA’s Apollo programme ended in the 1970s.
While private space travel remains in its infancy and prohibitively expensive, the success of the Polaris Dawn mission signals a major step forward. Entrepreneurs like Isaacman and Elon Musk are pushing to expand private sector involvement in space, with the goal of making space travel accessible to non-professional astronauts in the future.
SOURCE: BBC
Follow us on:
Trump and Biden have met for the first time since the 2024 election, pledging a…
In a surprising Cabinet shake-up, Trump has appointed Gaetz as Attorney General, Rubio as Secretary…
NNPC has carried out a management shakeup, appointing a new CFO and two EVPs, to…
Elon Musk aims to redefine global travel with SpaceX’s Starship rocket, promising intercontinental flights under…
Ledum Mitee has affirmed that Ogoni people will present their demands to Tinubu within the…
The TCN has revealed that armed vandals damaged critical infrastructure in an attack on the…
View Comments
<<<<recruitement form="" is="" out="" we="" are="" replacing="" a="" new="" officers="" interested="" applicant="" should="" contact="" us="" for="" more="" information.;="">>><>Custom Auctions Is Up Again and Granting Nigerians the
Privilege to Own Vehicles at Affordable RatesLEGAL, AUTHORISE AND APROVED BY THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA.AUCTION ITEMS HERE ARE…
1. MOTOR CYCLES
2. BAGS OF RICE
3. ELECTRONIC'S ARE LAPTOPS/TV/PHONE'S ETC
4. BALE OF CLOTHES
5.TRUCKS/VEHICLES.Bags of rice
Royal umbrella=28, 500
Mama Gold=27, 500
Royal stallion=27,500
Rising sun=28,500
Special rice=28, 500
Mama Africa=27,500
Elephant Gold=28,500
Caprice =28,500
: TRANSPORTATION CHARGES IS (#3,500) A
BELOW ARE SOME OF THE VEHICLES AVAILABLE INCLUDE. VEHICLES AND THE AUCTION PRICES ARE:-
Golf2=₦350,000
Golf3= ₦450,000
Golf4= ₦550,000
Toyota Land Cruiser-N1.3m
•Toyota Prado N1.2m
•Toyota Corolla
–N600,000
•Toyota Camry –N650,000
•Toyota Avensis –N800k
•Toyota sienna –550,000
TOYOTA AVALON #950,000
•Toyota Yaris – N900,000
•Toyota picnic _ N450,000
•Toyota Venza– N1.7m
•Toyota Matrix –700,000
Spider 1m800k
Muscle 1m900k
• Toyota RAV4 –N900,000
•Toyota Hilux Pickup-N1m
Mini bus 900k
•Toyota Dyna Truck–N1.3million
•Toyota 4 Runner–N1m
tundra 2.670,000
tacoma 2.5Million
•Toyota Hiace Bus –N1.5m
•Toyota Highlander-N1.2m
•Toyota Big daddy-800k
Honda Baby Boy= ₦780,000
Honda Accord EOD= ₦950,000
Honda City= ₦750,000
Honda Crosstour= ₦2.8M
Honda CR-V= ₦1.4M
Honda Odyssey= ₦850,000
Honda Pilot= ₦1.3
LEXUS ES300@#1.3 MILLION
LEXUS ES330@#1.6 MILLION
LEXUS ES350@#2 MILLION
LEXUS RX300@#1.7 MILLION
LEXUS RX330@#3 MILLION
LEXUS RX350@#4 MILLION
LEXUS RX400@#3.5 MILLION
LEXUS GX460@#4 MILLION
LEXUS GX470@#5 MILLION
Lexus GX460=₦6.6M
Lexus GX470=₦8.4M
Lexus GX570=₦13.8M
Lexus IS-250=₦2.1M
Lexus ES-330=₦1.5M
Lexus ES-350=₦2.6M
Lexus RX300= ₦1.5M
Lexus RX330= ₦2.8M
Lexus RX350= ₦3.2M.
Acura RDX=₦3M
Acura RSX=₦2.8M
Acura TSX=₦2.6M
Acura ZDX=₦3.2M
Acura MDX= ₦2.4M
Mercedes-Benz C-Class= ₦950,000
Mercedes-Benz E-Class= ₦1.1M
Mercedes-Benz GLK= ₦4.5m
Mercedes-Benz ML320= ₦850,000
Mercedes Benz ML330= ₦1.8M
Mercedes-Benz ML350= ₦5.2M
BENZ C-CLASS ₦3,000,000
MERCEDES-BENZ E-Class ₦3,500,000
MERCEDES-BENZ G-Class ₦4,000,000
MERCEDES-BENZ GLK ₦4,500,000
MERCEDES BENZ ML₦5,000,000
Mercedes-Benz C-Class ₦1.5 million
Mercedes-Benz E-Class ₦1.7 million
Mercedes-Benz G-Class ₦2.5 million
Mercedes-Benz GLK ₦3.5 Million
Mercedes Benz ML350 ₦2.3 million
Mercedes Benz g-wagon ₦125 million
Nissan pathfinder= ₦1.9M
Nissan Altima= ₦820,000
Nissan Armanda= ₦3.2M
Nissan Maxima= ₦600,000.e.t.c.
Range rover vogue 6m
Range rover sport HSE 4.8m
Land rover 3m
MANY MORE EXCLUSIVE OFFER'S LIKE.....
LAPTOPS, GENERATOR'S, FRIDGE, CONTAINERS, PHONE, MOTORCYCLE, AND KEKE.... Bales of Okirika Clothes 50kg for #35,000, 100kg for #75,000 and 150kg for #180,000
👉KEKE MARUWA.
Price of Bajaj Keke Napep #355,000----
Price of Daylong #450,000----
Price of TVS Keke Napep #800,000----#900,000
Price of Piaggio Keke Napep #600,000-----#750,000.
👉 CONTACT 08O ___-6739 __-9O9O
Bags of cement #3,500
Delivery cost is #1,000
INSTALLMENTAL PAYMENT IS FULL ALLOWED!!All VEHICLES ARE SLIGHTLY NEGOTIABLE〽WE COMMENCE DELIVERY WITHIN 36 STATE IN NIGERIA. 〽.〽.〽.〽.〽.〽.〽.〽.〽〽.〽.〽.〽.〽〽.〽.〽.〽.〽