Two of Polaris Dawn’s four astronauts could make history today by performing the first ever commercial spacewalk at around 700 kilometers (435 miles) above our planet. Jared Isaacman, the mission leader and funder, and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis will leave the confines and safety of the Crew Dragon capsule for 15 and 20 minutes each, while the other two crew members, Scott Poteet and Anna Menon, monitor their status from inside the vehicle. The event will be live streamed by SpaceX on its website and on X starting at 4:50AM Eastern time, with a backup opportunity scheduled for September 13. The Crew Dragon lacks an airlock, so the astronauts will have to depressurize the vehicle before opening a hatch and donning upgraded extravehicular activity (EVA) suits equipped with new joints, heads-up display (HUD), camera, and Faraday layer. The spacewalk will test the suits’ durability and provide valuable data for future missions. The entire operation is expected to last two hours, showcasing the potential of commercial space travel and pushing the boundaries of human exploration beyond what has been achieved since the Apollo program.
