CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — Polaris Dawn and SpaceX made history as they conducted the first-ever commercial spacewalk on Thursday morning.

“SpaceX, back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world,” said Polaris Dawn’s Cmdr. Jared Isaacman after becoming the first person in history to conduct a commercial spacewalk.

After being in space for about 12 minutes and doing some mobility tests of the SpaceX suit, he climbed back into SpaceX's Dragon capsule and was followed by Sarah Gillis, who is a mission specialist. Both were halfway out of the Dragon during their spacewalk as it was moving about 25,000 mph (15,534 kmh). 

Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and Anna Menon, medical officer and mission specialist, stayed within Dragon during the spacewalk. 

It took time for all four to prepare for the first-ever commercial spacewalk. All previous spacewalks have been conducted by space agencies like NASA.

And this was also the first time a SpaceX Dragon capsule participated in a spacewalk. Before the big event, the Dragon, named Resilience, was depressurized before the hatch opened after 6:50 a.m. ET. All four crewmembers were exposed to the vacuum of space, but it was Isaacman and Gillis who separately went outside of the Dragon as they were tethered to it. It was about a 12-minute spacewalk for each of them.

“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,” SpaceX stated before the spacewalk.

This spacewalk was also the first real test of SpaceX’s spacesuit, also known as an extravehicular activity (EVA). During a press conference before the mission — which the Polaris Dawn mission is a joint operation with SpaceX — Gillis said the EVA suit has greater mobility with a state-of-the-art helmet that comes with a heads-up display and camera.

In that same press conference, Menon told Spectrum News that their training gave them a variety of skills to prepare them for the spacewalk and mission.

Once the spacewalk was completed, the hatch of the Dragon closed and the capsule slowly repressurized as oxygen and nitrogen levels return to normal.

In a separate interview, Poteet explained to Spectrum News about some of the experiments that the Polaris Dawn will be conducting.

Polaris Program’s first Polaris Dawn mission and its four-civilian crew have already made a series of firsts: The crew in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule on Wednesday orbited above the Earth at 870 miles (1,400 km), breaking the record of the Gemini 11 mission in 1966, which achieved an altitude of 853 miles (1,373 kilometers) above the little round planet. Polaris Dawn orbited the Earth six times during that height. 

It also meant Menon and Gillis are the first women in history to reach a high-altitude orbit. The two are also SpaceX lead space operations engineers.

During the five-day mission, the crew is conducting a variety of experiments, from medical to science, such as monitoring changes to eyesight and the impact microgravity has on blood flow.

Polaris Program is organized by Isaacman, a philanthropist and CEO of Shift4. He also launched and was a member of the Inspiration4 mission in 2021, the first all-citizen spaceflight. The Polaris Dawn mission, like Inspiration4, will raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

During the mission, Menon read her book “Kisses from Space” to patients of St. Jude and her own family.

One of the experiments being done is testing Starlink’s connections. SpaceX owns the Starlink company, which sends up communications satellites.

“So, Starlink is a game changer, and that's what SpaceX is hoping; provides internet services anywhere in the world based on the satellite mesh constellation that they've created,” Poteet told Spectrum News.

So far, all four have used Starlink to speak with their family members back on Earth.

Day five of the Polaris Dawn mission will see the four get ready for the sixth day, when they will be splashing down off Florida’s coast.

The mission was launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, Sept. 10, for a five-day mission.

Follow Polaris Dawn's Journey