Polaris Dawn mission achieves first private spacewalk in history – Libération

Stick your nose outside, take a few moments to breathe in the vastness of the void of space and then go back to shelter. The event of this Thursday, September 12 is only a small step for man, but it still marks the history of space exploration in its own way: the American billionaire Jared Isaacman and his colleague Sarah Gillis, respectively an entrepreneur and an engineer by trade, carried out a spacewalk this Thursday around noon (Paris time) as part of the Polaris Dawn mission, in orbit since Tuesday. This is the first time that a “spacewalk” has been carried out by private astronauts.

Private ecosystem

Polaris Dawn is not the first space mission organized by Jared Isaacman. A businessman and airplane pilot with a passion for space, he has set himself the goal of pioneering private space exploration. The development of an ecosystem of companies in the private sector is also supported, encouraged and funded by NASA, which plans to abandon the field of low Earth orbit when the International Space Station (ISS) has retired – in the 2030s – to focus on missions to the Moon. Earth orbit should then see the arrival of several small private American space stations (in addition to the Chinese station and the future Indian station, moreover), which will allow astronauts to continue training and conducting experiments in zero gravity.

The Polaris Dawn mission is therefore trying to test equipment, techniques and astronauts independently of NASA. The crew is composed of Jared Isaacman himself, two SpaceX engineers, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, and Scott Poteet, a retired US Army pilot, all four of whom have completed three years of astronaut training (team cohesion, emergency management, first aid, piloting, working in extreme environments, etc.).

Put to the test

Polaris Dawn began with a small flourish that is intended to teach us a great deal about the human body’s adaptation to the space environment: the four novice astronauts reached the highest orbital altitude reached by humans since the Gemini 11 mission in 1966 on Wednesday. They traveled as far away from Earth as 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) above sea level – where the ISS orbits at a stable altitude of about 400 kilometers (250 miles). The goal was to reach a region called the “Van Allen Belt,” which contains a high density of energetic particles from the solar wind. By studying the effects of this radiation on the human body, we will better prepare for distant manned voyages to the Moon or Mars.

The spacecraft used for the mission is a SpaceX vehicle: it is the same “Crew Dragon” that routinely serves as a shuttle between Earth and the ISS, except that today and for the first time it opened its hatch to the outside, to let two of the four astronauts go out into the void. One of the challenges was to test the depressurization procedure on a full scale. Because there is no airlock in the Crew Dragon: the entire cabin of the ship was depressurized. It was also an opportunity to see what SpaceX’s spacesuits are worth, never tested outside until now – they have only been worn indoors by the NASA astronauts who usually use this ship.

Take no risks

Once Crew Dragon had descended – Wednesday evening – to a reasonable altitude, between 195 and 737 kilometers from the ground, the schedule for the third day of the mission could be rolled out for the big spacewalk. SpaceX broadcast a video on YouTube to follow the event live from 11 a.m. (Paris time).

At 11:58, preparations officially began. The astronauts donned their brand new outer suits, and the spacecraft was slowly depressurized. Once the internal pressure was zero, the round door was opened. Only Sarah Gillis and Jared Isaacman had the chance to exit – without straying a single meter, despite a safety line that prevented them from getting lost, of course. They always kept in contact with one hand hanging on a railing. The idea is to take absolutely no risks. Meanwhile, the other two remained at their posts in the cockpit, in front of the dashboard.

“We’re not going to have fun floating in the void”Isaacman was keen to clarify at a press conference on Monday: “Ed White’s photo is certainly historic, but Buzz Aldrin taught us that this is not the right way to do a spacewalk.” The billionaire refers to the very first spacewalks of the pioneers of space exploration: during the Gemini 4 mission in June 1965, NASA astronaut Ed White became the first American to go into space. He left behind some spectacular images of himself floating, free, at the end of his umbilical cord, against a backdrop of blue Earth and black sky. But the adventure was as exhilarating as it was irresponsible. A little later, in November 1966, Buzz Aldrin boarded the Gemini 12 mission and changed the rules of spacewalks, installing a safety rail to which astronauts are required to hold on at all times.

15 minutes outside

Fifty-eight years later, Isaacman and Gillis took turns getting out of their seats (with difficulty, because space is confined) and hoisting themselves up to the outside of their ship’s door, keeping one hand on the bars. Isaacman spent 7 minutes and 56 seconds outside. He busied himself testing the proper functioning of the SpaceX suit. Temperature, fluid circulation, oxygenation, communication, maneuverability… All feedback is good to take to possibly improve the equipment. The entrepreneur was seen doing a few arm flexing movements. Then he returned to his seat, and Gillis took his place. She in turn spent 7 minutes and 15 seconds outside, doing the same tests.

Then everyone settled back into their seats, the door was closed and the ship was re-pressurized. The absence of leaks was checked. Everything went well and the spacewalk was declared over, 1 hour and 46 minutes after the start of the depressurization. The astronauts will be able to return to Earth in two days with valuable information to prepare for future missions, and no doubt some great memories.