SpaceX is due to attempt the first private spacewalk in history in the early hours of Thursday 12 September, a risky undertaking whose live broadcast promises to be thrilling. The Polaris Dawn mission was launched at the instigation of billionaire Jared Isaacman, 41, who will be one of two passengers to briefly venture off the ship. The second will be SpaceX employee Sarah Gillis.
The other two members of the mission, pilot Scott Poteet and SpaceX employee Anna Menon, will remain seated aboard the Dragon capsule to ensure everything goes according to plan.
“We will give a little impression of dancing”
Since the ship is not equipped with an airlock, the entire crew will be exposed to the vacuum of space once the hatch is opened.
The aim of the operation is to test the first suits from Elon Musk’s company, which are white and futuristic in appearance and are intended for the vacuum of space.
The launch is due to be attempted on Thursday at 08:23 a.m. Paris time, at an altitude of approximately 700 kilometres above the Earth. The International Space Station (ISS) operates at an altitude of approximately 400 km. Another attempt is possible at the same time on Friday.
Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis must take turns going outside, each for 15 to 20 minutes. They will not float freely in space, but will use a structure called a Skywalker, attached to the front of the capsule and made up of bars, to hold on to and perform movements.
The suits are connected to the ship by cables to provide them with oxygen in particular. In total, the excursion should last about two hours. This is much less than the outings of astronauts from government agencies outside the ISS, where they also perform very technical tasks.
Source: BFM TV
