Mission accomplished. The SpaceX mission capsule landed off the coast of Florida in the United States on Sunday, September 15, marking its return to Earth after having carried out the first private spacewalk in history this week.
The Dragon boat landed at 03:37 local time or 09:37 Paris time, with its four passengers on board, including American billionaire Jared Isaacman, head of the financial company Shift4, after having achieved all its objectives.
Among them was the first spacewalk by civilians, a risky operation until now reserved for professional astronauts, which took place on Thursday.
Up to 1,400 kilometers above sea level
They all blasted off Tuesday from Florida and on the first day their spacecraft ventured as high as 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) in altitude, higher than any crew since the Apollo moon missions more than half a century ago.
SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon have become the two women who have traveled the furthest from Earth.
NASA chief Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on Thursday, saying the event represented “a major step forward for the commercial space industry.”
A trip of about ten minutes.
Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis each ventured for about ten minutes outside the spacecraft, which was then at an altitude of 700 kilometers, much higher than the International Space Station (ISS).
“We have a lot of work to do at home, but from here the Earth really does look like a perfect world,” said the 41-year-old billionaire, in front of stunning views of the blue planet broadcast live.
The two adventurers went through the motions of testing their white and gray suits, SpaceX’s first for spacewalks.
More than two years of training
The crew, who trained for more than two years for this mission, also tested laser communication between the spacecraft and SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, which provide internet from space.
He also carried out around thirty scientific experiments, in particular aimed at studying the impact of space travel on the human body.
Polaris Dawn inaugurates the Polaris program, which was announced two and a half years ago. This program should consist of three missions in total. After a second similar to the one that ends, the third should be the first manned flight of SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket, currently in development and intended for trips to the Moon and Mars.
Source: BFM TV
