A four-person SpaceX crew took a giant step for commercial space travel Thursday, conducting the first-ever private spacewalk in orbit.
Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, who chartered the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, was the first private citizen to complete the maneuver. Once Issacman returned to the spacecraft, SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis repeated the daring feat previously reserved for professional astronauts.
They each spent about 10 minutes outside the spacecraft, connected by a tether, while the other two crew members, Scott Poteet and Anna Menon, watched inside the spacecraft.
The crew launched into orbit on Sept. 10 for the five-day journey. The mission is meant to test SpaceX’s technology and study the impact spaceflight has on human health.
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