A human silhouette in a spacesuit, attached to his ship, with the void of space and planet Earth in the background. This is the spectacular image that will remain from the first spacewalk carried out by Space X on September 12. The mission, filmed from start to finish, was broadcast directly from the SpaceX website to more than 3 million Internet users.
This silhouette was that of Jared Isaacman, the commander of the Polaris Dawn mission, the first of its kind organized by a private company. 700 km from Earth, the commander will not move much further from the ship to which he is attached by a cord. We see him move his upper body and arms as if to test the mobility of his new suit… designed and manufactured again by SpaceX. After a few minutes, he will even give the impression of clenching his fists as if to express a sign of victory or intense joy. After 8 minutes of this space bath, he will return to the ship and give way to Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX employee in charge of astronaut training.
Also docked to the ship, she will perform a similar exit for a few minutes before safely returning to the rest of the crew. While the two astronauts were out, the two other members of the crew, Scott Poteet, a US Air Force veteran, and Anna Menon, a SpaceX employee and medical officer for the mission, were strapped to their seats, ensuring that the mission went smoothly. They were also subjected to the vacuum of space, with the Crew Dragon’s hatch remaining open for the duration of the mission.
If the exits lasted only a few minutes, the mission will have spread over nearly two hours. Because of the long phases of pressurization and depressurization, ventilation of the cabin and search for possible leaks. This version of the Crew Dragon capsule was specially adapted to the mission with ad hoc equipment: a hatch that opened mechanically thanks to a crank and especially the Spacewalker, an exit ramp that allows astronauts to exit the ship while remaining attached to it.
a new page in space history
With the success of this vehicular outing, the first organized by a private company, SpaceX has just written a new page in space history. Of course, the astronauts hardly ventured into the vacuum of space and always kept in contact with their ship. Of course, the Polaris Dawn mission had nothing to do with the complexity of the missions carried out by astronauts from NASA, ESA or the Chinese space agency. That is to say operations lasting several hours in the vacuum of space, in particular for real repair missions of their orbital station. Nevertheless.
This first is promising. Upon returning to Earth, the teams will have to ensure that the suits have held up well. SpaceX has just proven that the private sector is potentially capable of carrying out missions that until now were the preserve of state space agencies. However, this extravehicular activity capacity is absolutely necessary for the future private orbital stations planned, such as those of Axiom or Blue Origin. These stations are supposed to take over from the International Space Station, which is due to be de-orbited in 2030.
The Polaris Dawn mission is scheduled to last a total of five days. The Crew Dragon capsule is scheduled to return to Earth with its four astronauts, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, September 14.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
