SpaceX notches another win as Polaris Dawn crew completes first commercial spacewalk

By James Rogers

Commercial astronauts Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis complete the historic spacewalk early Thursday

The private SpaceX Polaris Dawn space mission made history early Thursday when its crew carried out the first-ever commercial spacewalk.

The spacewalk marked another win for SpaceX at a time when its human-spaceflight rival Boeing Co. (BA) is smarting from NASA's decision to turn to SpaceX amid problems dogging the first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

SpaceX, which pioneered reusable rocket technology, has maintained a full schedule of both uncrewed and crewed launches, thrusting the company to the forefront of the commercial space industry. Talk of an initial public offering has also spun up around Starlink, the SpaceX-owned satellite-internet constellation, and around SpaceX itself. However, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk appeared to dismiss that possibility in June, noting the "very high" legal load and pressure for short-term results on public companies. Last year Musk also appeared to pour water on the possibility of a Starlink IPO in 2024.

Related: Musk's SpaceX launches historic Polaris Dawn for first commercial space walk

All eyes were on the Polaris Dawn mission early Thursday. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule does not have an airlock, so the spacecraft's cabin was depressurized for the spacewalk, exposing the four astronauts inside to the vacuum of space. Polaris Dawn mission commander Jared Isaacman opened the capsule's forward hatch at 6:49 a.m. Eastern time. "From here, it sure looks like a perfect world," he said as he emerged from the capsule and looked at Earth.

After completing a series of tests on the spacewalk equipment, Isaacman returned into the capsule at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time. Polaris Dawn mission specialist Sarah Gillis, a lead space-operations engineer at SpaceX, then undertook a spacewalk. The hatch was closed at 7:16 a.m. Eastern time and the cabin repressurized.

The extravehicular operation was completed at 7:58 a.m. Eastern time, one hour and 46 minutes after it began.

Related: These space stocks deserve attention, analysts say

The Crew Dragon capsule launched into space atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the mission reached its apogee, or the highest point in its orbit, of more than 870 miles, marking the farthest from Earth humans have traveled into space since the Apollo program, which ran from 1962 to 1972.

"Strive to greater heights, For a future brighter than the past, Waking up each morning inspired, To learn new secrets of the Universe!" Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.

The Polaris program is the brainchild of Isaacman, the chief executive of Shift4 Payments Inc. (FOUR), a payment-processing company. An experienced private astronaut, in 2021 Isaacman commanded the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission operated by SpaceX, which raised over $240 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The Polaris program is also fundraising for St. Jude.

Polaris Dawn has transported 36 experiments into space and will spend about five days in orbit. The mission's research aims to advance human health on Earth as well as the understanding of human health during future long-duration spaceflights, according to the Polaris program. The mission is also the first to test Starlink laser-based communications in space.

Related: NASA astronauts to return to earth with Elon Musk's SpaceX, Boeing Starliner to come back empty

The third and final mission of the Polaris program will mark the first human spaceflight on SpaceX's Starship rocket. In June, SpaceX launched the fourth test flight of Starship, which reached space and, for the first time, completed a "soft splashdown" in the Indian Ocean.

The largest rocket ever built, Starship provides more than twice the thrust of the Saturn V rockets that took NASA astronauts to the moon. Together, Starship and the Super Heavy rocket are 396 feet high, taller than the Statue of Liberty or NASA's Saturn V rocket.

On Saturday, Musk wrote on X that the first Starships to Mars will launch in two years. "These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars," he wrote. "If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years."

Last month SpaceX said it is planning the first human spaceflight to fly over Earth's poles, which could come as early as this year. The Fram2 mission will be the first human spaceflight mission to explore Earth from a polar orbit and will fly over the planet's polar regions for the first time, the company said. Bitcoin (BTCUSD)entrepreneur Chun Wang will command the mission.

-James Rogers

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09-12-24 0953ET

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