CAPE CANAVERAL, SEPT 12 – A billionaire stepped out for the first private walking mission today, joining SpaceX on a mission hundreds of thousands of meters (m) above the earth.
Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and his crew waited until their capsule decompressed before opening the doors. Isaacman appeared first, joining the small elite group of spacewalkers.
“At home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, it sure looks like a perfect world,” Isaacman said.
The commercial spacewalk mission is the centerpiece of a five-day flight funded by Isaacman and Elon Musk’s company, and is the culmination of years of effort toward eventual missions to Mars and other planets.
The four crew members wore SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits to protect themselves from the harsh vacuum of space. They were launched last Tuesday from Florida.
This first spacewalk test, expected to last nearly two hours, involves more stretching than walking. Isaacman held his hands or feet the entire time while bending his arms and legs to see how the spacesuit held up. The capsule doors have a walker-like structure for extra support.
After about 15 minutes outside, Isaacman was replaced by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis to perform the same maneuver. Gillis staggered out of the capsule, twirling his arms and sending a report back to mission control.
Each is equipped with a 3.6m tether but is not used as it is on the International Space Station, where astronauts routinely float to perform adjustments in orbit.
More and more wealthy crews are shelling out huge sums of money for private rocket rides to experience space.
This includes those who have spent tens of millions to live in space for days or even weeks. Space experts and risk analysts say it is inevitable that some people will find the thrill of space walking even though it is considered one of the most dangerous activities in a space mission. – AP
