Billionaire Jared Isaacman is paying for the experience. Sarah Gillis of SpaceX will join him on the outside of the Dragon spacecraft. The other two participants in the privately funded Polaris Dawn mission will remain in the spacecraft. The spacewalk is planned to last two hours at an altitude of 700 kilometers above the ground. That would make it the tallest spacewalk since December 17, 1972. IN SPACE: The four on the Polaris Dawn mission. Jared Isaacman is third from the left. Sarah Gillis is on the far left of the photo. This is the first time space tourists have done something like this. Spacewalks have been done many times, but it has been a long time since it has been done in the way that Polaris is going to do. SHELL ON THE OUTSIDE: Sarah Gillis from SpaceX in the spacesuit she helped develop. She will test out equipment from her own company during the spacewalk. Photo: SpaceX Spacewalks, i.e. moving outside a spaceship or space station, are now carried out using an airlock. The astronauts enter a small chamber. It is emptied of air, and the hatch to the room is opened. In the rest of the station or vessel there is still air. FIRST TIME: Astronaut Ed White became the first American to perform a spacewalk. It happened on 3 June 1965. Then the rest of the vessel was also emptied of oxygen. Photo: The Nasa Dragon spacecraft from SpaceX does not have such an airlock. The entire vessel must be emptied of atmosphere to achieve a space walk. This has not been done since the Apollo missions over fifty years ago. LAST OF THE HIGH: During the later Apollo missions in the early 1970s, one of the astronauts exited the craft while it was returning from the moon. This is a picture of the last one that happened. This is shown by Ron Evans outside the Apollo 17 spacecraft on 17 December 1972. Photo: Nasa There are risks associated with space travel. The crew wear brand new spacesuits that have not been tested in space. They are also attached to the spacecraft with a cable system which is now also getting its first test in space. NEW SUITS: SpaceX has developed a new spacesuit to be used during the spacewalk. Here is the Polaris Dawn crew with their suits inside the Dragon spacecraft. Photo: SpaceX If something goes wrong, it will take time to get the spacewalkers back into the vessel and fill it with air. Published 12.09.2024, at 11.03
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