Two private astronauts have completed the first-ever commercial spacewalk, marking the first time that civilian astronauts have stepped out into space.
As part of the Polaris Dawn mission, launched on Tuesday, billionaire Jared Isaacman and Space X engineer Sarah Gillis spent around 30 minutes outside their Space X Dragon.
Recommended Videos At this altitude, the astronauts pass through parts of the Van Allen belt that protects Earth from radiation, marking the farthest distance from Earth ever traveled in a Crew Dragon and the farthest humans have traveled since the Apollo program. The spacewalk took place at a lower altitude, however, to ensure the pair of spacewalkers were safe from radiation.
During the spacewalk, the entire Crew Dragon was depressurized, so the two private astronauts who remained inside the craft were also in spacesuits to provide them with required oxygen and pressure. Part of the purpose of the spacewalk was to test out a newly designed SpaceX spacesuit, which is slimmer than previous spacesuits used for spacewalks with improved mobility and temperature control.
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