Four private citizens orbiting Earth in a SpaceX capsule are set to perform the first private spacewalk on Thursday morning.
Their spacewalk is set to occur at 5:58 a.m. ET after it was delayed a few hours, and last around 20 minutes.Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and his crew waited until their capsule was depressurized before popping open the hatch. Isaacman emerged first, joining a small elite group of spacewalkers who until now had included only professional astronauts from a dozen countries.“Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, it sure looks like a perfect world," said Isaacman.
Each had 12-foot tethers but no intention of unfurling them or dangling at the end unlike what happens at the International Space Station, where astronauts routinely float out to do repairs at a much lower orbit. This operation was planned down to the minute with little room for error. Trying out new spacesuits from a spacecraft new to spacewalking added to the risk. So did the fact that the entire capsule was exposed to the vacuum of space.
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