SpaceX Polaris - as it happened: Billionaire floats into space on risky first private spacewalk

Two crew members of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission are attempting the first ever privately-funded spacewalk.

Billionaire Jared Isaacman stepped out of the Crew Dragon spacecraft just before midday to begin a two hour float in space at an orbit of 700 kilometres – nearly double the altitude of the International Space Station. A backup opportunity is available on Friday at the same time.

The main aim of the endeavour is to test SpaceX’s new extravehicular activity (EVA) astronaut suits, which have been designed to eventually take astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Fellow Polaris Dawn crew members Anna Menon and Kidd Poteet will remain in the capsule, with 36 research studies and experiments planned for the five day mission.

You can follow all the latest news, updates and analysis – and watch a live stream of the attempt as soon as it’s available – right here.

Hello and welcome...

Wednesday 11 September 2024 16:57 , Anthony Cuthbertson

to The Independent’s live coverage of the first ever all-civilian spacewalk.

At 2.23am ET (7.23am BST) on Thursday, two members of the Polaris Dawn crew will exit the SpaceX Dragon capsule in a history-making attempt.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest news and updates from the Polaris Dawn mission, together with a live stream of the event that will be available to watch from one hour before it begins.

Crew reach further than any human in half a century

Wednesday 11 September 2024 18:59 , Anthony Cuthbertson

After weeks of delays due to helium leaks at the launch site and weather issues, the Polaris Dawn mission finally lifted off from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday morning.

Today the SpaceX Dragon capsule that the four-person crew are travelling aboard reached an altitude of 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) – further than any humans have travelled since the Apollo program more than 50 years ago.

Early tomorrow morning, two members of the Polaris Dawn crew – billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX employee Sarah Gillis – will attempt something no private civilians have ever tried before: a spacewalk.

There is a backup opportunity if required, allowing the pair to attempt the daring feat on Friday, 13 September, at the same time.

SpaceX on track for record-breaking year

Wednesday 11 September 2024 20:55 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Tuesday’s Polaris Dawn launch was SpaceX’s 90th orbital mission this year, just six shy of the record-breaking number the firm managed in 2023.

Elon Musk plans at least another dozen launches before the end of 2024, which is more than all of his rivals combined.

The world’s richest person also controls nearly two thirds of all active satellites through his Starlink internet network, turning himself into a space superpower.

Last week, I spoke to advocacy groups and astronomers who warned that wielding such power could be a serious problem. You can read more about it here:

Elon Musk’s is monopolising space – this is why it’s causing alarm

Why Polaris Dawn could finally make commercial space travel useful

Thursday 12 September 2024 00:10 , Anthony Cuthbertson

A billionaire going on a privately-funded spacewalk is proving as polarising as it is pioneering.

The Polaris Dawn mission, conducted by SpaceX but paid for by US entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, is the latest in a series of commercial ventures that are opening up space to anyone rich enough to pay for it. Previous private space flights have been praised by some for heralding a new era of space access, while being ridiculed by others as the latest folly of self-indulgent billionaires.

But this mission is a giant leap from the vainglorious joyrides to the edge of space undertaken by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, who blew their billions on unconvincing attempts to call themselves astronauts. (Despite Blue Origin repeatedly referring to Bezos as an “international astronaut” during his 10-minute flight to the Kármán line in 2021, the trip did not meet the astronaut criteria set out by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which states that crew members must take part in activities that are “essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety”.)

By contrast, Polaris Dawn will travel more than 10-times further than either Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic have ventured and will last for days, not minutes. More than just a nice view for the crew, SpaceX says the mission will provide “valuable insight to future missions on the road to making life multiplanetary”, alluding to Elon Musk’s ambition to colonise Mars.

You can read more about why this mission might actually matter here:

Why the world’s first civilian spacewalk may finally make private space travel useful

Watch the Polaris Dawn crew lift off

Thursday 12 September 2024 03:20 , Anthony Cuthbertson

In case you missed it, you can watch the moment the Polaris Dawn mission lifted off from Nasa‘s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday:

We’ll have the live stream of the spacewalk at around 1:20am ET (6:20am BST), with the attempt taking place an hour later.

Polaris Dawn shares stunning images of orbital sunset

Thursday 12 September 2024 06:36 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Ever wondered what a sunset looks like from 700 kilometres above Earth? Polaris Dawn has you covered:

We’re less than an hour away from the spacewalk attempt, we’ll have the live stream to watch shortly.

Spacewalk delayed but SpaceX says ‘all systems looking good’

Thursday 12 September 2024 06:50 , Anthony Cuthbertson

SpaceX has just issued a statement, saying today’s spacewalk attempt is on - but it’s been delayed.

The attempt has been pushed back by around three hours, while a backup opportunity still remains available tomorrow morning.

“All systems are looking good for the Polaris Dawn crew to perform the first spacewalk from Dragon today,” the company said, adding that the live stream will be starting at 4:55am ET (9:55am BST).

What the Polaris Dawn crew got up to on Day 2

Thursday 12 September 2024 07:34 , Anthony Cuthbertson

As they prepare for the first ever civilian spacewalk – and the first spacewalk from a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule – the Polaris Dawn team have shared details of what the crew got up to yesterday:

“The Polaris Dawn crew began Flight Day 2 with an incredible milestone – Dragon reached an apogee of more than 1,400 kilometers, marking the farthest humans have traveled in space since the completion of the Apollo program over 50 years ago. Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon also became the first two women to have travelled this far in space! Mission Commander Jared Isaacman also passed the torch to the Nasa Artemis crew, saying he’s looking forward to their upcoming flight.

The update continued: “After completing six orbits of Earth at this altitude, Dragon performed a series of descent burns to reach an orbit of ~190 x 700 km for Thursday’s spacewalk while simultaneously continuing to safely lower its interior’s pressure, bringing the cabin environment closer to conditions required for the EVA. The crew also spent a few hours demonstrating the suit’s pressurized mobility, verifying positions and accessibility in microgravity along with preparing the cabin for the EVA.”

Ms Menon also spent some time reading her book ‘Kisses from space’ to a group of patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

How to watch Polaris Dawn spacewalk

Thursday 12 September 2024 08:33 , Anthony Cuthbertson

We’re less than three hours away from the Polaris Dawn spacewalk, with a live stream expected at 4:50am ET (9:50am BST).

You can watch it on SpaceX’s website here, as well as the firm’s official X page here. We’ll also have the live stream right here as soon as it’s available.

First ever test of SpaceX’s ‘suit of armour made of fabric'

Thursday 12 September 2024 09:22 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Only two of the Polaris Dawn crew – mission commander Jared Isaacman and SpaceX employee Sarah Gillis – will actually take part in the spacewalk.

The other two – mission pilot Kidd Poteet and medical officer Anna Menon – will remain in the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which for this mission has been named Resilience.

Despite not actually leaving the craft, both Poteet and Menon will need to be fully suited up. This is because the Dragon capsule does not have an airlock, meaning the entire spacecraft will need to be depressurised.

It means that all four astronauts will be taking part in the primary objective of this spacewalk, which is to test SpaceX’s new extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits. These have been designed to take humans further than they’ve ever been before, with the hope of using them to take astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

The design is based on SpaceX’s tried and tested intravehicular activity (IVA) spacesuit, but comes with several upgrades to make it suitable for use in outer space. These include new joints to improve mobility and a visor with a heads-up display.

SpaceX principal spacesuit engineer Erik Kraus describes it as “a suit of armour made of fabric”.

Here’s a close-up of how they look:

Polarising Dawn: Space tourism or ground-breaking exploration?

Thursday 12 September 2024 09:50 , Anthony Cuthbertson

A billionaire going on a privately-funded spacewalk is proving as polarising as it is pioneering.

The Polaris Dawn mission, conducted by SpaceX but paid for by US entrepreneur and mission commander Jared Isaacman, is the latest in a series of commercial ventures that are opening up space to anyone rich enough to pay for it. Previous private space flights have been praised by some for heralding a new era of space access, while being ridiculed by others as the latest folly of self-indulgent billionaires.

But this mission is a giant leap from the vainglorious joyrides to the edge of space undertaken by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, who blew their billions on unconvincing attempts to call themselves astronauts. (Despite Blue Origin repeatedly referring to Bezos as an “international astronaut” during his 10-minute flight to the Kármán line in 2021, the trip did not meet the astronaut criteria set out by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which states that crew members must take part in activities that are “essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety”.)

By contrast, Polaris Dawn will travel more than 10-times further than either Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic have ventured and will last for days, not minutes. More than just a nice view for the crew, SpaceX says the mission will provide “valuable insight to future missions on the road to making life multiplanetary”, alluding to Elon Musk’s ambition to colonise Mars.

Despite being the boss of SpaceX, Musk has never actually travelled to space, leaving it instead to Nasa astronauts and the occasional civilian. But the world’s richest person has said that he hopes to die on Mars – just not on impact

You can read more about why the Polaris Dawn mission might actually matter here:

Spacex: The world’s first civilian spacewalk could make private space travel useful

SpaceX completes 91st orbital launch of 2024

Thursday 12 September 2024 09:57 , Anthony Cuthbertson

While we wait for the live stream of the Polaris Dawn spacewalk, you can watch SpaceX’s latest launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

It is the 13th flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this Bluebird I-5 mission, and the 91st orbital launch for SpaceX this year – just five shy of the record the company set in 2023.

Watch live stream of first ever private spacewalk

Thursday 12 September 2024 10:01 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The live stream of the spacewalk, which is due to get underway at 5:58am ET (10:58am BST), is finally available. You can watch it here:

Thursday 12 September 2024 10:34 , Anthony Cuthbertson

SpaceX is performing a number of checks ahead of the spacewalk attempt, which should be taking place in less than 30 minutes.

The whole of the Crew Dragon craft, which has been named Resilience for the Polaris Dawn mission, needs to be depressurised, as the capsule has no airlock.

This is where crew members Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis will emerge from shortly:

Crew Dragon enters ‘Skywalker’ mode

Thursday 12 September 2024 10:43 , Anthony Cuthbertson

There are three ways that Crew Dragon can be configured for various activities. The one they’ll be using today is the ‘Skywalker’ mode, which is a new configuration that will see handles added to the hatch to assist the astronauts as they leave the spacecraft.

The craft has entered this mode as the crew make their final preparations for the spacewalk, which is due to take place in about 15 minutes.

Polaris Dawn crew suited up and ready for spacewalk

Thursday 12 September 2024 10:57 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The Polaris Dawn crew are all suited up and will soon perform the EVA suit leak checks before the spacewalk begins.

It’s going to be a little later than scheduled, but still going ahead.

First live views inside Dragon

Thursday 12 September 2024 11:03 , Anthony Cuthbertson

We’re getting the first live views from inside the Crew Dragon capsule as they complete the final checks before cabin depressurisation. That’s mission commander (and funder) Jared Isaacman on the right.

'Crew is go for spacewalk’

Thursday 12 September 2024 11:14 , Anthony Cuthbertson

SpaceX has just given the go-ahead for the spacewalk to begin.

All crew members give final confirmation as their suits fill with oxygen and the capsule is depressurised.

Voices of crew members begin to change

Thursday 12 September 2024 11:20 , Anthony Cuthbertson

All crew members are fitted with open mics, so they can all hear each other during the mission Their voices are actually changing as they enter the lower pressure environment.

I wonder if they’ve prepared some poignant words for the moment they exit the craft.

Depressurisation continues

Thursday 12 September 2024 11:37 , Anthony Cuthbertson

We’re still waiting for the hatch to open as the capsule continues to depressurise. It’s hard to hear what the crew members are saying to each other due to the flow of air into the suits. Isaacman is still holding on to the hatch’s handle as he waits for the signal that he can open.

The capsule is under 3psi, and it needs to be around 1psi before he can attempt to open the hatch.

Polaris Dawn is ‘go to open hatch'

Thursday 12 September 2024 11:51 , Anthony Cuthbertson

SpaceX ground control finally gives the go-ahead to open the top hatch as the Crew Dragon capsule completes its depressurisation.

Isaacman turns the lever and gives it a big tug to release the hatch.

‘Looks like a perfect world’: Isaacman exits the craft

Thursday 12 September 2024 11:56 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The ground crew cheer as Isaacman exits the Crew Dragon craft for the first time.

The question I asked earlier of whether or not he has some pre-prepared words gets answered.

“Back at home we still have a lot of work to do,” he sayd, “but from here it looks like a perfect world.”

Crew members back inside capsule

Thursday 12 September 2024 12:04 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Isaacman is back in the capsule after poking the top half of his body out.

Now it’s the turn of Sarah Gillis – a SpaceX employee who started at the company as an intern.

Second crew member exits craft

Thursday 12 September 2024 12:09 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Sarah Gillis seems to get a better view than her crew commander as she floats out to her knees from the capsule.

She does a few arm movements to test the mobility of the EVA suit before sinking back into the Crew Dragon craft.

“Really cool to see one of our own out there, that’s awesome,” says the SpaceX commentator over the live stream.

Video signal lost

Thursday 12 September 2024 12:14 , Anthony Cuthbertson

We’ve lost video signal as the Crew Dragon craft heads out over the Pacific Ocean, where there are no ground stations to relay the signal.

Capsule begins pressurisation

Thursday 12 September 2024 12:27 , Anthony Cuthbertson

We still don’t have a video signal but SpaceX confirms that the mission is progressing as planned and the capsule is now repressurising.

Everything has gone to plan so far, proving the viability of both the Crew Dragon capsule and the extravehicular activity suits for spacewalks.

Three million people are still tuned in to SpaceX’s live stream, though there’s not much more to watch. We’ll have replays of the spacewalks shortly.

Video signal returns

Thursday 12 September 2024 12:50 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The Crew Dragon capsule has crossed over the Pacific Ocean blackspot and video signal has returned, showing the Polaris Dawn crew safely inside. They’re still suited up as they await the pressurisation of the cabin to finish.

Polaris Dawn spacewalk successfully completed

Thursday 12 September 2024 13:01 , Anthony Cuthbertson

“EVA operations are complete,” the Polaris Dawn crew confirms.

That means pressurisation of the Crew Dragon spacecraft has finished, which concludes today’s spacewalk.

A lot of historic firsts, including the first ever commercial spacewalk, as well as the most number of people exposed to an unpressurised space environment simultaneously.

You can read more about today’s spacewalk here.

Watch world’s first private spacewalk

Thursday 12 September 2024 13:45 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Watch the moment billionaire Jared Isaacman exits the Crew Dragon spacecraft in the first ever privately-funded spacewalk.

Nasa and Musk congratulate Polaris Dawn crew

Thursday 12 September 2024 15:04 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Nasa administrator Bill Nelson has called today’s successful spacewalk a “giant leap” forward in the commercial space industry, referencing the historic words of Neil Armstrong as he first stepped onto the Moon.

“Congratulations PolarisProgram and SpaceX on the first commercial spacewalk in history,” the former astronaut posted to X. “Today’s success represents a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry and Nasa‘s long-term goal to build a vibrant US space economy.”

SpaceX boss Elon Musk also praised the effort, writing: “Congratulations SpaceX Dragon team, Jared Isaacmand and the crew of the Polaris program!”

Was the Polaris Dawn mission illegal?

Thursday 12 September 2024 15:13 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Some space experts have questioned whether the Polaris Dawn mission is actually legal, claiming that it goes against the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. According to this treaty, any activities by non-government entities in outer space need to be approved by a nation state.

We’ve heard from Dr Ian Whittaker, a space physics expert at Nottingham Trent University, who says this 57-year-old rule is no longer enforced.

“The legality of this has been called into question as it does appear to violate one of the lesser known articles from the Outer Space treaty of 1967, however, this treaty is massively outdated and not enforced, which would be by the UN if it was,” he says.

“The success of the first non space agency astronaut spacewalk is extremely exciting for the private space industry as it is the first step on a longer road towards space tourism. The high cost will mean that only the ultra rich get to experience this for now but putting this cost in the hands of businesses means that taxpayer money can be used for other purposes.”

Why Polaris Dawn could finally make commercial space travel useful

Thursday 12 September 2024 17:06 , Anthony Cuthbertson

A billionaire going on a privately-funded spacewalk is proving as polarising as it is pioneering.

The Polaris Dawn mission, conducted by SpaceX but paid for by US entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, is the latest in a series of commercial ventures that are opening up space to anyone rich enough to pay for it. Previous private space flights have been praised by some for heralding a new era of space access, while being ridiculed by others as the latest folly of self-indulgent billionaires.

But this mission is a giant leap from the vainglorious joyrides to the edge of space undertaken by Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, who blew their billions on unconvincing attempts to call themselves astronauts. (Despite Blue Origin repeatedly referring to Bezos as an “international astronaut” during his 10-minute flight to the Kármán line in 2021, the trip did not meet the astronaut criteria set out by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which states that crew members must take part in activities that are “essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety”.)

By contrast, Polaris Dawn will travel more than 10-times further than either Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic have ventured and will last for days, not minutes. More than just a nice view for the crew, SpaceX says the mission will provide “valuable insight to future missions on the road to making life multiplanetary”, alluding to Elon Musk’s ambition to colonise Mars.

You can read more about why this mission might actually matter here:

Spacex: The world’s first civilian spacewalk could make private space travel useful

Why a billionaire just stuck his head out of a spacecraft – and the risks he faced in doing so

Thursday 12 September 2024 19:08 , Andrew Griffin

This was easily the riskiest of SpaceX’s missions, especially its commercial work. But it was partly for a good cause, and could help carry humanity on to other planets.

Why a billionaire just stuck his head out of a spacecraft – for a very good reason

Thursday 12 September 2024 19:12 , Andrew Griffin

The spacewalk is now over and history has been made. You can read our full article about the mission here:

A billionaire has floated out into space on a SpaceX mission

The crew will now prepare to come back down and splash into the ocean, before being picked up by a SpaceX craft. When they’ve arrived they will be measured and scanned to understand how the flight – including their trip through the radiation belts off the Earth – has changed them.

Polaris Dawn crew share pictures in wake of historic spacewalk

08:14 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The crew of Polaris Dawn have shared some images following their historic spacewalk yesterday, together with a message to those of us back on Earth: “Hello Earth – We are so grateful for all the support! Please enjoy two recent photos from our mission and stay tuned for our next message Sent to you from space over a beam of Starlink laser light.”