Polaris Dawn astronauts Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis successfully exited the confines of the Crew Dragon vehicle. went into space in the first space September 12. The SpaceX and Polaris crew began preparing for the event at 6:01 a.m. ET, checking that all their equipment was in order and donning the SpaceX suits that all four had to wear because opening the Dragon’s hatch would launch them into space. Pure oxygen was injected into the suits to check for leaks before all the air escaped the vehicle and before Isaacman opened the hatch.
A few minutes before 7:00 a.m. Eastern, Isaacman slipped through the hatch and exited the vehicle, Dragon’s camera silhouetted against our planet. Then he did a series of mobility exercises as planned — the whole point of the spacewalks was to test SpaceX’s new EVA suits — before returning to the capsule. “We’re home, we all have a lot of work to do,” he said. “But it looks like a perfect world from here.”
After he returned to his seat, SpaceX engineer Sara Gillis prepared for her turn. He had to deal with the hatch seal being a little bulging, but he was eventually able to get out of the hatch and do a series of mobility drills like Isaacman did. Once done, the team closed the hatch and began pressurizing the Dragon to equalize the atmosphere inside before checking the cabin for any leaks. By 7:55 a.m., Dragon’s repressurization was complete, marking the end of today’s space travel.
