History in space: Tech billionaire pulls off 1st private spacewalk high above Earth
2 astronauts spent 10 minutes each outside of the spacecraft.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission crew completed the first-ever commercial spacewalk on Thursday.
Two crew members -- commander Jared Isaacman and mission specialist Sarah Gillis -- exited the Dragon spacecraft on the "extravehicular activity," as SpaceX described it. Pilot Scott Poteet and mission specialist Anna Menon stayed inside the capsule to support the operation.
All crew members are now considered "spacewalkers" as the capsule was depressurized for the outing, thus exposing all four crew to the vacuum of space.
The spacewalk was delayed from the 2:23 a.m. ET scheduled event, but was completed before 7 a.m. ET.
SpaceX hosted a live webcast of the event that saw Isaacman pop out of the Dragon capsule to complete maneuvers and tests outside the spacecraft.
"Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here -- looks like a perfect world," Isaacman said of the view from space.
Gillis exited the Dragon capsule for 10 minutes after Isaacman returned.
The astronauts held a handrail system that was significantly shorter than previous NASA spacewalks.
Isaacman and Gillis performed "a series of mobility tests in the newly-designed SpaceX EVA suit" during the spacewalk, SpaceX said on its website.
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