A billionaire astronaut and his crew have returned to Earth after taking part in the first private spacewalk.
Polaris Dawn, operated by SpaceX on behalf of billionaire Jared Isaacman, splashed down at 8.37am today.
Carrying four private citizens, including SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, the SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched into space on Tuesday and spent five days in orbit.
While orbiting the planet, Mission commander Mr Isaacman joined a small group of spacewalkers who until now had included only professional astronauts from a dozen countries.
Image: The SpaceX Polaris Dawn spacewalk was labelled a ‘highly risky mission’
Image: Pic: SpaceX
Mr Isaacman founded Shift4 Payments, a payment processor, at the age of 16 and is now worth an estimated $1.9bn (£1.45bn).
In a live feed relayed back to Earth, speaking during the spacewalk he could be heard saying: “Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.”
All four members of the Polaris Dawn crew wore SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits to protect themselves and a main aim of the mission was to test these suits.
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Image: The Polaris Dawn crew at the Kennedy Space Center, from left to right: Anna Menon, Scott Kidd Poteet, Jared Isaacman, and Sarah Gillis. Photo by EyePress News/Shutterstock
Image: Pic: SpaceX
The spacewalkers had around 15 minutes outside after climbing through a hatch one by one. While still tethered to the spacecraft, with their feet remaining inside, they carried out a series of stretches to tests the suits.
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Mission pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and mission specialist and medical officer Ms Menon stayed in their seats and monitored vital support systems throughout the operation.
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Source : Sky News
