“It will be interesting to see if Congress will build a more robust regulatory framework to govern future commercial spacewalks.”
-Shruti Gurudanti, Rose Law Group director of aerospace & corporate transactions
By Ivana Saric | Axios
SpaceX’s crew of civilian astronauts on Thursday undertook the first ever commercial spacewalk.
Why it matters: This is the first time private citizens have been exposed to the vacuum of space — about 430 miles above Earth.
- The Polaris Dawn mission is also meant to test new technologies and procedures that could be used in future space flights, per NBC News.
The big picture: The spacewalk lasted roughly two hours, including the time needed to repressurize the capsule, and was broadcast live.
- The mission was manned by four crew members, two of whom ventured outside of the Crew Dragon capsule.
- Jared Isaacman, the billionaire commander of the cosmic crew, stepped outside of the capsule first. Next, SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis ventured out.
- However, the entire capsule was depressurized, meaning all four crew members were exposed to the vacuum of space.
