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We\u2019ve officially entered a new era of private spaceflight. Yesterday, the crew of Polaris Dawn, a privately funded mission managed by SpaceX, officially performed the first private extra-vehicular activity, commonly known as a spacewalk. The spacewalk was a success, along with the rest of the mission so far. But it\u2019s attracted detractors as well as supporters. Let\u2019s take a look at the mission objectives and why some pundits are opposed to it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n There are two main \u201cfirsts\u201d for the Polaris Dawn flight, which is the first in a series of private space missions that could include a third mission that would make the first crewed use of SpaceX\u2019s massive Starship launcher. The most talked-about \u201cfirst\u201d of the mission was a spacewalk that mission commander Jared Isaacman and mission specialist Sarah Gillis took part in yesterday morning. They utilized SpaceX\u2019s newly designed, more mobile EVA suits, which marks a clear departure from the previous bulky suit iterations.<\/p>\n Another first is that this crew is the farthest any private space passengers have ever been from Earth. In fact, they are farther away from Earth than anyone since to Apollo missions in the 1960s and 70s. Their list of things to do so far away from home includes monitoring 36 scientific experiments ranging from monitoring bone health to how to control motion sickness during spaceflight.<\/p>\n \n