SpaceX announces: Mission accomplished! Humanity completes the first commercial spacewalk, with a billionaire spending over 10 minutes outside the capsule!

On September 12, SpaceX's manned "Dragon" spacecraft completed the first commercial spacewalk mission in human history.

The mission was conducted by 41-year-old American billionaire Isaacman and an engineer from the company. Using the "Skywalker" ladder and a 12-foot tether, Isaacman first stepped out of the spacecraft and spent more than 10 minutes outside the capsule. Subsequently, Gillis exited the spacecraft and also spent more than 10 minutes outside to test the performance of SpaceX's spacesuit.

SpaceX stated, "The 'Polaris Dawn' commercial spacewalk mission has been completed, marking the first time commercial astronauts have completed a spacewalk from a commercial spacecraft."

Xinhua News Agency previously cited the Associated Press report that as long as these two individuals exited the "Dragon" spacecraft and left, it counted as a spacewalk. On the 10th, the company launched the "Dragon" spacecraft with 4 people on board, none of whom are professional astronauts.

The 4 private astronauts aboard the "Dragon" spacecraft will reach a maximum altitude of about 1400 kilometers from Earth

On September 10, Elon Musk's SpaceX announced the launch of the "Polaris Dawn" mission with 4 private astronauts on board. It is reported that the crew of 4 private astronauts will board the spacecraft and enter the Earth's radiation belt during the 5-day journey, planning to conduct the first commercial spacewalk.

In this mission named "Polaris Dawn," billionaire Jared Isaacman is among them. He previously entered space with SpaceX in 2021 and provided funding for this flight and its development. Also accompanying him are SpaceX's two chief engineers, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, as well as Isaacman's friend and former Air Force pilot Scott "Kidd" Beutet According to Xinhua News Agency, 41-year-old American billionaire Jared Isaacman will conduct a spacewalk with SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis. Unlike previous spacewalk missions where astronauts floated a considerable distance from the International Space Station, Isaacman and Gillis will be considered to have conducted a spacewalk as long as they exit the "Dragon" spacecraft.

Isaacman and three others entered space on the "Dragon" spacecraft on the 10th, reaching a maximum altitude of about 1400 kilometers from Earth to carry out the space mission codenamed "Polaris Dawn." The spacecraft later descended to an altitude of about 700 kilometers from Earth, where the crew will conduct the spacewalk mission. The International Space Station orbits at an altitude of about 400 kilometers from Earth.

None of the four, including Isaacman, are professional astronauts. Isaacman is the founder and CEO of the U.S. payment service provider "Shift4 Payments," Poteet is a retired fighter pilot, and Meunier and Gillis are engineers at SpaceX.

According to the Associated Press, since Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov's first spacewalk in 1965, 263 people have completed spacewalks, all of whom were professional astronauts.

Isaacman declined to disclose how much money he spent on this space mission. In September 2021, he flew into space on the "Dragon" spacecraft, circled the Earth for about 3 days, and was one of the members of the "all-civilian" space "tour group" by SpaceX.

SpaceX is the first private company to attempt commercial spacewalk missions. Retired NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy said that compared to having passengers sit in a spacecraft, fasten their seatbelts, and travel to and from space, conducting spacewalk missions is a completely different "game" with greater difficulty and danger.

Musk: The goal is to establish a self-sustaining city on Mars within 20 years

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, said on September 7 that the company plans to launch unmanned "Starship" spacecraft to Mars within two years.

Musk wrote that these spacecraft will be unmanned to test the reliability of landing on Mars. He added that if they land successfully, SpaceX will launch a manned spacecraft to Mars within four years, which will be a key milestone as the launch rate of spacecraft will increase exponentially from that point on.

Musk also envisioned his goal of establishing a self-sustaining city on Mars in approximately 20 years.

In April of this year, Musk stated that SpaceX will launch unmanned spacecraft to Mars within 5 years, and manned Mars missions will begin within 7 years Regarding the specific timetable for human landing on Mars:

2 years later: During the next Earth-to-Mars transfer window, the first batch of unmanned interstellar spacecraft will be launched to Mars to test the reliability of landing. (2026)

4 years later: If the unmanned landing is successful, the first manned flight to Mars will take place. (2028)

20 years later: The goal is to establish a self-sufficient city on Mars, with flight frequency growing exponentially. (2044)

Long-term: Become a multi-planetary species, by reducing reliance on a single planet and increasing the potential lifespan of conscious existence.