SpaceX's brand new spacesuits developed for extra vehicular activity (EVA) for the first commercial spacewalk planned as part of the Polaris Program have completed acceptance testing. SpaceX, as part of its NASA missions, makes its own spacesuits for astronauts to cover their needs inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft. These are pressurized spacesuits that are designed to keep the crew safe in case their ship loses pressurization. On the other hand, the new suits, developed by SpaceX for its private astronaut mission, will allow astronauts to venture out of the Crew Dragon and conduct their spacewalk.
SpaceX's Spacesuits Will Help Monitor Astronaut Vitals During Spacewalk
SpaceX's EVA spacesuits have cleared acceptance testing for their spacewalk, according to details shared by the Polaris Program. Led by the billionaire Jared Isaacman, Polaris plans to conduct the first commercial spacewalk in human history with SpaceX's Crew Dragon. Right now, the only spacesuits used in EVAs are those with NASA. The space agency's astronauts regularly foray into space to conduct repairs on the ISS, and Polaris's update also shares the first photographs of the suits in operations.
These spacesuits were tested at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas where the space agency also tested its lunar space suits in December. These suits are being developed by Axiom Space, as part of NASA's growing reliance on the private sector for its crewed space exploration missions.
The Polaris Program's first spacewalk will be part of the Polaris Dawn mission, which has set ambitious objectives for itself. These include achieving a mission apogee of 1,400 kilometers, the highest altitude ever flown by astronauts in Earth orbit. Missions in Earth orbit are typically limited by the ISS's altitude, and higher missions have rarely been conducted due to a lack of need.
As part of these acceptance tests, which took place in late June, the astronauts and SpaceX monitored them for their ability to monitor crew health during a spacewalk. The tests were done in a simulated vacuum, during which the suits were pressurized to keep the crew healthy. SpaceX and the crew checked the suits' ability to manage their health during pressurization and monitoring of the astronauts' body temperature during their spacewalk. During the tests, the crew also simulated an "elevated metabolic period" that resembled the high stress environment of the spacewalk.
The Polaris Dawn mission will fly four astronauts, two of whom will conduct a spacewalk.These will be Isaacman and SpaceX's Sarah Gillis, who is the mission's payload specialist. For Gillis, mission pilot Scott Poteet, and medical officer Anna Menon, Polaris Dawn will be their first spaceflight. Isaacman has already flown to space as part of the Inspiration4 mission in 2021, which was the first purely private orbital spaceflight.
While only two crew members will conduct a spacewalk, all four will be in the vacuum of space since the Crew Dragon will be completely depressurized. Spacewalks on the ISS see the astronauts first enter a depressurization chamber before venturing out into space; however, since the Dragon is a ship, it does not have a similar chamber, which has also forced SpaceX to make upgrades to its ship to allow it to withstand vacuum internally.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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