SpaceX crew returns to Earth after 5-day trip, world’s first commercial spacewalk

A four-person SpaceX crew on the Polaris Dawn mission returned to Earth early Sunday after a five-day historic trip in Space that included the world’s first commercial spacewalk.

SpaceX’s Dragon capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida’s Dry Tortugas, according to The Associated Press. The returning crew included billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot.

“Polaris Dawn, we are mission complete,” operators could be heard announcing as the capsule safely made contact with the nighttime sea.

The spacecraft hit a peak altitude of 875 miles following Tuesday’s liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Press Site in Florida, per the report.

BILLIONAIRE ON SPACEX POLARIS DAWN MISSION CONDUCTS FIRST PRIVATE SPACEWALK

Isaacman, founder and CEO of the Shift4 credit card-processing company, became the 264th person to perform a spacewalk since the former Soviet Union was the first in 1965, The Associated Press reported. SpaceX’s Sarah Gillis became the 265th to perform a spacewalk. SpaceX’s Anna Menon and former Air Force Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet ultimately joined that list.

Before this crew’s mission, all spacewalks were done by professional astronauts.

This was the first time SpaceX targeted a splashdown near the Dry Tortugas, a cluster of islands 70 miles west of Key West, Florida, according to The Associated Press. 

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The Dragon capsule’s hatch was open for about a half-hour during Thursday’s commercial spacewalk, which was livestreamed by SpaceX — and millions of viewers watched on X.

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The spacewalk lasted less than two hours, which was shorter than spacewalks at the International Space Station, the outlet reported. Most of that time was needed to depressurize the entire capsule and restore the cabin air.

SpaceX believes the brief mission to be a starting point to test spacesuit technology for longer missions in the future, including to Mars, per its website.