Washington: Two astronauts from a SpaceX capsule have carried out the world’s first private spacewalk, hundreds of kilometres from Earth.
Billionaire Jared Isaacman, 41, exited first, followed by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, 30, to become the first two non-government individuals to conduct such an excursion in space. All their manoeuvres streamed live on the company’s website.
They were tethered to the Crew Dragon spacecraft in the vacuum of space while two others watched from inside.
“Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world,” Isaacman said after emerging from the spacecraft, silhouetted with the half-lit planet glittering 700 kilometres below him.
Before the spacewalk began, the capsule was completely depressurised, with the whole crew relying on their slim, SpaceX-developed spacesuits for oxygen, provided via an …