Austin American-Statesman The Polaris Dawn mission made history as its astronauts exited the SpaceX Dragon capsule for the first-ever commercial spacewalk while orbiting 435 miles above Earth, USA TODAY reported. Early Thursday morning, the crew completed final preparations before unlatching the spacecraft's hatch and stepping into the void of space. The event, which was covered live on social media site X, was part of a five-day mission to test critical SpaceX technology for future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. The spacewalk, which began around 5 a.m. and took approximately two hours to complete, marks a significant milestone in private space exploration. SpaceX Polaris Dawn spacewalk was first of its kind Until Thursday's event, spacewalks had only been carried out by government agencies, such as NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts. Historically, spacewalks have never been commercial ventures, and participants have always worn spacesuits regulated by government agencies. This time, however, the entire operation was conducted by SpaceX. The mission's goal was to test the capabilities of the spacesuits, which were specifically developed by the company for this flight. Who led the SpaceX Polaris Dawn spacewalk mission? Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, the mission's commander, and SpaceX employee Sarah Gillis exited the SpaceX Dragon capsule for approximately 12 minutes each to conduct suit mobility checks. Mission specialist Anna Menon and pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet remained inside the spacecraft, but they were still exposed to the vacuum of space. Since the Dragon lacks an airlock, the entire cabin was depressurized, requiring all four astronauts to wear extravehicular activity (EVA) suits designed by SpaceX, which supplied oxygen through tethers. The hatch was opened 38 minutes into the operation, with Isaacman being the first to emerge. "Back at home we have a lot of work to do, but from here Earth sure looks like a perfect world," Isaacman said as the ground crew on the livestream burst into applause. What is Polaris Dawn?