SpaceX unveils new spacesuit for historic private spacewalk

SpaceX has unveiled its latest space suit, which will be used for the first time for private spacewalks during the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission.

Here's What We Know

A short video published by SpaceX shows the extravascular activity (EVA) suit in detail.

According to SpaceX, the new suit provides improved mobility, a modern helmet with Heads-Up Display (HUD) glass, a camera, new textile materials for temperature regulation, and components borrowed from the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft.

Unlike the massive EMU backpack used on the International Space Station (ISS), the SpaceX spacesuit will have a special cable that provides life support systems from inside the ship.

The launch date of the full private Polaris mission has not yet been confirmed, but SpaceX plans to launch it this year, possibly even next summer.

A Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Crew Dragon spacecraft with four amateur astronauts into orbit. At an altitude of about 435 miles (700 kilometres) above the Earth - significantly higher than the ISS, which orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 250 miles (402 kilometres).

Two Polaris Dawn crewmembers will walk into space in these new spacesuits. The walk will last several hours and will test various aspects of the EVA suit, including its mobility in microgravity.

The Polaris Dawn mission team will be led by Jared Isaacman, who became the first civilian astronaut on the Inspiration4 mission in 2021. It was also organised by SpaceX and included a modified Crew Dragon spacecraft with a glass dome that offered amazing views of the Earth.

Source: Digital Trends