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<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-launch-risky-polaris-dawn-mission-first-commercial-spacewalk-radiation-2024-8">SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission</a> is about to attempt the first-ever commercial spacewalk.</li><li>Four people plan to don new spacesuits and open their Crew Dragon spaceship to the vacuum of space.</li></ul><p>A <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-civilian-crew-zip-ties-sedatives-orbit-2021-9">billionaire-backed SpaceX mission</a> is about to attempt a daring, first-of-its-kind feat.</p><p>On Thursday, four people currently orbiting Earth in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-next-spacex-flight-will-have-better-toilets-2021-9">SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship</a> plan to don a set of brand-new spacesuits, open their spaceship's hatch to completely expose its interior to the vacuum of space, and attempt the first-ever commercial spacewalk.</p><p>Their week-long mission, called Polaris Dawn, is fully private with no NASA involvement — but it's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-warns-tourists-that-spaceflight-is-uncomfortable-risky-2021-8">no billionaire joyride</a>. This spacewalk is a critical test of the technical abilities that SpaceX will need to achieve Elon Musk's ultimate goal of building a city on Mars.</p><p>It's also a risky feat for all four crew members: <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jared-isaacman-net-worth-career-spacex-polaris-dawn-2024-8">Jared Isaacman</a>, the mission's billionaire benefactor and commander; Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, two SpaceX engineers; and Scott Poteet, a retired Air Force pilot who previously led strategy at Isaacman's company Shift4.</p><div type="image" title="four people in spacesuits with their visors up smiling and pointing at a black spacex logo on a spaceship behind them" height="1500" width="2270" msid="113238631" hostid="261" sizebytes="176724"></div><p>Even though only two will <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-shows-cosmonaut-space-littering-during-spacewalk-nasa-says-harmless-2023-5">perform the spacewalk</a>, the entire crew will be drifting in the vacuum of space, wearing new spacesuits that haven't been tested in-orbit yet. The stakes are high.</p><p>"I know that they take safety very seriously," Leroy Chiao, a retired NASA astronaut who has spent more than 36 hours on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-postpones-astronauts-spacewalk-due-to-possible-space-junk-danger-2021-11">spacewalks</a> and consulted for SpaceX on its Safety Advisory Panel for 12 years, told Business Insider in an email.</p><p>He added that SpaceX knows any mishap would "seriously impact" <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/virgin-galactic-blue-origin-spacex-commercial-space-flights-tourism-cost-2023-7">commercial human spaceflight</a>, "if not kill it."</p><p>The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-polaris-dawn-mission-launch-2024-8">Polaris program</a> plans to livestream the spacewalk on X. According to SpaceX, the livestream will start one hour before the spacewalk begins at 2:23 a.m. ET on Thursday. If you're on the West Coast, that's 11:23 p.m. PT on Wednesday. SpaceX says there is also a backup opportunity on Friday.</p><p>"I'll be watching with great interest," Chiao said.</p><h2 id="554cfe13-43b4-4b33-be3f-3bd739b2c0ca">The Polaris Dawn spacewalk plan</h2><p>The spacewalk procedure begins 48 hours before opening the Crew Dragon's hatch, with a "pre-breathe."</p><p>The two-day process should slowly decrease the pressure in the spaceship's cabin and eventually put the crew on 100% oxygen. That helps purge nitrogen from their blood and prevent a dangerous condition called "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/missing-titan-submersible-recompression-chamber-2023-6">the bends</a>."</p><div type="image" title="two people adjust each other's large black face mask respirators which are secured via thick white straps and green head gear in a concrete room with wires and control panels on the wall" height="1667" width="2500" msid="113238637" hostid="261" sizebytes="274222"></div><p>This procedure is similar to one that astronauts on the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photo-international-space-station-hidden-passing-sun-2023-4">International Space Station</a> use before their spacewalks, although their pre-breathes only last a few hours because they do it in the confines of a small, contained airlock. Crew Dragon<strong> </strong>has no airlock, so the crew must balance the pressure in the entire cabin with the pressure in the spacesuits and give everyone's body an opportunity to adjust. Hence, a longer, 48-hour pre-breathe.</p><p>After the pre-breathe, the Polaris crew should don their spacesuits — the first SpaceX has ever designed for spacewalks. Each spacesuit will be connected to the spacecraft through an umbilical cord that will provide what the astronauts need to survive like power and air.</p><p>When the time finally comes, the crew plans to open their spaceship's hatch. Since there is no airlock, this will expose the entire cabin of the vehicle and its crew to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-long-human-survive-outer-space-without-spacesuit-2017-5">the vacuum of space</a>.</p><div type="image" title="illustration of an astronaut in a spacex white spacesuit exiting the open nosecone hatch of a white crew dragon spaceship in space high above earth" height="1152" width="2048" msid="113238633" hostid="261" sizebytes="62388"></div><p>"You are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-risk-blue-origin-rocket-2021-6">taking on a lot of risk</a> at that point," Isaacman said in a briefing on August 19.</p><p>"You're throwing away all the safety of your vehicle," he added.</p><p>Then, if all goes as planned, Isaacman and Gillis will leave the spacecraft to perform tests on their spacesuits, but they will always maintain contact with one of the many handrails added to the ship's exterior for this mission. The other two — Menon and Poteet — will stay inside providing support.</p><div type="image" title="circular hatch with handholds" height="1570" width="2094" msid="113238638" hostid="261" sizebytes="61868"></div><h2 id="3337c458-78f2-4489-8333-217fe7be3594">The risks and stakes are high</h2><p>The Polaris Dawn spacewalk plan — no airlock, vehicle fully open to space — is not totally unprecedented. NASA's Gemini and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moon-missions-why-astronauts-have-not-returned-2018-7">Apollo programs</a> did the same thing.</p><div type="image" title="astronaut nasa spacewalk" height="2325" width="3500" msid="113238640" hostid="261" sizebytes="376574"></div><p>Abhi Tripathi, a former Dragon mission director at SpaceX, who now directs mission operations at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory, told BI that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-boeing-nasa-commercial-crew-program-launch-astronauts-2020-1">the spaceship was designed</a> "from the beginning" to withstand unplanned depressurization events.</p><p>Tripathi added that he doesn't see "any special risks" with the spacewalk. In fact, he admitted to feeling a bit of "FOMO and jealousy" seeing his former colleagues, Menon and Gillis, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-launches-to-space-blue-origin-first-human-spaceflight-2021-7">go to space</a>.</p><p>What's more, SpaceX has spent two and a half years <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-build-superpowered-dragon-spaceship-scrap-nasa-space-station-2024-7">upgrading the Crew Dragon</a>, testing it, and running simulations with the four crew members to prepare for this spacewalk.</p><p>Chiao also expressed confidence that the company has "thoroughly reviewed" its flight plans.</p><div type="image" title="two people wearing large clunky face masks for oxygen sitting in a concrete chamber on blue mats" height="1366" width="2048" msid="113238639" hostid="261" sizebytes="346404"></div><p>But trying anything new in space is risky. And there's a lot that's new in this plan: a 48-hour pre-breathe protocol, the spacesuits, the fact that a Crew Dragon spacewalk has never happened before, and all the crew members will be new to spacewalking.</p><p><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-inspiration4-first-space-tourists-return-to-earth-2021-9">Isaacman previously flew to space</a> in 2021 on another Crew Dragon flight he commissioned. Poteet was the mission director for that flight, called Inspiration4. Menon and Gillis have provided ground support for multiple SpaceX missions. None of them have ever been in the actual vacuum of space before, though.</p><div type="image" title="jared isaacman spacex crew dragon" height="2560" width="3840" msid="113238636" hostid="261" sizebytes="991006"></div><p>"They will be testing a new suit with people who have never done this before," Chiao said.</p><p>He added that depressurizing the entire cabin also adds risk for the two people remaining inside. They'll be wearing spacesuits, too, but it will still be a more precarious situation than sitting inside a sealed, pressurized, environmentally controlled spacecraft.</p><p>As with any space mission or spacewalk, there is also a risk that any of the millions of bits of space debris orbiting Earth could impact the spacecraft and endanger its crew.</p><p>Tripathi previously worked in flight reliability at SpaceX, a division now led by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-shake-up-in-new-race-to-the-moon-2019-7">Bill Gerstenmaier</a>, who previously spent four decades overseeing various human spaceflight programs at NASA.</p><p>"I feel very comfortable that there's maybe no better team in the world from a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-elon-musk-spacex-drugs-investigation-outcome-2023-12">safety perspective</a> than the folks that are trying to make sure every I is dotted and T's are crossed at SpaceX," Tripathi said.</p>

Polaris Dawn's spacewalk will be historic — and risky. Here's everything to know.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-launch-risky-polaris-dawn-mission-first-commercial-spacewalk-radiation-2024-8">SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission</a> is about to attempt the first-ever commercial spacewalk.</li><li>Four people plan to don new spacesuits and open their Crew Dragon spaceship to the vacuum of space.</li></ul><p>A <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-civilian-crew-zip-ties-sedatives-orbit-2021-9">billionaire-backed SpaceX mission</a> is about to attempt a daring, first-of-its-kind feat.</p><p>On Thursday, four people currently orbiting Earth in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-next-spacex-flight-will-have-better-toilets-2021-9">SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship</a> plan to don a set of brand-new spacesuits, open their spaceship's hatch to completely expose its interior to the vacuum of space, and attempt the first-ever commercial spacewalk.</p><p>Their week-long mission, called Polaris Dawn, is fully private with no NASA involvement — but it's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-warns-tourists-that-spaceflight-is-uncomfortable-risky-2021-8">no billionaire joyride</a>. This spacewalk is a critical test of technical abilities that SpaceX will need to achieve Elon Musk's ultimate goal of building a city on Mars.</p><p>It's also a risky feat for all four <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/polaris-dawn-crew-spacex-commercial-astronauts-first-private-spacewalk-">Polaris Dawn crew</a> members: <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jared-isaacman-net-worth-career-spacex-polaris-dawn-2024-8">Jared Isaacman</a>, the mission's billionaire benefactor and commander; Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, two SpaceX engineers; and Scott Poteet, a retired Air Force pilot who previously led strategy at Isaacman's company Shift4.</p><div type="image" title="four people in spacesuits with their visors up smiling and pointing at a black spacex logo on a spaceship behind them" height="1500" width="2270" msid="113279200" hostid="261" sizebytes="176724"></div><p>Even though only two will <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-shows-cosmonaut-space-littering-during-spacewalk-nasa-says-harmless-2023-5">perform the spacewalk</a>, the entire crew will be drifting in the vacuum of space, wearing new spacesuits that haven't been tested in-orbit yet. The stakes are high.<br /><br />"I know that they take safety very seriously," Leroy Chiao, a retired NASA astronaut who has spent more than 36 hours on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-postpones-astronauts-spacewalk-due-to-possible-space-junk-danger-2021-11">spacewalks</a> and consulted for SpaceX on its Safety Advisory Panel for 12 years, told Business Insider in an email.</p><p>He added that SpaceX knows any mishap would "seriously impact" <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/virgin-galactic-blue-origin-spacex-commercial-space-flights-tourism-cost-2023-7">commercial human spaceflight</a>, "if not kill it."</p><p>The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-polaris-dawn-mission-launch-2024-8">Polaris program</a> plans to livestream the spacewalk, most likely on X. Business Insider will post details here once they're available.</p><p>According to SpaceX, the spacewalk will begin at 2:23 a.m. ET on Thursday. If you're on the West Coast, that's 11:23 p.m. on Wednesday. SpaceX says there is also a backup opportunity on Friday.</p><p>"I'll be watching with great interest," Chiao said.</p><h2 id="554cfe13-43b4-4b33-be3f-3bd739b2c0ca">The Polaris Dawn spacewalk plan</h2><p id="554cfe13-43b4-4b33-be3f-3bd739b2c0ca">The spacewalk procedure begins 48 hours before opening the Crew Dragon's hatch, with a "pre-breathe."</p><p id="554cfe13-43b4-4b33-be3f-3bd739b2c0ca">The two-day process should slowly decrease the pressure in the spaceship's cabin and eventually put the crew on 100% oxygen. That helps purge nitrogen from their blood and prevent a dangerous condition called "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/missing-titan-submersible-recompression-chamber-2023-6">the bends</a>."</p><div type="image" title="two people adjust each other's large black face mask respirators which are secured via thick white straps and green head gear in a concrete room with wires and control panels on the wall" height="1667" width="2500" msid="113279203" hostid="261" sizebytes="274222"></div><p id="554cfe13-43b4-4b33-be3f-3bd739b2c0ca">This procedure is similar to one that astronauts on the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photo-international-space-station-hidden-passing-sun-2023-4">International Space Station</a> use before their spacewalks, although their pre-breathes only last a few hours because they do it in the confines of a small, contained airlock. Crew Dragon<strong> </strong>has no airlock, so the crew must balance the pressure in the entire cabin with the pressure in the spacesuits and give everyone's body an opportunity to adjust. Hence, a longer, 48-hour pre-breathe.</p><p id="554cfe13-43b4-4b33-be3f-3bd739b2c0ca">After the pre-breathe, the Polaris crew should don their spacesuits — the first SpaceX has ever designed for spacewalks. Each spacesuit will be connected to the spacecraft through an umbilical cord that will provide what the astronauts need to survive like power and air.</p><p id="554cfe13-43b4-4b33-be3f-3bd739b2c0ca">When the time finally comes, the crew plans to open their spaceship's hatch. Since there is no airlock, this will expose the entire cabin of the vehicle and its crew to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-long-human-survive-outer-space-without-spacesuit-2017-5">the vacuum of space</a>.</p><div type="image" title="illustration of an astronaut in a spacex white spacesuit exiting the open nosecone hatch of a white crew dragon spaceship in space high above earth" height="1152" width="2048" msid="113279194" hostid="261" sizebytes="62388"></div><p id="554cfe13-43b4-4b33-be3f-3bd739b2c0ca">"You are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-risk-blue-origin-rocket-2021-6">taking on a lot of risk</a> at that point," Isaacman said in a briefing on August 19.</p><p id="554cfe13-43b4-4b33-be3f-3bd739b2c0ca">"You're throwing away all the safety of your vehicle," he added.</p><p id="554cfe13-43b4-4b33-be3f-3bd739b2c0ca">Then, if all goes as planned, Isaacman and Gillis will leave the spacecraft to perform tests on their spacesuits, but they will always maintain contact with one of the many handrails added to the ship's exterior for this mission. The other two — Menon and Poteet — will stay inside providing support.</p><div type="image" title="circular hatch with handholds" height="1570" width="2094" msid="113279197" hostid="261" sizebytes="61868"></div><h2 id="3337c458-78f2-4489-8333-217fe7be3594">The risks and stakes are high</h2><p id="3337c458-78f2-4489-8333-217fe7be3594">The Polaris Dawn spacewalk plan — no airlock, vehicle fully open to space — is not totally unprecedented. NASA's Gemini and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moon-missions-why-astronauts-have-not-returned-2018-7">Apollo programs</a> did the same thing.</p><div type="image" title="astronaut nasa spacewalk" height="2325" width="3500" msid="113279205" hostid="261" sizebytes="376574"></div><p>Abhi Tripathi, a former Dragon mission director at SpaceX, who now directs mission operations at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory, told BI that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-boeing-nasa-commercial-crew-program-launch-astronauts-2020-1">the spaceship was designed</a> "from the beginning" to withstand unplanned depressurization events.</p><p>Tripathi added that he doesn't see "any special risks" with the spacewalk. In fact, he admitted to feeling a bit of "FOMO and jealousy" seeing his former colleagues, Menon and Gillis, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-launches-to-space-blue-origin-first-human-spaceflight-2021-7">go to space</a>.</p><p>What's more, SpaceX has spent two and a half years <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-build-superpowered-dragon-spaceship-scrap-nasa-space-station-2024-7">upgrading the Crew Dragon</a>, testing it, and running simulations with the four crew members to prepare for this spacewalk.</p><p>Chiao also expressed confidence that the company has "thoroughly reviewed" its flight plans.</p><div type="image" title="two people wearing large clunky face masks for oxygen sitting in a concrete chamber on blue mats" height="1366" width="2048" msid="113279210" hostid="261" sizebytes="346404"></div><p>But trying anything new in space is risky. And there's a lot that's new in this plan: a 48-hour pre-breathe protocol, the spacesuits, the fact that a Crew Dragon spacewalk has never happened before, and the fact that all the crew members will be new to spacewalking.</p><p><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-inspiration4-first-space-tourists-return-to-earth-2021-9">Isaacman previously flew to space</a> in 2021 on another Crew Dragon flight he commissioned. Poteet was the mission director for that flight, called Inspiration4. Menon and Gillis have provided ground support for multiple SpaceX missions. None of them have ever been in the actual vacuum of space before, though.</p><div type="image" title="jared isaacman spacex crew dragon" height="2560" width="3840" msid="113279206" hostid="261" sizebytes="991006"></div><p>"They will be testing a new suit with people who have never done this before," Chiao said.</p><p>He added that depressurizing the entire cabin also adds risk for the two people remaining inside. They'll be wearing spacesuits, too, but it will still be a more precarious situation than sitting inside a sealed, pressurized, environmentally controlled spacecraft.</p><p>As with any space mission or spacewalk, there is also a risk that any of the millions of bits of space debris orbiting Earth could impact the spacecraft and endanger its crew.</p><p>Tripathi previously worked in flight reliability at SpaceX, a division which is now led by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-shake-up-in-new-race-to-the-moon-2019-7">Bill Gerstenmaier</a>, who previously spent four decades overseeing various human spaceflight programs at NASA.</p><p>"I feel very comfortable that there's maybe no better team in the world from a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-elon-musk-spacex-drugs-investigation-outcome-2023-12">safety perspective</a> than the folks that are trying to make sure every I is dotted and T's are crossed at SpaceX," Tripathi said.</p>

Polaris Dawn spacewalk: Watch live as SpaceX's commercial astronauts attempt mission's historic EVA

<ul><li> The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (<keyword id="6360409" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword>) has shared an HD video of its astronauts walking in space outside the International Space Station (ISS).</li><li>Unlike live streams, the footage is crystal clear and viewers are able to see the details of what these astronauts are up to as they go about their spacewalk.</li><li>The video contains four spacewalks conducted between July 2020 and March 2021.</li></ul>Not everyone gets to walk in space, 408 kilometres above the Earth’s surface. But, maybe they can at least get a glimpse of what it could be like in crisp footage from outside the International Space Station (ISS).<br /><br />The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been live-streaming its spacewalks outside the ISS for all to see <a href="https://www.bgr.in/news/nasa-to-host-first-ever-live-4k-video-stream-from-space-on-april-26-454140/">since 2017</a>. The only problem is that the real-time footage — 4K or not — can be a bit unstable at times.<br /><br />              <div type="image" title="first spacewalk_edited" msid="82099980" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In 1965, Ed White was the first ever NASA astronaut to walk in space. Here he is seen emerging from the Gemini 4 spacecraft all those years ago.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />The ordinary viewer is left squinting as they try to guess what it is that they’re looking at on their screens, which can put a damper on the whole experience. <br /><br />In order to try and fix the problem, NASA has uploaded an HD video with crystal clear footage of its astronauts on spacewalks over the past year. The video contains four spacewalks conducted between July 2020 and March 2021.<br /><br />                <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div><br />The spacewalks usually include maintenance work or upgrades of the ISS. Each spacewalk can last anywhere from five hours to eight, depending on the task at hand. <br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What are the astronauts doing in the spacewalk video?" comment="subhead" text="What are the astronauts doing in the spacewalk video?"><span data-til="noop">What are the astronauts doing in the spacewalk video?</span></cmsannotation><br />Two of the astronauts in the video — Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover seen in the first two minutes of the footage — are seen working to install a European science platform, Bartolemo, and complete a long-term battery upgrade. <br /><br />    <div type="image" title="michael hopkins_edited" msid="82099996" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;NASA spacewalker Michael Hopkins is pictured during a spacewalk to service the station&amp;#8217;s cooling system and communications gear. &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />They also vented early ammonia system jumper cables as well as relocated one of them and reconnected it to the current cooling system for more efficiency. Ammonia is part of the station's cooling system.<br /><br />Some of the other tasks on Hopkins and Glover’s docket included replacing a wireless antenna assembly on the first US-built module known as Unity, installing a stiffener on the airlock's flexible thermal cover where astronauts come and go during spacewalks and routing cables to provide ethernet capabilities for two high-definition cameras outside the station.<br /><br />NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi are seen in the next one minute of the video, completing the installation of modification kits in preparation for upcoming solar array upgrades.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="kate rubbins_edited" msid="82100362" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;NASA astronaut Kate Rubins is pictured during a spacewalk to install solar array modification kits on the International Space Station&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />The last pair of astronauts are Robert Behnken and Chris Cassidy. On their spacewalk, Behnken and Cassidy began by installing a protective storage unit that includes two Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL) units the Canadian Space Agency’s Dextre robot can use to detect leaks of ammonia.<br /><br />They then removed two lifting fixtures at the base of station solar arrays on the near port truss, or backbone, of the station. The two also routed ethernet cables and removed a lens filter cover from an external camera.<br /><br />

WATCH: Crystal clear footage of NASA astronauts walking in space, changing out pipes, installing cameras and much more

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12153790" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astronaut" source="Orion">Astronaut</keyword> Wang Yaping ventured outside <keyword id="11892748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword>'s Tiangong space station for six hours on November 8.</li><li>She made the spacewalk to install equipment with fellow Shenzhou-13 crew member Zhai Zhigang.</li></ul><p>Astronaut Wang Yaping has become the first woman in Chinese history to walk in space. </p><p>Wang, 41, is one of the three astronauts - or taikonauts, China's term for the country's space explorers - currently stationed at the Tiangong space station. She is part of the Shenzhou-13 crew, which blasted off from a launch center in the Gobi Desert on October 16 to embark on a six-month mission in the Tianhe module, the core of the space station.</p><p>Wang and fellow astronaut Zhai Zhigang, 55, left the Tianhe module and ventured out into space on November 8 for six hours to install equipment and test the station's robotic arm, per a <a href="http://www.cmse.gov.cn/xwzx/zhxw/202111/t20211108_49033.html">media release</a> from the China Manned Space Agency (CMS). The third crew member, Ye Guangfu, 41, assisted the team from within the space station. </p><p>"This marks the first extravehicular activity of the Shenzhou-13 crew, and it is also the first in China's space history involving the participation of a woman astronaut," the CMS said in its statement. "The whole process was smooth and successful."</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.scmp.com/video/china/3155228/first-spacewalk-chinese-female-astronaut-during-shenzhou-13-crew-space-station">video</a> published by the South China Morning Post, the astronauts are seen performing tasks outside their space station and waving hello via a livestream beamed to Earth. </p><p>Wang, Zhai, and Ye will continue to work on the space station during their six-month stay. China's space agency said the team will "carry out tasks such as mechanical arm operation, extravehicular activities, and modules transfer" and test how a long-term stay in space would work within the country's space station, in terms of resource management and life support. </p><p>Tiangong, which can be translated to mean "heavenly palace," is currently under construction. Its core module Tianhe is <a href="https://www.space.com/tiangong-space-station">slated to eventually be connected to two other sections</a>, Mengtian and Wentian. China plans to finish its new space station by the end of 2022, a task that will involve at least seven more missions, per <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/china-launches-second-crewed-mission-build-space-station-2021-10-15/">Reuters</a>. </p><p>Under to the 2011 Wolf Amendment, Chinese astronauts were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taikonauts-return-from-mission-to-chinas-new-space-station-2021-9">banned</a> from launching to the International Space Station (ISS) by US law. However, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-station-getting-old-companies-making-new-versions-2020-11">ISS may be out of commission by the 2030s</a>, which might leave Tiangong as the only working space station at that point. </p><p>China previously sent another crew into space, composed of taikonauts Tang Hongbo, Nie Haisheng, and Liu Boming. The trio, who made up the Shenzhou-12 crew, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taikonauts-return-from-mission-to-chinas-new-space-station-2021-9">landed in Mongolia on September 17</a> after a three-month stay at the Tiangong space station. At the time, Shenzhou-12's mission was the longest space flight in Chinese history, but that record is now set to be broken by Shenzhou-13's taikonauts.</p>

A female astronaut made history this weekend when she became the first Chinese woman to ever complete a spacewalk

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/elon-musk-space-x-100-billion-share-sale-secondary-valuation-2021-10">SpaceX</a> plans to launch its fourth <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astronaut-photos-from-space-station-beauty-climate-change-2021-8">NASA astronaut crew</a> to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-spaceship-pushed-space-station-out-of-position-again-2021-10">International Space Station</a> on Wednesday night.</li><li>The <keyword id="12409868" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crew-3" source="Orion">Crew-3</keyword> mission has been delayed twice due to bad weather and a minor medical issue.</li></ul><p><keyword id="11908743" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="spacex" source="Orion">SpaceX</keyword> plans to send a rocket streaking above the Florida skies on Wednesday night. Onboard its <keyword id="11937989" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crew-dragon" source="Orion">Crew Dragon</keyword> spaceship will be the fourth astronaut crew the company will have launched for <keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nasa" source="Orion">NASA</keyword>.</p><p>SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, now regularly shuttles NASA <keyword id="11937986" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astronauts" source="Orion">astronauts</keyword> to and from the <keyword id="11969448" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international-space-station" source="Orion">International Space Station</keyword> (ISS) for six-month shifts. The crews the company has flown so far have also included astronauts from the space agencies of Europe and Japan.</p><p>The upcoming mission, called Crew-3, includes NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, as well as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer.</p><div type="image" title="SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off in the night with crew-2 mission" height="1280" width="1706" msid="87336939" hostid="261"></div><p>"It's hard to express adequately how excited we are as a crew. We're definitely feeling ready to launch," Barron, who will be flying to space for the first time, said in a press conference in early October.</p><p>The crew was originally supposed to lift off in the dark hours before dawn on Halloween, but NASA and SpaceX delayed the launch due to high winds and waves forecast along the spaceship's flight path over the Atlantic Ocean. NASA requires calm weather at several emergency splashdown locations in the ocean.</p><p>Then the flight was delayed further due to a "minor medical issue" involving one of the astronauts. NASA has not disclosed details about the medical issue or which astronaut was affected, though the agency noted that the issue was not an emergency and not COVID-19-related.</p><p>Now, the mission is finally set to launch at 9:03 p.m. ET on Wednesday, reaching the ISS on Thursday evening.</p><div type="image" title="crew dragon endeavour crew 2 spacex iss arrival" height="1280" width="1706" msid="87336941" hostid="261"></div><h2>Watch SpaceX fly to the space station live</h2><p>NASA plans to broadcast the entire Crew-3 journey to the ISS live online, starting with the Falcon 9 rocket launch and ending after the Crew Dragon capsule docks to its ISS port. The journey will take about 24 hours.</p><p>The livestream will appear on NASA TV, embedded below, beginning at 4:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday.</p><p>This Crew Dragon capsule, which the Crew-3 astronauts have named "Endurance," will be the first to fly with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-discovers-urine-leak-on-crew-dragon-spaceships-2021-10">SpaceX's latest toilet upgrade</a>. Last month, the company discovered that urine from the capsule's toilet had leaked in two of its Crew Dragons - one that flew tourists around Earth for three days, and one that was docked to the ISS until it brought its crew back to Earth last weekend.</p><p>In both cases, a toilet tube came loose then leaked pee all over a compartment beneath the cabin floor. The urine didn't enter the cabin, so the people inside didn't notice the issue. SpaceX representatives say the company has upgraded that tube to prevent future leaks.</p><p>If everything goes according to plan - as it did for SpaceX's three prior ISS flights - the rocket will first roar towards space, giving Endurance the push it needs to insert itself into Earth's orbit.</p><p>The astronauts will have time to eat, sleep, enjoy their new views, and prepare for arrival as the spaceship lines up with the ISS.</p><p>Thursday evening, as the space station comes into view, Endurance will fire its thrusters to slowly push itself towards a docking port, latching onto the station at 7:10 p.m. ET. The spaceship is fully automated, so nobody needs to manually drive if it operates as expected.</p><div type="image" title="astronaut Raja Chari in white grey spacex spacesuit inside spaceship operating touchscreen controls" height="1600" width="2133" msid="87336943" hostid="261"></div><p>Astronauts on the Crew Dragon and the ISS will then conduct a nearly two-hour sealing and leak-checking process before opening the hatch that connects the station to the spaceship. Then Crew-3 will float into the space station, at about 8:45 p.m. ET. The three people currently on the ISS will likely crowd around to greet them - a reunion that's often full of broad smiles and upside-down hugs.</p><p>The ISS crew is sparse right now because SpaceX's last mission, Crew-2, returned to Earth on Monday. Those astronauts climbed back aboard their Crew Dragon capsule, plummeted through the atmosphere, and parachuted to an ocean landing. They were originally supposed to overlap with Crew-3 for a few days, but because of the Crew-3 delays they ended up returning before the new astronauts could launch.</p><div type="image" title="demo2 splashdown parachutes crew dragon landing spacex" height="1440" width="1920" msid="87336945" hostid="261"></div><p>Crew-3 will make a similar return trip in about six months. That means Marshburn, Chari, Barron, and Maurer will be on the ISS for an array of historic spaceflight events to come.</p><p>Over the next six months, NASA is set to launch the James Webb Space Telescope, which is expected to revolutionize astronomy; SpaceX plans to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-will-let-axiom-space-fly-first-private-astronauts-iss-2021-5">fly tourists to the ISS</a> for the first time; and NASA aims to launch <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-nasa-sls-moon-rocket-taller-than-statue-of-liberty-2021-10">the first moon mission of its Artemis program</a>.</p><p>In the meantime, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taikonauts-return-from-mission-to-chinas-new-space-station-2021-9">China is continuing to construct its own space station</a>. The first module is already orbiting Earth, with astronauts on board.</p><p>"We have a lot of exciting things planned, from spacewalks to <keyword id="11896083" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="science" source="Orion">science</keyword> experiments to visitors, with the private astronaut missions and spaceflight participants. So it's kind of a dream mission for a rookie flyer to be joining such an experienced crew aboard the space station," Barron said.</p><p><em>This story has been updated with new information. It was originally published October 28, 2021.</em></p>

Watch SpaceX launch its next astronaut crew for NASA on Wednesday, after a week of delays

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>&#xa0;Over the past month, Lately, astronauts at the International Space Station have been discovering their green thumbs - over the past month, they've been taking turns watering a plant.&#xa0;<p>And today they will <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/meals_ready_to_eat">enjoy</a> the fruit of their labor: eat the first time<span>&#xa0;a red romaine lettuce&#xa0;called "Outredgeous"<em>&#xa0;</em>that's been planted, grown and harvested in space. </span></p><p><span>The event will be live-streamed <span>on&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html">NASA TV</a>&#xa0;<span>today, as part of a&#xa0;six-hour spacewalk by the Russian crew&#xa0;aboard the International&#xa0;Space Station&#xa0;that begins&#xa0;at 9:45 a.m. EDT.</span></span></p><p><span><span><span>NASA's experiment, called Veg-01, is intended to&#xa0;figure out an effective way to grow plants in-orbit. It uses&#xa0;a technology called "<span>Veggie," which&#xa0;has been jointly developed by NASA and the aerospace research company&#xa0;Orbital Technologies Corporation</span>.</span></span></span></p><p>Supplies of fresh food are harder to come by in space, since there aren't enough options for refrigeration. In fact, as soon as fresh food supplies land in space,<span>&#xa0;they get eaten <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/veggie.html">almost immediately</a>. Space missions, on the other hand, are&#xa0;expected to grow longer and longer - think future Mars expeditions. So a simple solution would be to grow your own greens&#xa0;in space to survive the&#xa0;long hauls.</span></p><p><span>But growing food in orbit&#xa0;is not a cakewalk; it's more of a spacewalk.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>There's no gravity, of course, to hold&#xa0;water and soil down. In a weightless environment, roots also tend to&#xa0;grow in odd directions. Moreover, it doesn't rain or shine inside the cold metallic space station.</span></p><p><span>Enter&#xa0;<span>a special plant growth system that can thrive in zero gravity - imagine an ultramini-greenhouse. The Veggie solves the problem of weightlessness using plant</span></span>&#xa0;"pillows," which&#xa0;serves&#xa0;as a bed for roots. The&#xa0;lightweight,&#xa0;<span>low-maintenance&#xa0;</span>structure <span>made from special fabrics </span><span>is&#xa0;filled with&#xa0;soil,&#xa0;fertilizer and seeds.&#xa0;C</span>rew members use a reservoir below the pillow to keep the roots moist.</p><p>The shoots&#xa0;emerge to find <span>red and blue LEDs shining overhead.&#xa0;That's the color of lights that plants use for&#xa0;photosynthesis. But since the purplish lights are not too pleasant to look at, green LEDs are turned on. The appearance of the mock garden has <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/meals_ready_to_eat">psychological</a> benefits too. In the relatively sterile&#xa0;environment of spaceships, gardening&#xa0;perks up&#xa0;astronauts and helps them feel closer to nature.</span></p><p>In case you're wondering how safe the space-grown&#xa0;lettuce is,&#xa0;the pillow is thrown away&#xa0;after it's been used once&#xa0;to keep bacteria away.&#xa0;</p><p>The chamber was first brought in the&#xa0;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/veggie">spring</a>&#xa0;of 2014, and the <span><span>first pillows were installed</span><span>. After 33 days, the plants were harvested and flown back&#xa0;to Earth to test for food safety. </span><span>The current&#xa0;Veg-01 pillows were set in motion&#xa0;on July 8 and grew again for 33 days.</span>&#xa0; &#xa0;&#xa0;&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>And today, the astronauts on board are all&#xa0;excited about&#xa0;tasting their&#xa0;harvest.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span><div></div></span></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joy-trailer-2015-7">Jennifer Lawrence is all over the place in this awesome trailer for 'Joy'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Mycnk3djoIENX_NI_q_cxltf2AyLJBTY" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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