SpaceX begins testing "New high-tech spacesuit" for 1st private spacewalk this month shocked others

SpaceX is heading to the first tests of its new high-tech spacesuit, preparing for the first private spacewalk. Which tests will SpaceX conduct for its EVA suit, and how important is it for SpaceX? Also, is this a big shock to NASA? All this and more in today's episode of Great SpaceX. Revealed earlier in the year, the Polaris program is a sort of hybridization of orbital spaceflight tourism and technology development, and has one primary goal, to rapidly advance human spaceflight capabilities. Created in partnership with SpaceX by billionaire and Shift for Payments founder Jared Isaacman, who also funded and flew on SpaceX's first private Crew Dragon launch, Polaris aims to pick up where Inspiration4 left off last year. While it will still be affiliated with and seek to help St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Polaris program will focus on the development of several crucial technologies that SpaceX will need to accomplish in its ultimate goal of spreading humanity throughout our solar system. One of the so-called crucial technologies is a cheap, reliable, and easy-to-use spacesuit that will allow future SpaceX astronauts to work outside of the safety of their spacecraft, in the vacuum of space, and one day walk on the surfaces of other planets and moons. For Crew Dragon, SpaceX has already developed an Intravehicular Activity or IVA pressure suit that all Dragon astronauts must wear during mission-critical maneuvers. In the event of capsule depressurization, the suits would be able to keep Dragon astronauts alive inside the capsule for at least a few days, supplying them with clean air and maintaining enough pressure to avoid altitude sickness or worse. However, because IVA suits generally prioritize unpressurized mobility, the astronauts inside them can do very little when the suits are fully pressurized. At sea level, every person on Earth is subjected to standard atmospheric pressure, which amounts to about 101 kilopascals or 14.5 pounds per square inch. In a spacesuit, the suit itself must maintain a pocket of air at similar pressures, ultimately meaning that the outer skin of a suit must resist the same force. To put that into context, even operating at the absolute minimum pressures that humans can realistically tolerate and use, which is 4-6 PSI, simply moving one's arm in an IVA suit could require hundreds of pounds or kilograms of force. Even in NASA's aging Extravehicular Activity spacesuits, which feature mechanical joints and other upgrades meant to make movement and life easier inside them, spacewalks are one of the most brutal and exhausting physical activities conceivable, requiring extraordinary levels of near-constant exertion for hours on end. According to comments made to Spaceflight Now by Jared Isaacman and by pilot Scott Poteet in an interview covered by America Space, SpaceX's first EVA suit will be quite basic. To some extent, they will be heavily modified versions of SpaceX's existing IVA suit design, but with much more advanced thermal management, an improved helmet-slash-visor, and most importantly, the addition of a number of mechanized joints. As was the case with early NASA EVA suits developed in the 1960s, SpaceX's first EVA suits will receive consumables, power, and communications through cables or tethers that connect to Dragon's life support. It'll take SpaceX some time to develop a miniaturized portable life support system as safe and capable as the packs used on NASA's EVA suits. A tethered EVA suit will still allow SpaceX or private astronauts to perform EVAs and work on or inspect the exterior of their Crew Dragon or Starship spacecraft capabilities that could save lives in certain emergency scenarios. SpaceX's first priority then will be to make sure that the basics work well in space and that the suits actually allow astronauts to perform tasks that require good finger and limb dexterity without immediately exhausting themselves. Isaacman also said there are changes in materials on the upgraded suit to better shield astronauts from micrometeoroids and orbital debris, which include tiny space rocks or space junk fragments that could strike a crew member while they are outside the spacecraft on a spacewalk. Now, after a long time of design and manufacturing, SpaceX is finally ready to begin testing its new spacesuit. Two members from the Polaris program say that SpaceX could begin training private astronauts for the first private spacewalk in spaceflight history as early as May or June of 2022. The training will focus heavily on the EVA, offering either the two chosen crew members or all four candidates an opportunity to experience deep-sea diving and test EVA suits both underwater and inside a Dragon capsule simulator. Meanwhile, NASA is still struggling with its new spacesuit that has been behind schedule. SpaceX's test must have been a big shock even to them. If all goes well, SpaceX could conduct the first private spacewalk in history in as few as six months from now. The first of up to three Polaris missions, known as Polaris Dawn, is currently scheduled to launch as early as November of 2022. All four private astronauts made up of two Polaris employees and two SpaceX employees will wear the new EVA suits in place of their usual IVA suits, while only two members of the crew will ultimately attempt to exit the capsule and perform a single EVA that could last roughly 30 to 90 minutes. To do so, the entire Dragon will be depressurized and one of two hatches will be opened, while the other two EVA-suited astronauts will simply remain in their seats. Regardless of the outcome, it will be the first private spacewalk in the history of spaceflight. Beyond supporting SpaceX's EVA spacesuit development, Polaris Dawn's crew will also conduct a range of science experiments, attempt to connect to high-speed internet in orbit through Starlink laser links, and try to break the record for highest Earth orbit reached by a crewed spacecraft since the last Apollo Moon mission in 1972, which stands at 1,400 kilometers or 870 miles. Additionally, Polaris missions will also focus on research to benefit not just future explorations, but life on Earth as well. As Isaacman shared, all three Polaris missions include an extensive list of scientific research and payloads with an aim to test next-generation technologies that will support future long-duration human spaceflight and inspire the world as to all the possibilities that exist in the last great frontier. Both SpaceX and Isaacman believe in the future that such research holds. This program has been purposefully designed to advance long-duration spaceflight capabilities and to guide us towards the ultimate goal of facilitating Mars exploration. Perhaps one of the most important points to reinforce here is the overwhelming belief that we can make progress in space for tomorrow. Additionally, while this is a private collaboration between SpaceX and Isaacman, there is still emphasis placed on this work benefiting spaceflight and exploration as a whole. As Sarah Gillis, SpaceX employee and member of crew Polaris said, this isn't just about SpaceX. It really is, hopefully, opening access to space for everybody. And that's it for today's episode. If you enjoy what my team and I are doing, you can become a patron through our Patreon link in the description below. And as a quick note, if you have advertising needs, you can contact us directly via email. As always, this is Kevin with Great SpaceX and my team and I will see you next time. Thank you so much for watching and have a good one.