Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
Humans have never before been this high – spacewalk w no airlock (spacex.com)
4 points by deepnet 66 days ago | hide | past | favorite | 5 comments



Please fix the title as it doesn't seem to match the original article (at least from the phone).

It's also false if we consider it from a perspective of a coordinate system based on Earth (center of mass or surface): humans have been to the moon that's a lot "higher".


6.23 GMT spacewalk commences

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=polarisda...

Must be more than 10 people watching sxhitter livestream capability is hopelessly broke in the UK - SpaceX was streaming well but now they have a redirect to x

Please post alt streams or I guess we’ll just have to wait for youtube highlights

Guess Musky fired too many server guys

Spacewalk cancelled…


> The entire spacewalk operation is expected to take approximately two hours.

How long does it take them around the earth once?



Because there is no airlock in the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft used for the flight, the only way to perform a spacewalk is to let all the air out of the spacecraft, and then open one of the hatches. That requires all four crew members to wear spacesuits. NASA and Soviet astronauts conducted spacewalks in a similar manner in the 1960s.

As the Crew Dragon swings around Earth in an elliptical orbit that swings as close as 120 miles to the surface and as high as 460 miles, Mr. Isaacman and Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer, will exit the capsule for about 15 to 20 minutes each.

They will pass through the hatch at the top of the Crew Dragon with the help of a handrail that SpaceX has named Skywalker, moving around carefully and deliberately. The two will not be outside the spacecraft at the same time.

The other two crew members, Scott Poteet, a retired Air Force pilot and the mission’s pilot, and Anna Menon, another SpaceX engineer, will remain in the capsule to manage the umbilical cords that will feed the spacewalkers oxygen and power, and monitor the readings to make sure everything is proceeding properly.

After Mr. Isaacman and Ms. Gillis return inside and close the hatch, the inside of the capsule will be repressurized with oxygen and nitrogen. The entire spacewalk, from letting out all the air to refilling a breathable atmosphere, is expected to take about two hours.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: