SpaceX has pushed back to Wednesday the launch of a private mission that is planned to include the first civilian space walk. The Polaris Dawn mission will take four private citizens to a maximum altitude of 870 miles and see two of the crew members exit the Crew Dragon capsule while they're more than 400 miles from Earth. The delay was caused by a leak in the umbilical that loads liquids aboard the rocket. The next launch opportunity is Wednesday at 3:38 a.m.
I wonder if anyone except highly trained professional astronauts with test pilot nerves of steel should attempt space walks. If the accounts of the Gemini astronauts are anything to go by, these undertakings can go pear shaped VERY easily, if just due to the basic physics involved.
Ok, that was 60s technology and mankind’s first attempts. But it‘s not like SpaceX‘s space walk system has been tested many times before by professionals (has it been used in space at all?). Here is a billionaire pedestrian trying himself as a test pilot.
I am worried we will soon see accidents with these civilian space endeavors. That will likely put the lid on it.