Astronauts complete first ever 'private spacewalk' outside Crew Dragon capsule

NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken, who launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft earlier this year, have completed the first ever 'private spacewalk' outside the capsule.

The spacewalk, which lasted for around 10 minutes, took place on 22nd June 2020 and saw the astronauts venture outside the Crew Dragon capsule to conduct a series of tests and inspections on the spacecraft.

This spacewalk was a significant milestone for SpaceX, as it was the first time that a private company had conducted a spacewalk outside of the ISS. It also marks the first time that astronauts have conducted a spacewalk outside of a NASA spacecraft since the Space Shuttle program was retired in 2011.

The spacewalk was conducted to assess the condition of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and to test out new procedures for future spacewalks. Cassidy and Behnken used a variety of tools to inspect the exterior of the capsule, including a camera, a flashlight, and a laser scanner.

They also collected samples of the spacecraft's exterior materials for further analysis. The data collected during the spacewalk will be used to improve the design of future Crew Dragon spacecraft and to develop new procedures for spacewalks outside of the ISS.