SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission crew completes first commercial spacewalk

Two astronauts from a SpaceX capsule conducted the world's first private spacewalk on Thursday, tethered to the Crew Dragon spacecraft hundreds of miles above Earth. 

Billionaire Jared Isaacman, 41, exited first at around 6:52 a.m. ET (1052 GMT), followed by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, 30, making them the first non-government individuals to undertake such an activity in space. Their maneuvers were streamed live on the company's website, with two other crew members observing from inside the spacecraft.

A private crew has embarked on the first-ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts, as confirmed by SpaceX during a live webcast on Thursday. The spacewalk began at 6:12 a.m. ET (1012 GMT), with the start of oxygen flow into the astronauts' suits, signaling the commencement of this groundbreaking mission.

The spacewalk had been delayed several hours earlier, with billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and his team facing a brief wait after SpaceX announced a postponement. 

Initially scheduled for Thursday, the delay was announced just an hour before the scheduled start, with the company reassuring via social media platform X that "all systems are looking good" but providing no specific reason for the postponement.

Despite the delay, Isaacman and his crew had been preparing for this moment after launching into orbit on Tuesday for a five-day mission. The plan involves Isaacman and a SpaceX engineer taking turns exiting their capsule, positioned hundreds of kilometers above Earth, staying near the hatch. Meanwhile, the other two crew members will remain in their seats.

The spacewalk is the first commercial venture of its kind, with Isaacman collaborating with SpaceX to test out new spacesuits.

(With input from agencies)