EVAActive🇺🇸
SpaceX EVA Suit
Designation: SpaceX EVA
The suit worn for history's first commercial spacewalk — Polaris Dawn's September 2024 EVA showed that private companies could design, build, and operate EVA suits independently.
About This Suit
The SpaceX EVA suit is an evolved version of the Dragon IVA suit with significant additions for extravehicular capability. Its 3D-printed polycarbonate helmet features a heads-up display (HUD) showing live suit status parameters and an integrated HD camera. The visor uses a copper and indium tin oxide coating for anti-glare protection. Joint designs were engineered to remain flexible at ambient pressure and stiffen appropriately when pressurized to 5.1 psi O₂. Rather than integrating a self-contained backpack, the suit operates via umbilical connection to Dragon as the life support base — a design choice that prioritized simplicity for a first-generation EVA capability. On September 12, 2024, Jared Isaacman and SpaceX mission specialist Sarah Gillis (30 years old) performed the first commercial spacewalk from the Polaris Dawn Dragon, spending approximately 2 hours in the airlock and 1 hour 46 minutes fully outside — making Gillis the youngest person ever to conduct a spacewalk.
Key Features
- 1First commercial/private spacewalk suit to be used in actual EVA
- 23D-printed helmet with integrated HUD showing live suit parameters
- 3Copper/ITO visor coating for anti-glare and UV protection
- 4Umbilical-connected (Dragon as LSS base) — not self-contained for first generation
- 5Joint designs stay flexible at ambient and stiffen predictably at 5.1 psi O₂
- 6Thermal materials derived from Falcon 9 interstage and Dragon trunk components
Historic Missions
2024
Polaris Dawn
First commercial spacewalk in history — Isaacman and Gillis; Gillis became youngest person to do an EVA at age 30
👨🚀 Jared Isaacman, Sarah Gillis
Engineering & Research Highlights
- ◆Demonstrated that a non-government organization can design, certify, and operate a crewed EVA suit from scratch
- ◆HUD integration into a spacesuit helmet at this production quality was a commercial first
- ◆Joint flexibility research (ambient vs. pressurized stiffness) informs future self-contained SpaceX suits for Mars