Four civilians on a daring SpaceX mission are attempting the first commercial spacewalk

A four-person crew of civilians on board SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission are preparing to unlock the hatch of their capsule and make history as the first group of non-government astronauts to conduct a spacewalk.

SpaceX is hosting a live webcast of the event — also known as an extravehicular activity (EVA) — which kicked off a little after 6:00 a.m. ET.

The entire SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle propelling and protecting the crew will be depressurized and exposed to the vacuum of space — a dangerous and historic milestone in the Polaris Dawn crew’s five-day journey through Earth’s orbit. The mission has already set records, traveling farther into space than any human since NASA’s Apollo program concluded more than 50 years ago.

All told, the Crew Dragon capsule is expected to spend about two hours exposed to space after the crew opens a hatch located at the top of vehicle.

Watch Dragon’s first spacewalk with the @PolarisProgram ’s Polaris Dawn crew