The all-civilian crew of the Polaris Dawn mission, led by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, aims to reach heights higher than any astronaut has reached since the Apollo missions in the 1970s. The crew will conduct a spacewalk, a feat previously only accomplished by government astronauts, during their five days in orbit. The mission, originally scheduled to launch on Monday, has been delayed at least 24 hours to complete preflight checkouts.
The crew will ascend to 870 miles above Earth’s surface before descending to a cruising orbit about 435 miles above Earth. They will test new technologies, conduct scientific experiments, and attempt to become the first private citizens to conduct a spacewalk. The crew includes pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, who will serve as the medical officer and read a children’s book she co-authored to her children from space.
The Polaris Dawn mission is the first of three under the Polaris Program, aimed at testing SpaceX technologies for deep space exploration. The crew will face challenges posed by Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts and the lack of an airlock on the Dragon spacecraft. Future missions under the Polaris Program will continue to push the boundaries of human spaceflight, in-space communications, and scientific research. The third and final mission is intended to be the first human spaceflight on the SpaceX Starship rocket, which will one day transport NASA astronauts as part of the Artemis program.
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