On Tuesday, SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn spacecraft led by Elon Musk launched the first crew for an “all-civilian” spacewalk. The first commercial spaceflight mission with a spacewalk carries billionaire Jared Isaacman, along with three others, for the all-civilian spacewalk. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off today after 5:23 a.m. EDT (2:54 p.m. IST) from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
“Polaris Dawn liftoff!” SpaceX said in a post on X. The mission has been delayed since August, first by a helium leak and then by bad weather. The Polaris program was launched by billionaire Jared Isaacman, the commander of the first “all-civilian” space mission, Inspiration4, launched in 2021. Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned missions under the program.
Watch the launch video
Watch the Falcon 9 launch live @PolarisProgramNASA’s Polaris Dawn crew on a multi-day mission orbiting Earth https://t.co/u1KqQx5AFr— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 10, 2024
Along with Isaacman, the mission was launched by pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, mission specialist Sarah Gillis and medical officer Anna Menon. The mission will be free-flying and will reach a “very high altitude that humans haven’t reached in over 50 years,” Isaacman said previously. Only the Apollo mission reached a higher altitude.
During the mission, the teams will conduct research to better understand the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health. “While in orbit, the Polaris Dawn crew will conduct 36 scientific experiments and research from 31 partner institutions to expand our knowledge of human adaptation, life, and work in space,” Polaris Dawn said in a post on X.
The crew will also be “the first to test Starlink’s laser-based communications in space.” They will provide valuable data for future space communications systems needed for missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
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