Four private astronauts are preparing to perform a daring feat in low Earth orbit, opening a hatch to expose the crew capsule to the vacuum of space before two astronauts attempt the first civilian spacewalk.
The Polaris Dawn mission launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:23 a.m. ET on Tuesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After spending about two days in orbit, the two astronauts will venture outside the Dragon spacecraft for extravehicular activities in brand new spacesuits. This orbital stunt has never been attempted by a private astronaut and could pave the way for more adventurous space travel.
The spacewalk is scheduled for 2:23 a.m. ET on Thursday and will be broadcast live on the SpaceX website and the company’s X account.
Four astronauts, led by tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, headed into space aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which reached higher altitudes than any other SpaceX crew capsule. On Wednesday, Dragon reached a maximum orbit of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers), orbiting the Earth six times, breaking the record held by NASA’s Gemini 11 mission; in 1966, the Gemini crewed spacecraft reached an altitude of 853 miles (1,373 kilometers) Orbiting the Earth.
SpaceX wrote on The capsule will lower its altitude to 430 miles (700 kilometers above Earth) to view the highly anticipated event.
Two astronauts will jump out of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and into the vacuum of space. However, it’s not just 50% of astronauts who are ready for spacewalks. Because Dragon has no airlock, the entire spacecraft must be depressurized and exposed to the vacuum of space to prepare participating astronauts for the pressure outside the vehicle. This means that the entire crew will wear spacesuits to survive during EVA.
SpaceX has designed a new spacesuit just for the occasion. In May of this year, SpaceX launched a new spacesuit, which is an upgraded design of the spacesuit worn by astronauts on the company’s current Dragon spacecraft, and has additional functions to support extravehicular activities. Isaacman launched alongside retired Air Force pilot Scott Poteet and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. It’s unclear which two will venture out on the spacewalk, but the crew has been training for about two years to prepare for the mission.
In addition to extravehicular exploration, the Polaris Dawn crew will conduct more than 30 scientific experiments in orbit. Research on this mission is primarily related to astronaut health and astronaut preparation for long-duration missions. NASA conducted a series of experiments with the crew, including a device that collected vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature. After landing, the crew will also provide NASA with data on motion sickness, mental and physical health, and injuries or discomfort during re-entry.
Given the altitude reached by Dragon, the Polaris Dawn crew flew into the Van Allen radiation belts, a region of high-energy charged particles that begins about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from Earth. According to NASA, this region is considered one of the major hazards for future manned missions to Mars because the radiation belts capture particles that surround the Earth like a giant donut. One of the mission’s tasks is to test the effects of radiation in the area on astronauts’ health.
Polaris Dawn will also be the first satellite in space to test SpaceX’s Starlink laser communications, which use lasers to relay data between satellites at the speed of light. The company hopes to develop the technology to help with communications systems for future missions to the moon and Mars.
After completing a checklist of activities in orbit, the crew plans to land on the Florida coast as early as next Saturday. Polaris Dawn was the first of three private missions purchased by Isaacman. Depending on how this one goes, the next two are expected to be equally exciting.
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