A billionaire and his three-man crew are hoping to make history as they prepare to launch into space on a mission planned to include the first civilian spacewalk.
The Polaris Dawn team will launch aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and be launched on a Falcon 9 rocket. The launch is scheduled for 3:38 a.m. ET on Tuesday, August 27, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. One is at 23:00 am and the other is at 7:09 am. If the launch cannot be carried out at these times, the launch can be carried out the next morning.
The launch will begin 3.5 hours before liftoff on the SpaceX website and X.
If Polaris Dawn goes as planned, the Crew Dragon capsule is expected to reach a maximum orbit of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) above Earth. This not only marks the highest altitude reached by the Crew Dragon spacecraft, but also sets a new record for the highest altitude in Earth orbit. The current record is held by the 1966 Gemini XI mission at 853 miles (1,373 kilometers). Although the Apollo missions traveled much further to the moon, they did not reach such high altitudes while orbiting the Earth.
The astronauts plan to stay in orbit for up to five days, during which time they will conduct more than 30 studies and experiments. This includes collecting data on radiation conditions in space and conducting a number of experiments related to human survival in space. At the heart of the mission, the capsule will lower its orbit to an altitude of 435 miles (700 kilometers) above Earth, where two of the four astronauts will take part in the first-ever spacewalk by a private citizen. Previously, all spacewalks were conducted by astronauts from government space agencies.
If all goes well, the spacewalk will be just one of many firsts. Polaris Dawn will deploy SpaceX’s extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuit for the first time. Since the Crew Dragon capsule does not have an airlock, all four astronauts will be exposed to the vacuum of space, which means the success of the EVA during the spacewalk is crucial, not only as a test of its survivability, but for the entire Survival in space is critical to all.
SpaceX unveiled the EVA suit, an improved version of the aerospace company’s in-vehicle activity suit, in May after years of delays. It was designed with enhanced astronaut mobility in mind and includes a 3D-printed helmet to reduce glare from the sun when the wearer is outside the vehicle, as well as a state-of-the-art heads-up display and camera. The suit is also designed to be sized to fit different body types for mass production.
The crew will also be the first to test the Starlink laser communications system in space. According to SpaceX, the goal is to develop systems for missions to the moon and Mars “and beyond.”
The people who financed the mission were among the crew of the Polaris Dawn. Jared Isaacman serves as the mission commander, but he is best known as the billionaire executive of payment processing company Shift4. Isaacman had previously traveled into space aboard Inspiration 4, the first all-civilian orbital trip. He has spent the past two years training for the mission along with other members of the Polaris Dawn crew. In addition to Polaris Dawn, Isaacson has paid SpaceX an undisclosed amount for two other Polaris missions, the last of which is expected to be the first crewed mission on SpaceX’s Starship reusable transportation system. Launch dates for subsequent missions have not yet been announced.
