SpaceX is gearing up for a groundbreaking mission set to launch on Tuesday, aiming to achieve the first-ever private spacewalk. The mission, dubbed Polaris Dawn, will see a crew of four private astronauts, including billionaire Jared Isaacman, a retired military pilot, and two SpaceX engineers, embark on this unprecedented venture.
Scheduled for 3:38 a.m. ET (0738 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Polaris Dawn is SpaceX’s fifth private mission and is expected to push the boundaries of human space travel. The launch had been delayed due to a helium leak and subsequent regulatory issues with the Falcon 9 rocket. With only a 40% chance of favorable weather, SpaceX has additional launch windows at 5:23 a.m. and 7:09 a.m.
The mission will see the Crew Dragon spacecraft travel in an orbit reaching up to 1,400 km (870 miles) from Earth, the farthest since the Apollo moon missions. On its third day, the crew will conduct a 20-minute spacewalk from the depressurized cabin of the Crew Dragon, which lacks an airlock.
The Polaris Dawn mission aims to advance scientific understanding of cosmic radiation and space conditions on the human body. It marks the beginning of Isaacman’s Polaris program, which plans future missions including flights on SpaceX’s Starship.
The mission underscores SpaceX’s role in pioneering private space travel, building on its previous private flights and furthering its ambitions in space exploration.
