Four astronauts have embarked on a groundbreaking privately funded mission called Polaris Dawn, aiming to carry out the first commercial spacewalk. This mission is being bankrolled by Jared Isaacman, the American billionaire founder of the electronic payment company Shift4, who is also serving as the commander of the crew. This marks the second space mission that Isaacman has charted, following his participation in the Inspiration4 mission in 2021. The Inspiration4 mission was the first orbital spaceflight by an all-civilian crew, which included a cancer survivor and a data engineer who won his seat in a raffle draw.
The Polaris Dawn crew consists of a diverse group of individuals, including a retired military fighter pilot and two employees of SpaceX, the Elon Musk-owned company that is operating the mission. The astronauts on this mission are Jared Isaacman, Anna Menon, Scott ‘Kidd’ Poteet, and Sarah Gillis. The crew’s journey began with the launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This launch comes after several delays, including a postponement last month due to a small helium leak on the launchpad. The mission was further delayed when the rocket was temporarily grounded by US regulators for checks.
The Polaris Dawn mission is expected to last about five days and will take an oval-shaped orbit that travels as far as 870 miles (1,400km) from Earth’s surface. This mission carries more risk than usual, as it will be the furthest humans have traveled from Earth since Apollo, and it will include the first commercial spacewalk. SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk emphasized the importance of crew safety in a social media post, highlighting the mission’s objectives, including testing Starlink-laser based communications and conducting research in microgravity.
The commercial spacewalk planned for the Polaris Dawn mission is a significant milestone, as traditionally only well-funded government agencies have been able to carry out such extravehicular activities (EVAs). Most spacewalks have been conducted from the International Space Station (ISS) and the Chinese Tiangong space station. The Polaris Dawn spacewalk is scheduled for the mission’s third day at an altitude of 435 miles and will last approximately 20 minutes. Due to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon craft lacking an airlock, all four astronauts will wear SpaceX-designed spacesuits while the entire cabin is depressurized. Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis will exit the spacecraft tethered by an oxygen line.
SpaceX’s crewed missions are part of Elon Musk’s ambitious plan to take astronauts back to the moon and eventually to Mars. The company is actively developing the Starship rocket, which is set to be the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. Musk envisions using the Starship to “colonize” Mars and make human life multiplanetary. SpaceX has conducted four test flights of the 120-meter-tall Starship system as part of its preparations for deep space travel.
The Polaris Dawn crew will act as test subjects for future deep space travel by traveling through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt and analyzing the effects of space radiation on their bodies. Private companies like SpaceX are increasingly taking the lead in spaceflight as governments, particularly the US government, focus on reallocating tax revenue to other areas. NASA has contracted SpaceX to land astronauts, including the first woman, on the moon within this decade, marking a significant shift towards commercial space exploration.
While SpaceX has been making strides in the commercial space industry, it faces competition from other companies like Boeing, which is also developing its spacecraft called Starliner. However, Starliner has encountered issues recently, leading to two NASA astronauts being stranded on the ISS. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore embarked on what was supposed to be a one-week mission in June, but thruster failures and helium leaks on the Starliner spacecraft forced it to return crewless. As a result, Williams and Wilmore will remain on the space station until February.
As the Polaris Dawn mission unfolds, the world watches with anticipation to see the outcomes of this historic commercial spacewalk and the advancements it brings to the field of space exploration. With private companies like SpaceX leading the way, the future of space travel looks promising, with potential opportunities for further innovation and discovery beyond Earth’s atmosphere.