SpaceX’s upcoming Polaris Dawn mission promises to be an epic feat of human ingenuity and marks a significant leap in commercial spaceflight. This all-civilian mission will feature the first-ever commercial spacewalk, a groundbreaking event that has the potential to reshape our understanding of space exploration.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying the four-member crew will soar to an unprecedented altitude, surpassing any previous Crew Dragon mission and reaching a point further from Earth than any human has ventured since the Apollo moon landings in 1972. While the crew members, Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon, won’t be venturing to the moon, they will travel to an altitude of 435 miles (700 kilometers) above Earth, exceeding the International Space Station’s (ISS) orbit by a significant margin.
The mission’s highlight lies in the planned spacewalk by Isaacman and Gillis, both non-professional astronauts. They will embark on this historic endeavor from the Crew Dragon capsule, testing a newly designed, highly mobile spacesuit that could play a crucial role in future Artemis moon missions and deep space voyages.
SpaceX has released a video showcasing a simulated visualization of the spacewalk, highlighting the mission’s significance. “The Polaris Program’s Polaris Dawn mission will be the first crew to perform a spacewalk from Dragon, fly higher in Earth’s orbit than anyone since the Apollo program, test laser-based Starlink communications, and conduct research to help provide insight on human health during long-duration spaceflight missions,” SpaceX stated in a comment accompanying the video.
The Polaris Dawn spacecraft has undergone significant modifications to accommodate this spacewalk, a feature not typically present in standard Crew Dragons designed to dock with the ISS. Spacewalks on the ISS utilize an airlock to maintain a safe transition between the pressurized station and the vacuum of space. The Crew Dragon, however, lacks this facility. As a result, all four astronauts will have to don their spacesuits as the capsule prepares for hatch opening, exposing the entire spacecraft to a pressure change.
The mission will culminate with a splashdown off the coast of Florida, mirroring the standard return procedure for Crew Dragons returning from the ISS. This historic mission, set to launch on August 27th from the Kennedy Space Center, is sure to inspire a new generation of space enthusiasts and propel us further into the future of space exploration.
