The launch date for the first commercial space flight mission involving a spacewalk has now been set.
Polaris DawnThe spacecraft, part of a private human spaceflight program financed by billionaire Jared Isaacman, will launch no earlier than July 31, project representatives announced in a brief statement today (July 3). on the x. Isaacman and SpaceX Founder and CEO Elon Muskwhose company produces Polaris Dawn's Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 Rocket has yet to issue a statement on social media.
The crew plans to conduct the first private test spacewalk SpaceX spacesuits have been built for this effort, along with a variety of experiments. Polaris Dawn's orbit will take the mission to about 435 miles (700 kilometers) up Earth, The highest-altitude crewed flight since Apollo moon missions from the 1960s and 1970s. For comparison, International Space Station Orbits about 250 miles (400 km) across.
Polaris Dawn will be the first of three missions. Polaris ProgramAll funded and controlled by Isaacman. Shift4 founder also managed and funded all citizens Inspiration4 Launching in September 2021, it raised $250 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee; Isaacman plans to continue that support with Polaris missions.
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In addition to Isaacman, the mission includes retired United States Air Force (USAF) Lt. Col. Scott “Kidd” Poteat as pilot and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, both SpaceX operations engineers.
According to project representatives, due to the complexity of the mission, delays were required during development from the initial launch target of late 2022. The most recent major delay in February 2024 pushed the projected April launch into the summer.
“The additional time will continue to provide the developmental time necessary to accomplish these mission objectives and ensure the safe launch and return of Dragon and crew,” the Polaris program said via X at the time.
The training program is also evolving, Poteat stressed in an interview. “Spaces” discussion on X “We've built on work done by NASA for generations to identify environments and situations that are stressful,” he said, adding that part of the work was to identify where team members were doing well and where they might need help.