SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Crew Now In “Zero-G” Ahead Of Historic Spacewalk 

SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission launched at 0524 ET atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The five-day mission is historic because it will be the first spacewalk carried out by an all-civilian crew. 

The Polaris Dawn launch was initially planned for late August but postponed due to a “ground-side helium leak” and then delayed further due to weather-related issues off the coast of South Florida. 

At 0524 ET, SpaceX posted on X, “Liftoff of Polaris Dawn!” 

Liftoff of Polaris Dawn! pic.twitter.com/hAti2arueX

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 10, 2024

More flight status (everything going to plan):

Main engine cutoff and stage separation confirmed. Second stage engine burn underway

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 10, 2024

Falcon 9’s first stage booster has landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 10, 2024

Dragon has separated from Falcon 9’s second stage pic.twitter.com/m0FZ0HVn4k

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 10, 2024

The Polaris Dawn crew is now in Zero-G! https://t.co/6ckVZ3TpKR

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 10, 2024

The @PolarisProgram astronaut mission is headed for an altitude 3 times higher than the Space Station, the furthest that humans have been from Earth in over half a century! pic.twitter.com/lYgsA5vMGk

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 10, 2024

The five-day mission isn’t headed for the International Space Station – that’s so last decade. Instead, it’s heading 870 miles above Earth, about three times higher than the space station.

While in space, billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of the payment processing company Shift4; retired Air Force Lt. Col. Scott “Kidd” Poteet; and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon will conduct a series of tests, including the first commercial spacewalk with next-generation spacesuits and the use of a new communication system via Starlink. This will be the highest orbital altitude humans have reached since the Apollo moon mission in 1972.

Here are the four major milestones the Polaris Dawn’s four-person crew will attempt:

1. Flying higher than any previous Dragon mission to date and reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown while moving through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt at an orbital altitude of 190 x 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from Earth’s surface – or more than three times higher than the International Space Station. This will be the highest altitude of any human spaceflight mission in more than a half-century since the Apollo program;

2. Attempting the first-ever commercial spacewalk. This will take place at an elliptical orbit of 190 x 700 kilometers (435 miles) above Earth in newly developed SpaceX EVA spacesuits. During the spacewalk, the crew will conduct a series of tests that will provide necessary data that will allow SpaceX teams to produce and scale for future long-duration missions. The crew worked with SpaceX engineers throughout suit development, testing various iterations for mobility and performance (along with mobility aids and systems procedures), and conducted operations inside vacuum chambers to validate pre-breathe protocols and the readiness of the EVA suit;

3. Testing laser-based satellite communication using optical links between the Dragon spacecraft and Starlink satellites, revolutionizing the speed and quality of space communications;

4. Conducting nearly 40 experiments for critical scientific research designed to advance our knowledge of human health both on Earth and during future long-duration space flights

If successful, Polaris Dawn will ensure that Elon Musk’s SpaceX continues to dominate the space race as he sets his sights on Mars.