SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink satellites into low earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (SpaceX)
Space X’s Polaris Dawn mission, which will take four astronauts three times farther from Earth than the International Space Station, is expected to launch Monday, bringing many firsts, including a commercial space walk in newly designed space suits.
The Polaris Program is a test and developmental program of innovative technology that will be used in spaceflight and ultimately bring in a new era of commercial space exploration. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk frequently references the goal of making humanity an “interplanetary species.”
A SpaceX Falcon 9 will carry the Polaris Dawn astronauts into space on Monday, marking the first mission out of the Polaris Program.
As part of the mission, astronauts will test a next-generation spacesuit as they conduct the first commercial spacewalk.
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SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission will include the testing of a new extravehicular activity (EVA) suit during a spacewalk three-times the distance from Earth than the International Space Station. (SpaceX)
The crew will also be launched to the highest altitude of any human spaceflight mission since the Apollo program and will allow them to test a new communication system using Musk’s Starlink.
Additionally, crewmembers will conduct nearly 40 critical health research experiments while raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and one member will read the children’s book, “Kisses from Space,” while in orbit.
“After more than two years of training, we are excited to embark on this mission,” Jared Isaacman, commander of the Polaris Dawn mission said. “We are incredibly thankful for this opportunity and to the thousands of SpaceX engineers who have contributed to this endeavor. We hope the results from our mission will accelerate SpaceX’s vision to make life multiplanetary and support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and its efforts to improve global survival rates for childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Throughout our mission, we will aim to inspire humankind to look up and imagine what we can achieve here on Earth and in the worlds beyond our own.”
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SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission will include the testing of a new extravehicular activity (EVA) suit during a spacewalk three-times the distance from Earth than the International Space Station. (Photo credit: Polaris Program / John Kraus)
Isaacman was the mission commander of Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian mission to space in 2021. Hailing from Pennsylvania, he is an accomplished aviator who holds several world air records, including two Speed-Around-The-World flights.
Joining Isaac are retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott…
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