SpaceX Launches Historic Polaris Dawn Mission, Set to Make Civilian Spacewalk Milestone

SpaceX launched the groundbreaking Polaris Dawn mission on Tuesday, marking a historic step in space exploration as civilians prepare to conduct the first-ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts. The mission is led by Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, who previously commanded the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission. This expedition aims to push the boundaries of civilian space travel, venturing into regions of high-radiation space never before accessed by non-professional astronauts.

The four-member crew, including Isaacman, mission pilot Scott Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, aims to reach a peak altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) on the first day of the mission. This distance would be the farthest any manned spacecraft has traveled in over 50 years, since NASA’s Apollo missions.

“Dragon will travel repeatedly through the orbital altitudes of over 10,000 satellites and bits of space debris. No room for error in our calculations,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted after the launch, which took place from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission’s highlight will come as early as Thursday with the first-ever civilian spacewalk. Two crew members will venture out of the Crew Dragon capsule, tethered to the spacecraft and outfitted in cutting-edge SpaceX extravehicular activity (EVA) suits. Unlike professional space missions, the entire crew will be exposed to the vacuum of space during the EVA, as the Crew Dragon lacks a dedicated airlock.

“We will develop technologies and test technologies that will help SpaceX ultimately achieve its long-term ambitions of making human life interplanetary,” Isaacman said in a video message.

In addition to the spacewalk, the crew will conduct 36 scientific experiments, including studies related to eye health in microgravity. They will also test laser-based satellite communication technology aimed at improving data transmission speeds between the spacecraft and SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network.

The crew will spend approximately five to six days in orbit, traveling through the Van Allen radiation belts, a high-energy zone that poses health risks for extended exposure. However, the crew’s altitude, while higher than the International Space Station, will not exceed the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970.

Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned missions under the Polaris program, a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX. The final mission is expected to be the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s Starship, designed to support future missions to Mars.