Top Investment Manager Analyzes Risky SpaceX Mission Attempting First-Ever Private Spacewalk
By Joey Roulette and Gerry Doyle
WASHINGTON (Multibagger) - A crew of four private astronauts is gearing up for a daring SpaceX mission to make history with the first private spacewalk utilizing new spacesuits and a redesigned spacecraft.
With a billionaire entrepreneur, a retired military fighter pilot, and two SpaceX employees on board, the launch is set for 3:38 a.m. ET (0738 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking SpaceX's fifth - and most challenging - private space mission to date.
Last month's launch attempt was halted due to a small helium leak, but after resolving the issue and overcoming regulatory setbacks, the Polaris mission is back on track for a pre-dawn launch Tuesday, with a 40% chance of favorable weather according to U.S. Space Force launch weather modeling.
Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, highlighted the mission's risks, stating, "Crew safety is absolutely paramount as this will be the furthest humans have traveled from Earth since Apollo and the first commercial spacewalk!"
The SpaceX mission, dubbed Polaris Dawn, will last approximately five days in orbit, with a planned spacewalk scheduled for the third day at an altitude of 700 km lasting around 20 minutes.
Jared Isaacman, the pilot and billionaire founder of Shift4, is funding the mission, along with mission pilot Scott Poteet and SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.
The crew's role as test subjects for scientific experiments will provide valuable insights into the effects of cosmic radiation and space vacuum on the human body.
As NASA relies heavily on SpaceX's Crew Dragon for astronaut missions, the success of the Polaris mission could have significant implications for the future of commercial space travel.
Overall, this mission represents a groundbreaking step in the privatization of space exploration, with potential benefits for scientific research, technological advancements, and the future of human spaceflight.