Private Astronauts Set for Historic First Private Spacewalk in SpaceX Capsule - Polaris Dawn Mission
By Joey Roulette
In a groundbreaking moment for commercial spaceflight, a group of private astronauts is poised to perform the first private spacewalk in orbit on Thursday from a SpaceX capsule. This milestone event will test a new line of spacesuits and push the boundaries of what is possible in space exploration.
The crew, consisting of a billionaire entrepreneur, a retired military fighter pilot, and two SpaceX employees, has been orbiting Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon since their successful launch from Florida on Tuesday for the Polaris Dawn mission. This mission represents the latest and most daring venture in commercial spaceflight.
The spacewalk is scheduled to commence at 2:23 a.m. ET (0623 GMT) while the crew is 700 km (435 miles) in altitude. Two astronauts will venture outside the Crew Dragon while the other two remain inside. The capsule will be completely depressurized, requiring the crew to rely solely on their slimmed-down SpaceX-developed spacesuits for oxygen.
Jared Isaacman, the 41-year-old pilot and billionaire founder of Shift4, is funding the Polaris mission, just as he did for the Inspiration4 flight with SpaceX in 2021. The cost of these missions is expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, based on Crew Dragon's per-seat price of roughly $55 million for other flights.
Joining Isaacman on the Polaris mission are mission pilot Scott Poteet, retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, and SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, both senior engineers at the company. Isaacman and Gillis will conduct the spacewalk outside the spacecraft while Poteet and Menon remain inside.
This historic private spacewalk marks a significant departure from previous spacewalks, which have been carried out exclusively by government astronauts with extensive training. The insights gained from the Polaris astronauts' experiences will contribute to scientific research on how the human body reacts to deep space, complementing decades of health studies conducted by government astronauts on the ISS.
Crew Dragon, the only U.S. vehicle capable of reliably transporting humans to orbit and back to Earth, has been at the forefront of commercial spaceflight since 2021. Developed under a NASA program to establish privately built U.S. vehicles for ferrying astronauts to the ISS, Crew Dragon has successfully completed more than a dozen missions, primarily for NASA.
While Boeing's Starliner capsule was also developed under the same NASA program, it has faced setbacks and delays. Starliner's first crewed mission to the ISS encountered issues, leading to the crew being left stranded on the space station until a Crew Dragon capsule could retrieve them next year.
In conclusion, the Polaris Dawn mission represents a pivotal moment in the history of space exploration, showcasing the capabilities of private companies in advancing the boundaries of human spaceflight. The insights gained from this mission will not only benefit scientific research but also pave the way for future commercial ventures in space. As we witness the evolution of space travel, it is clear that the sky is no longer the limit.