SpaceX Launches Polaris Dawn Mission to Test New Spacesuit and Spacewalks

On Tuesday, September 10, at 5:23 a.m. ET (4:23 p.m.), SpaceX launched the Crew Dragon spacecraft into space for the Polaris Dawn mission, carrying four passengers into low Earth orbit. The mission aims to test a new spacesuit and conduct the first private spacewalk.

Mission Objectives

The Crew Dragon mission will reach an altitude of 1,400 kilometers, the highest altitude of a crewed mission since the Apollo 17 mission to the Moon in December 1972. The mission’s primary goal is to study the effects of space radiation on human health.

The spacecraft will then descend to an altitude of about 700 kilometers to test the first private spacewalk using a new spacesuit designed by SpaceX. Additionally, the mission will test laser communications through the Starlink satellite network in space, which will be used for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and other planets.

Crew Members

The four passengers aboard the spacecraft include Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, who serves as mission commander. He was the commander of the Inspiration mission. Other crew members include former Air Force pilot Scott Poteet as the pilot, Anna Menon as a mission expert and medical officer, and Sarah Gillis, chief operations engineer at SpaceX, as a mission expert.

Mission Timeline

Two minutes and 40 seconds after the Falcon 9 rocket left the base, the booster separated. It then turned around and landed on the Just Read the instructions drone ship docked in the Atlantic Ocean, about 9 minutes and 30 seconds after the mission launched. The Crew Dragon spacecraft is expected to remain in orbit for six days before returning to Earth in the ocean off the coast of Florida.