SpaceX is gearing up for its most daring mission yet, launching four private citizens into orbit and conducting a historic spacewalk. The Polaris Dawn mission, funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, will send the crew aboard a Crew Dragon spaceship atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
The mission’s commander, Isaacman, will be joined by former US Air Force pilot Scott Poteet, two SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, as they embark on a five-day journey to test technologies for future Mars missions. The crew will fly through the Van Allen radiation belts, passing 1,400 kilometers from Earth’s surface.
The highlight of the mission is the first-ever attempt at a new spacewalk method, where Isaacman and Gillis will don new spacesuits and perform a spacewalk about 700 kilometers above Earth. This will involve depressurizing the Crew Dragon’s cabin, exposing its entire interior to space for the first time.
To mitigate risks, SpaceX has subjected every part of the mission to “paranoia reviews” and tested the crew’s pre-breathe process over 48 hours to simulate the slow depressurization of the cabin. The new spacesuits feature a “heads-up” display showing real-time information about the suit’s internal pressure, temperature, and humidity.
The Crew Dragon spaceship has flown eight NASA crews and four private missions without major incidents, except for a toilet malfunction on its first private mission. However, Isaacman’s crew is flying on the same spaceship, with the Polaris Dawn mission marking a significant step towards SpaceX’s Mars ambitions.
As part of the Polaris program, the next mission will fly the first people on Starship, Elon Musk’s workhorse rocket for interplanetary travel. The project aims to one day send a million people to Mars.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-launch-risky-polaris-dawn-mission-first-commercial-spacewalk-radiation-2024-8