A crew of four private citizens splashed down off the coast of Florida in a SpaceX capsule, marking the end of a historic mission. The crew included billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Scott “Kidd” Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. They returned to Earth in a Crew Dragon capsule, splashing down at Dry Tortugas, Florida. The mission, called Polaris Dawn, was the fifth private mission for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and involved several risky maneuvers, including the world’s first all-civilian spacewalk.
One of the most significant moments of the mission was the all-civilian spacewalk that took place on Thursday. Isaacman and Gillis spent around 10 minutes out in the vacuum of space, conducting mobility tests in their newly designed spacesuits. The entire capsule was depressurized to vacuum conditions, as the Dragon capsule does not have a pressurized airlock. This risky undertaking was a major milestone in the history of human spaceflight, as previously only astronauts from government space agencies had conducted spacewalks.
During the mission, the Polaris Dawn crew flew to an orbital altitude of 870 miles above Earth’s surface, the highest humans have reached since the final Apollo moon mission in 1972. This allowed the crew to pass through part of the Van Allen radiation belt, a zone of high-energy radiation particles trapped by Earth’s magnetosphere. Scientists will study the effects of space radiation on the crew members and their spacecraft, which could help with planning missions to the moon and Mars.
Isaacman, the founder and CEO of the payment processing company Shift4, funded the Polaris Dawn mission for an undisclosed sum. This was his second spaceflight, following his participation in the first all-civilian SpaceX mission to orbit in 2021. The Polaris Dawn flight was designed to test new technologies and procedures for future long-duration missions. It is expected to be the first of three planned spaceflights in the Polaris program, which Isaacman launched with SpaceX. The cost of the program and the timeline for the other missions have not been disclosed.
The successful completion of the Polaris Dawn mission showcases the capabilities of private space travel and the collaboration between SpaceX and private individuals. The crew’s experiences, including the all-civilian spacewalk and journey through the Van Allen radiation belt, provide valuable data for future space missions. Through missions like Polaris Dawn, private individuals are pushing the boundaries of human spaceflight and contributing to the advancement of space exploration.
