SpaceX has just released a trailer for the Polaris Dawn mission that will involve the first-ever commercial spacewalk.
The spaceflight company is targeting Tuesday, August 27, for the launch of the mission, which will also see a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft fly to its highest-ever orbit.
The 70-second video (below) shows the four crew members — Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon — preparing for their upcoming adventure, with some of the footage captured from inside the Crew Dragon that will be taking them to space.
Targeting Tuesday, August 27 for launch of Polaris Dawn, the first of the @PolarisProgram’s three human spaceflight missions designed to advance the future of spaceflight pic.twitter.com/w6QF3jBLqt
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 21, 2024
The five-day mission will be led by Isaacman, the billionaire businessman who first flew to orbit as part of the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission in 2021. The other three crew members will be heading to orbit for the first time.
The much-anticipated spacewalk will take place around 435 miles (700 kilometers) above Earth, the highest altitude ever reached by a Crew Dragon. This will take it around 185 miles (298 kilometers) above the International Space Station (ISS), which is the destination for most Crew Dragon flights as part of crew rotation operations aboard the orbital laboratory. The spacewalk will be used to confirm the functionality of new spacesuits that offer more flexibility and movement than the bulkier designs long used by astronauts on the ISS.
During their time in orbit, the Polaris Dawn crew will also carry out various science research, and become the first crew to test a Starlink laser-based communications system that’s expected to be used for future crewed missions in deep space.
SpaceX also shared a number of images on Wednesday, showing the crew and also the spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, from where the mission will launch.
Our daily quarantine routine includes running around LC-39A—where so many historic missions launched. Yesterday, we checked in on our booster, 2nd stage & Dragon. We also signed our flight-proven hardware—a cool experience unique to @SpaceX’s reusable tech. Without it, missions… https://t.co/0j6nGSSXh2 pic.twitter.com/nFpihTCKbE
— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) August 21, 2024
Shortly thereafter, Dragon arrived at our hangar at pad 39A ahead of Falcon 9’s launch of Polaris Dawn pic.twitter.com/HdNYlXCPnQ
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 21, 2024
