A private crew set out on an audacious orbital expedition Tuesday, journeying deeper into the cosmos than any humans in half a century as they prepare for the first ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts.
The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, led by Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and should by the end of its first day attain a peak altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers).
That is nearly three times farther from Earth than the International Space Station, as their Crew Dragon spaceship navigates through portions of hazardous, high-radiation Van Allen belt during its roughly five-day trek.
And radiation isn’t the only challenge the four-member team faces.
“Dragon will travel repeatedly through the orbital altitudes of over 10 thousand satellites and bits of space debris,” SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk wrote on X. “No room for error in our calculations.”
The highlight of the voyage is slated for as early as Thursday: the first ever spacewalk by civilians, outfitted in sleek, newly developed SpaceX extravehicular activity (EVA) suits with heads-up displays, helmet cameras and advanced joint mobility systems.
SpaceX has scheduled the EVA for 0623 GMT on Thursday, with a backup window on Friday at the same time.
Since the Crew Dragon capsule lacks an airlock, the entire crew will be exposed to the vacuum of space for around two hours, as two crewmates venture out, in turn, for 15 to 20 minutes each.
Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions under the Polaris program, a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX.
The final mission is slated to be the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s Starship prototype — the rocket it envisions as the key to future Mars colonization.
In addition to their spacewalk, the crew will test laser-based satellite communications between the spacecraft and Starlink’s satellite constellation, aiming to enhance space communication speeds.
They’ll also carry out 36 scientific experiments, including tests on contact lenses with embedded microelectronics to monitor changes in eye pressure and shape — adding to the growing body of space research aimed at advancing human exploration beyond Earth.
