After launching aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, the SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the Polaris Dawn crew reached a height of 870 miles above Earth’s surface, the highest any spacefarer has traveled since the Apollo era. Mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon now hold the record for the farthest distance traveled from the planet by women. The crew, under the leadership of Jared Isaacman, is on a five-day mission that includes a pioneering private spacewalk scheduled for Thursday.
The crew also conducted tests for SpaceX technology aimed at future deep space exploration. Despite multiple delays, the crew finally embarked on their mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Dragon capsule broke away from the Falcon 9 rocket, reaching a height three times higher than the International Space Station.
Preparations are underway for a risky spacewalk, a first for a commercial crew and made more challenging by the lack of an airlock on the spacecraft. The crew will have to wear extravehicular activity suits designed by SpaceX to receive oxygen through tethers. The spacewalk is scheduled for early Friday morning, with a backup opportunity available.
The Polaris Dawn mission is part of the Polaris Program, intended to test SpaceX technologies for deep space missions. Isaacman, the founder of Shift4 Payment who funded the mission alongside SpaceX, previously traveled to outer space. This mission marks the first time SpaceX employees have traveled to space. The crew will rely entirely on the supplies onboard the spacecraft, with a splashdown landing planned off the Florida coast after a week in orbit.
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