SpaceX’s latest mission — a bold and risky foray in the Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts by a crew of four civilians, who also intend to carry out the first commercial spacewalk — took off in the early hours of Tuesday (10).
The mission, called Polaris Dawn took off at 6:23 am (Brasília time).
SpaceX streamed the event live on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which SpaceX CEO Elon Musk purchased in 2022. X is currently blocked in Brazil.
As the capsule entered Earth’s orbit, ground controllers led by SpaceX launch director Frank Messina offered words of encouragement to the Polaris Dawn crew, which includes the first SpaceX employees to travel to space.
“As you gaze toward the North Star, remember that your courage lights the way for future explorers. We trust in your skills, your bravery, and your teamwork to accomplish the mission that lies ahead,” they said. “Know that the entire team here is with you every step of the way, watching, supporting, and cheering you on as you walk in space. We send you hugs from Earth.”
That launch came after several weather delays in late August and early Tuesday morning that hampered the Polaris Dawn crew’s efforts to lift off.
Further complicating the launch prospects was the fact that SpaceX didn’t just need good weather conditions for the mission to take off — it also needed to ensure calm waters and light winds, since the crew will be returning from space after a five-day excursion. The timing of the return could be critical. Because performing a spacewalk will create oxygen consumption, the Polaris Dawn mission will only have enough life support for five or six days in space.
The journey to orbit
As the countdown clock ticked down to zero, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket roared into life, emitting a blinding flash and a deafening boom at the launch site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The crew was aboard the rocket, strapped inside an igloo-shaped capsule, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which measures about 13 feet (4 meters) at its base, as the rocket moved away from Earth’s gravity.
After 2 1/2 minutes, the lower portion of the Falcon 9 rocket — called the first stage — had used up most of its fuel. At that point, the first stage separated from the second stage, which ignited its engine and continued to propel the Crew Dragon spacecraft at higher speeds.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9’s first stage guided itself back to Earth to land on a platform at sea, so it could be refurbished and reused for future missions. That’s a signature feature for SpaceX that the company says helps reduce the cost of rocket launches.
To enter Earth’s orbit, the Falcon 9 rocket reached over 17,000 mph (27,358 km/h), or “orbital velocity.” Upon reaching the desired speed, Crew Dragon separated and cruised in the vacuum of space using only its onboard thrusters for the remainder of the mission.
First commercial spacewalk attempt
Polaris Dawn is the brainchild of SpaceX and Jared Isaacman, the billionaire founder of fintech company Shift4 Payments, which made its first foray into spaceflight with the Inspiration4 mission in September 2021.
This flight, however, is not just a ride.
Isaacman and his crewmates — including close friend and former U.S. Air Force pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, as well as SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis — hope to achieve several milestones on this mission.
First, SpaceX’s capsule aims to take the crew to record heights in orbit around Earth, surpassing the milestone set by NASA’s Gemini 11 mission in 1966, which reached 840 miles (1,373 km). If successful, Polaris Dawn will surpass that record by about 20 miles (32 km).
The Polaris Dawn spaceflight will also be the highest any human has flown since NASA’s Apollo program—which ended in 1972 and in all took 24 astronauts nearly 250,000 miles to the moon instead of stopping in Earth orbit.
Polaris Dawn could also mark the furthest journey a woman has ever made into space.
To begin the third day of this mission, the civilian crew, while orbiting at a lower altitude of about 700 km above Earth, will attempt to perform a historic spacewalk.
The endeavor will be dangerous, exposing all four crew members and the interior of Crew Dragon to the vacuum of space. Such a situation could make it difficult to close the vehicle’s hatch due to pressure differences. And exposure to the vacuum could release toxins from the hardware when the cabin is repressurized, though SpaceX has taken steps to prevent this.
This content was originally published in SpaceX launches manned Polaris Dawn mission to Earth’s radiation belt on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
