Historic! Polaris Dawn Just Hit 1,400 Km Above Earth – See Key Milestones and Updates

16th Jul 2024
Historic! Polaris Dawn Just Hit 1,400 Km Above Earth – See Key Milestones and Updates

The North Star, also known as Polaris, has been guiding travellers and those seeking their true purpose in life for centuries. In the 20th century, humanity escaped from Earth into space, but it still relies on Polaris light on its difficult and dangerous path to revealing the secrets of the Universe.

In this article, you will learn the details of Polaris Dawn, the second mission of private astronauts to orbit the Earth and their first spacewalk.

Polaris Dawn Mission: Key Milestones on Day 1 

Updated on 11th September

The Polaris Dawn mission kicked off successfully with the crew completing their first day in orbit. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 5:23 a.m. ET, marking the beginning of this groundbreaking multi-day mission.

View of Earth and Dragon’s Skywalker
View of Earth and Dragon’s Skywalker shortly after the Polaris Dawn crew launched into an orbit. Credit: SpaceX via X (former Twitter)

Highlights of the First Day

Spacewalk Preparation: Shortly after reaching orbit, the crew began a two-day pre-breathe protocol in preparation for their upcoming spacewalk. This process involves gradually lowering Dragon’s cabin pressure while increasing oxygen levels to reduce the risk of decompression sickness.

First Meals and Research: About two hours into the flight, the crew enjoyed their first meals in space. They then engaged in a 3.5-hour block dedicated to science experiments and testing of the Starlink communication system.

South Atlantic Anomaly: Dragon made its first pass through the South Atlantic Anomaly, a region of weaker magnetic field. The crew and mission control closely monitored the vehicle’s systems during this phase.

Record-Breaking Altitude: Dragon reached an apogee of approximately 1,216 kilometers during its first orbit, making Polaris Dawn the highest Dragon mission to date. This puts the crew higher than any humans have been in over 50 years.

Looking Ahead

After their first sleep period in space, the crew will wake to a busy Flight Day 2. Dragon is scheduled to raise its orbit to an elliptical path of 190 x 1,400 kilometers

Updated on 10th September

After weeks of delays, SpaceX’s private Polaris Dawn mission carrying four astronauts has launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX reported on X that the launch into outer space is still scheduled for Thursday, September 12. The Polaris Dawn mission’s location and progress can be tracked on the SpaceX website.

Polaris Dawn Postponed Again

Updated on 9th September

The Polaris Dawn mission’s new scheduled date is Tuesday, 10th September. SpaceX has to postpone the launch (again) due to weather conditions. Currently, the company plans to launch Falcon 9 at 3:38 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There are two additional launch opportunities within the four-hour window at 5:23 a.m. ET and 7:09 a.m. ET. If needed, backup opportunities are available on Wednesday, 11 September, at the same time.

When Is The Polaris Dawn Launch Date?

Updated on 3rd September

SpaceX has rescheduled the Polaris Dawn mission once again, targeting Friday, 5th September as a new launch date.

According to the FAA’s current operations plan, Polaris Dawn mission is set to launch on Friday, 6 September 2024 at 3:33 a.m. ET (08:33 in London, UK) from Kennedy Space Center. The plan also shows backup launch opportunities on Saturday and Sunday.

SpaceX has postponed the Polaris Dawn astronaut launch as Wednesday (28 August) and Thursday (29 August) attempts have been ruled out due to unfavourable weather conditions.

“Due to unfavourable weather forecasted in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, we are now standing down from tonight and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn,” SpaceX announced on X.

“Teams are taking a closer look at a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect umbilical,” the statement said.

Polaris Dawn crew: Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis, Jared Isaacman, and Anna Meno
The Polaris Dawn crew, from left to right: Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis, Jared Isaacman, and Anna Menon. Credit: John Kraus

“There’s a lot going on on ISS right now,” Sarah Walker, SpaceX’s director of Dragon mission management, said during the press conference. “We opted to fly the Crew-9 mission as our next [astronaut] mission and are ready to fly Polaris Dawn in late summer as soon as we fulfill those obligations.”

Polaris 1 is significant not only for private astronauts but also for the space industry as a whole. If the Crew Dragon crew manages to achieve a record orbital altitude, this will become a new milestone in the history of space exploration, which will accelerate the next stages of the Polaris Program. This means that there will be more private astronauts in space. And, perhaps, one day you’ll become one of them.

What Is Polaris Dawn?

polaris dawn mission
Polaris Dawn. The first stage of the Polaris space program. Credit: polarisprogram.com

Polaris Dawn is an ambitious project from SpaceX that represents the next step after the success of the privately manned mission Inspiration 4. The mission plans to send four space tourists into space, who will carry out a number of important tasks aimed at promoting the human presence in space and developing technologies necessary for long-term space flights. SpaceX will manage the mission entirely.

What Is Polaris Space?

Polaris Space is a broader space program, and Dawn is only the first phase. A total of three Polaris flights are planned. The Dawn phase will feature the first private spacewalk from the Crew Dragon. The second mission will try to use Crew Dragon to lift the Hubble telescope into a higher orbit to prevent it from burning up in the atmosphere. Polaris 3 will be the first manned flight aboard Starship.

When Did The Polaris Program Start?

SpaceX Polaris’s launch was announced in February 2022 and, according to the latest data, is scheduled for summer 2024 (the dates were postponed several times for objective reasons).

Originally, the Polaris launch was scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022. The launch date was then pushed back to March 2023. After this, the launch date was again postponed to April 2024. Finally, the latest launch date change was announced for July 2024.

The schedule changes are due to the necessity for additional development time to ensure Polaris 1 objectives are met while the crew and Dragon spacecraft are safely launched and returned.

Who Is Paying For Polaris Dawn?

Jared
Shift4 founder and CEO and Billionaire Jared “Rook” Isaacman will pay for and command the Polaris 1. Image credit: Polaris Program

The project is funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, founder of the Shift4 payment company. 41-year-old Jared has been passionate about space since childhood. To achieve his childhood dream, he became a fighter pilot, and in 2021, Isaacman financed his first private flight into space, which he named Inspiration 4. Jared and three others spent three days in Earth orbit in the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and returned safely. The mission had not only a scientific and popularisation purpose; it also raised over $200 million in donations to fight childhood cancer. Inspired by the success of Inspiration 4, Isaacman initiated and is sponsoring the Polaris mission, which takes on even more ambitious goals.

What Are The Goals Of The Polaris Dawn Mission?

Jared Isaacman in the new EVA suit
Commander Jared Isaacman in the new EVA suit next to Crew Dragon. Credit: Polaris

Here are the key objectives of the programme that the astronauts will try to complete within a 5-day period:

  1. Record orbital altitude

The Dawn phase of the larger mission will attempt to reach the highest Earth orbit in the history of manned spaceflight. The SpaceX Crew Dragon will enter orbit at an apogee of 870 miles (1,400 km), breaking the record set by the Gemini 11 mission in 1966, which reached an altitude of 852 miles (1,372 km).

  1. First commercial spacewalk

The crew will attempt to conduct the first-ever commercial spacewalk at an altitude of 700 km in extravehicular activity space suits, which SpaceX specially developed and which are an improved version of NASA’s current space suits. We will need hundreds of such suits on the Moon and Mars, so the test results have high scientific value.

  1. Medical Research

During their five-day stay in orbit, the crew will conduct approximately 35 scientific studies aimed at improving our understanding of the space flight impact on human health. In particular,  it will study how human body is affected by:

  • decompression sickness,
  • radiation,
  • neuro-ocular syndrome.

As part of the medical mission, Space X will collaborate with leading US medical institutes and biological laboratories, which will analyse the data obtained, giving it an applied aspect.

  1. Communications in space 

The mission crew will be the first to test Starlink laser communications in space, providing valuable data for future communications systems on space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Team Of The Polaris Dawn Mission

Polaris 1 team
Polaris 1 team: Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis, And Meon. Credit: polarisprogram.com

The four-person team was selected based on the unique skills and experience they could bring to the mission. Here is detailed information about each member of the Polaris Dawn crew:

Jared Isaacman, Mission Commander 

The primary sponsor and commander of Polaris 1, Isaacman already has experience commanding the Inspiration 4 mission. His leadership skills as the founder of a large financial services company, as well as previous experience as a fighter pilot and astronaut, make him an ideal candidate to lead the mission. In Inspiration 4, Isaacman’s call sign was Rook, which has two meanings in English: a chess piece and a bird from the crow family. Both of these meanings ​​perfectly reflect Isaacman’s leadership and management abilities.

Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Pilot

Scott Poteet is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force. He has over 3,200 hours of flight time, including over 400 hours of combat missions. In addition, Poteet has a close and long-standing relationship with Isaacman. He served as director of business development at Draken International (Isaacman’s private military company providing military fighter charter services) and vice president of strategy at Shift4. During the Inspiration 4 mission, Poteet served as the mission director, coordinating operations on the ground. His military experience and knowledge of aviation and management, as well as Isaacman’s trust, are extremely valuable to the mission.

Sarah Gillis, Mission Specialist

Sarah is a senior space operations engineer at SpaceX, where she oversees the astronaut training program. This includes developing training programs and delivering training for both NASA astronauts and commercial astronauts flying on the Dragon spacecraft. Sarah prepared NASA astronauts for the first Demo-2 and Crew-1 missions and trained the Inspiration 4 astronauts. Gillies also supported real-life operations for cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station as a navigation officer and communications officer for the Dragon crewed space missions.

It should be noted that Sarah Gillis is not just a unique expert but also an example of a person passionately fascinated by space. Just ten years ago, she was a classical violinist, but her life’s trajectory changed dramatically after meeting former NASA astronaut Joe Tanner, who inspired her to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering. It is obvious that her experience and expertise will be invaluable for the successful implementation of the first Polaris flight, and her example of a drastic change in life priorities is inspiring, which caught Isaacman’s attention.

Anna Menon, Mission Specialist And Medical Officer

Anna is a lead operations engineer at SpaceX and a medical specialist. She has experience in mission control and has supported operations for cargo delivery missions on the ISS. Anna holds a degree in Biomedical Engineering and has experience working for organisations such as the World Health Organization, Engineers Without Borders, and Engineering World Health. Given that one of the Polaris science objectives is to study the effects of microgravity and radiation on the untrained human body, her unique skills and experience make her a valuable asset to the mission.

These experts were chosen not only for their professional accomplishments and diverse experience but also for their ability to work as a team in a spaceflight environment, which is critical to mission success.

What Is The Polaris Ghost Squadron?

Polaris Ghost Squadron jets
Polaris Ghost Squadron jets. Credit: Polarisprogram

Polaris Ghost Squadron was created by Jared Isaacman to promote the Polaris Program at various commercial and enthusiast air shows in the United States. According to Isaacman, a jet pilot himself, the squadron’s mission is to offer private astronauts experience in high-G, ultra-accelerated scenarios and to “inspire the next generation of aerospace enthusiasts.” Proceeds from the air show benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which philanthropist Isaacman has supported for many years.

Eight Polaris planes with grayscale camouflage paintwork make up the fleet of Polaris planes. The headliner is the Ukrainian supersonic MiG-29, which Isaacman personally owns. The fleet also includes four Czech L-39 Albatros and three French Alpha Jets.

The Ghost Squadron truly demonstrates aerobatics, which increases people’s interest in air shows and popularises the programme. How dangerous such figures are can be seen in the video below. At some point, it seems that the two planes are so close that they touch each other. Such a touch could easily end in disaster, but it all ends with minor damage to the coating on one of the sides. The pilots immediately withdrew their planes and landed safely.

Fort Lauderdale Airshow Mid Air Collision – Polaris Ghost Squadron

References And Additional Information:

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