SpaceX launched its latest mission, Polaris Dawn, on Tuesday, after several weather delays sending a four-person crew of civilians on a groundbreaking journey into
Earth
‘s
Van Allen
radiation belts. The mission, which includes the first-ever commercial spacewalk, lifted off at 5.23 am.
SpaceX livestreamed the event on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
After a countdown, the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew, inside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, was propelled into space as the rocket sped through Earth’s atmosphere.
After 2.5 minutes, the rocket’s first stage separated, allowing the second stage to continue the journey at speeds over 17,000 miles per hour. The first stage returned to Earth, landing on a platform at sea for reuse.
The mission, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, founder of Shift4 Payments, is a significant milestone in space exploration. Isaacman is joined by former US Air Force pilot
Scott Poteet
and SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and
Sarah Gillis
.
The crew aims to break the record for the highest Earth orbit, surpassing the 853 miles achieved by Nasa’s Gemini 11 mission in 1966.
On the third day of the mission, the crew will attempt a historic spacewalk, facing challenges such as managing pressure differences and avoiding exposure to toxins when the spacecraft is repressurized. SpaceX has taken precautions to ensure safety.
This mission marks another major step for SpaceX, pushing the boundaries of space travel and setting new records for future commercial ventures in space.
