A SpaceX capsule carrying four private citizens successfully splashed down off the coast of Florida at 3:36 a.m. ET on Sunday, concluding a historic mission that included the first all-civilian spacewalk. Billionaire Jared Isaacman, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Scott “Kidd” Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon returned to Earth in the Crew Dragon capsule after a five-day mission dubbed Polaris Dawn. The crew executed several risky maneuvers during the mission, including the all-civilian spacewalk, where Isaacman and Gillis ventured out of the Dragon capsule to conduct mobility tests in their spacesuits. The capsule does not have a pressurized airlock, so all four members wore spacesuits and the entire capsule was depressurized to vacuum conditions for the spacewalk.
The completion of the spacewalk was a major milestone in human spaceflight history, as previously only astronauts from government space agencies had conducted spacewalks. During the mission, the crew reached an orbital altitude of 870 miles above Earth’s surface, the highest humans have reached since the final Apollo moon mission in 1972. This altitude allowed the capsule to pass through part of the Van Allen radiation belt, a zone of high-energy radiation particles trapped by Earth’s magnetosphere. Scientists will study the effects of space radiation on the crew members and spacecraft to help with planning future missions to the moon and Mars, which would require astronauts to fly through the inner and outer radiation belts.
Jared Isaacman, the founder and CEO of Shift4, funded the Polaris Dawn mission for an undisclosed sum. This was his second spaceflight, having previously been part of the first all-civilian SpaceX mission to orbit in 2021. The mission was part of the Polaris program, launched by Isaacman and SpaceX to test new technologies and procedures for future long-duration missions. The Polaris Dawn flight is expected to be the first of three planned spaceflights in the program, but details about the cost of the program or when the other missions could launch have not been disclosed.
The crew and their Crew Dragon capsule splashed down off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, in the early hours of Sunday morning. Recovery vessels made their way to the capsule as operators announced the mission’s completion. The Polaris Dawn mission marked the fifth private mission for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and was the company’s most ambitious expedition to date. The crew executed multiple risky maneuvers during the mission, including the all-civilian spacewalk conducted by Isaacman and Gillis. The successful completion of the spacewalk and other tasks on the mission demonstrated the capabilities of private citizens in space.
The mission allowed private citizens to participate in space exploration and conduct important tests and experiments in orbit. The crew’s journey to the highest orbital altitude reached by humans since 1972 provided valuable data on space radiation and its effects on astronauts and spacecraft. The findings from the mission will aid in planning future missions to the moon and Mars, helping to ensure the safety and success of astronauts on long-duration spaceflights. The Polaris Dawn mission was a significant step forward in the advancement of private space exploration and the development of technologies for future space missions.
