- SpaceX astronauts to walk in open space
- SpaceX's new challenge - EVA suits
- E. Musk's vision for humanity to become a multi-planetary species
- Polaris Program mission preparation is complete
SpaceX astronauts to walk in open space
On 27 August, SpaceX is preparing to launch a Falcon 9 rocket into low Earth orbit on a Polaris Dawn mission. This will be the first time that a crew on a commercial space mission will go out into open space while hundreds of miles above Earth. Until now, only government-funded space agencies have made such a move.
"This will be the first spacewalk by a commercial company, and the furthest man has traveled from Earth in more than half a century," wrote SpaceX founder Elon Musk on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
As part of the wider Polaris program, the Polaris Dawn mission will be launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida using SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon spacecraft and the Polaris Dawn crew will spend five days in orbit, during which they will carry out research and enter open space for the first time. The spacewalk will take place at an altitude of 700 kilometers above the Earth, more than 200 miles higher than the International Space Station, which orbits at an altitude of around 400 kilometers.
The four-person crew consists of two men and two women: mission commander Jared Isaacman, mission pilot Scott Poteet, mission specialist Sarah Gillis and mission specialist and medical officer Anna Menon. "Life in quarantine means adjusting to a new sleep schedule, reviewing tests, procedures and maintaining vigilance in preparation for dry dressing and static fire testing," Isaacman said on Platform X, referring to the mission preparations. "Sometimes, we manage to get flight time."
SpaceX's new challenge - EVA suits
SpaceX's first spacewalk will also be an important test of the reliability of the company's space suits under vacuum conditions. Until now, such spacewalks have only been carried out by space agencies such as the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Russian Federal Space Agency.
"The new EVA suit provides enhanced mobility, features an advanced helmet display (HUD) and camera, new thermal management textiles and materials borrowed from Falcon and Dragon components," explained SpaceX representatives.
E. Musk's vision for humanity to become a multi-planetary species
One of the important tasks of the Polaris Dawn mission will be to test the Starlink laser communication system in space. This test, according to SpaceX, will provide valuable data for future flights to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Musk has long stressed the importance of human colonization of other planets to ensure humanity's future survival.
"The most important thing is that we have enough people and tons of cargo on Mars so that Mars can survive and maintain consciousness even if something happens to Earth," Musk said at a SpaceX Starbase event in April.
"But there are some things we can't control, so we want to get to Mars as quickly as possible and build a self-sustaining civilization."
This mission is another important step in SpaceX's efforts to realize Musk's vision of making humanity a multi-species species.
Polaris Program mission preparation is complete
Elon Musk recently posted on his X account, "Mission rehearsal has just been completed and we are now preparing for launch in a little over 24 hours.
The crew's safety is absolutely paramount, and this mission is riskier than usual as it will be the farthest human flight from Earth since Apollo and the first commercial spacewalk!
If there are any doubts, the launch will be delayed until they have been resolved.", so we can only wish the SpaceX team the best of luck and hope for a happy and successful mission.
