Private Astronaut Crew Prepares for First-Ever Commercial Spacewalk on SpaceX Mission
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A team of four private astronauts is set to embark on a historic SpaceX mission, which includes the first-ever private spacewalk using newly developed spacesuits and an updated spacecraft.
A billionaire entrepreneur, a retired fighter pilot, and two SpaceX employees are scheduled to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:38 a.m. ET (0738 GMT) aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule.
This marks the spacecraft's fifth and most challenging private mission to date.
The initial launch, planned for last month, was postponed due to a helium leak in ground equipment.
Although SpaceX repaired the leak, a subsequent booster recovery issue in an unrelated mission caused further delays.
After US regulators cleared the Falcon 9 rocket for flights, the Polaris mission is now set to launch, but US Space Force forecasts suggest only a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk acknowledged the mission's risks, stating, "Crew safety is absolutely paramount, and this mission carries more risk than usual, as it will be the furthest humans have traveled from Earth since Apollo and the first commercial spacewalk!"
Historically, only well-funded government astronauts have conducted spacewalks, with over 270 spacewalks on the International Space Station (ISS) since 2000 and 16 by Chinese astronauts.
The SpaceX mission, called Polaris Dawn, will span five days in a highly elliptical orbit, taking the crew as close as 190 km (118 miles) to Earth and as far as 1,400 km (870 miles).
This will be the furthest humans have traveled since the US Apollo moon program ended in 1972.
The spacewalk is scheduled for the mission's third day, at an altitude of 700 km, and will last about 20 minutes.
Without an airlock like the ISS, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon will depressurize the entire cabin, and the astronauts will rely on SpaceX-built spacesuits for oxygen.
This mission's spacewalk procedure mirrors the first US spacewalk in 1965 aboard a Gemini capsule, where the cabin was depressurized, and an astronaut ventured outside tethered to the spacecraft.
Jared Isaacman, a 41-year-old pilot and founder of Shift4, is funding the mission as part of his Polaris program.
Joining him are retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel Scott Poteet, 50, and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis, 30, and Anna Menon, 38.
Isaacman and Gillis will conduct the spacewalk, tethered by oxygen lines, while Poteet and Menon remain inside the capsule.
Polaris Dawn is the first mission of Isaacman’s private Polaris program, which also includes a future Crew Dragon mission and a flight aboard SpaceX's Starship.
The crew will participate in a series of scientific experiments to study the effects of cosmic radiation and space on the human body, complementing decades of research on astronauts aboard the ISS.
Since NASA retired the Space Shuttle in 2011, it has relied heavily on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has completed nine astronaut missions to and from the ISS.
The company has also flown four private missions, including Isaacman’s Inspiration4 and three other missions arranged by Axiom Space.
Meanwhile, Boeing has faced challenges developing its Starliner spacecraft to rival Crew Dragon.
Starliner's recent test mission, which started in June, left astronauts stranded on the ISS due to propulsion system issues.
