SpaceX’s Private Polaris Dawn Crew Splashes Down Safely in Successful End to Historic Mission
Polaris Dawn crew conducted the first private spacewalk and also set a new altitude record for a crewed spacecraft in Earth orbit.
The historic SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission wrapped up a successful mission early Sunday morning by safely entering the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.
“Polaris Dawn we are mission complete. Thanks for all the big help pulling this mission together,” said mission commander Jared Isaacman after the crew splashed down in the ocean.
The reentry was seen by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. “We actually had a pretty neat view of Polaris Dawn entering. All of us were more or less crowded in the cupola watching it,” said NASA astronaut Mike Barratt, according to CBS’ William Harwood. “That was pretty spectacular for us.”
Splashdown of Dragon confirmed! Welcome back to Earth, @rookisaacman, @kiddpoteet, @Gillis_SarahE, @annawmenon pic.twitter.com/nILpMQh2sR
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 15, 2024
Polaris crew is home safe & sound! https://t.co/2wch1wlBoX pic.twitter.com/BYfz3pq3x5
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 15, 2024
This mission included several history-making moments. The Polaris Dawn’s private crew of astronauts performed the world’s first commercial spacewalk during the third day of a five-day trip to Earth orbit.
A four-person crew of civilians on board SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission unlocked the hatch of their capsule and made history as the first group of non-government astronauts to conduct a spacewalk.
… The entire SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle propelling and protecting the crew was depressurized and exposed to the vacuum of space — a dangerous and historic milestone in the Polaris Dawn crew’s five-day journey through Earth’s orbit. The mission has already set records, traveling farther into space than any human since NASA’s Apollo program concluded more than 50 years ago.
The crewmates — which includes Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, Polaris Dawn’s financer; his close friend and former US Air Force pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet; and SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis — had prepared for this spacewalk since taking flight at 5:23 a.m. ET Tuesday.
Polaris Dawn Flight Day 3 Update
Early Thursday morning at 7:58 a.m. ET, the Polaris Dawn crew successfully completed the world’s first spacewalk – also known as an extravehicular activity (EVA) – from Dragon at 732.2 km above Earth.
Shortly after arriving in space on… pic.twitter.com/ASEH6G3sR9— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) September 12, 2024
The crew was testing the new line of SpaceX spacesuits.
Isaacman “egressed Dragon” and conducted his first “suit mobility tests that will test overall hand body control, vertical movement with Skywalker, and foot restraint,” according to a SpaceX post on X at 6:53 a.m.
“Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, it sure looks like a perfect world,” Isaacman said during his first views outside the Dragon. Minutes later, he said “it’s gorgeous.”
“SpaceX, back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.” – Mission Commander @rookisaacman #PolarisDawn pic.twitter.com/F17Fq5ItQD
— Polaris Dawn (@SpaceXPolaris) September 12, 2024
Cost-effective and protective spacesuits will be necessary for long-term space exploration projections.
“The smart engineers over at SpaceX built an EVA suit in less than a year,” adds Isaacman. “NASA has been working on this for quite some time and the cost usually goes into the billions. I can assure you that SpaceX and Polaris are not investing anything even close to that.”
The cost savings matter. NASA’s budget request for its Artemis lunar program is only $7.8 billion for fiscal 2025. That’s compared to the just shy of $29 billion (inflation-adjusted) cost of the Apollo program in 1966. Saving on suits could make a big difference when pockets are not nearly as deep as they were three generations ago.
The Polaris Dawn crew has been busy with other projects and setting other historical records.
Other tasks include conducting medical studies, performing navigational maneuvers, and running a communications test with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation. This week’s mission is the first of three flights in the Polaris series, all of which are being bankrolled by Isaacman, the billionaire founder and CEO of Shift4, an Internet payments company.
And the spacewalk wasn’t the only breakthrough for the mission. On Sept. 10, Polaris Dawn set a new altitude record for a crewed spacecraft in Earth orbit, soaring to 870 miles up, surpassing the altitude benchmark established by the Gemini 11 mission, in 1966.
Gemini 11 and Polaris Dawn on this exact day, 58 years apart. pic.twitter.com/B2LkA3Jtgx
— Truthful🛰️ (@Truthful_ast) September 12, 2024
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Comments
I watched the EVA live. Spectacular footage. Chock up another big success for Musk.
It seems too digital to be interesting. Not much mechanism left.
The most digitalization that used to happen was a flashing 12:00 on the dashboard.
I’m old enough to remember astronauts returning from space all bundled up in canvas with their own air supplies, like plague victims, immediately whisked off to some medical containment facility or other before they were allowed to talk to anybody. It’s heartening to see our new breed of civilian astronauts walk off their transport to meet the press, smiling, dressed and acting like free men and women. It’s like watching Firefly after a steady diet of Brazil.
Maybe it is time to pull NASA’s plug?
“The cost savings matter. NASA’s budget request for its Artemis lunar program is only $7.8 billion for fiscal 2025. That’s compared to the just shy of $29 billion (inflation-adjusted) cost of the Apollo program in 1966. Saving on suits could make a big difference when pockets are not nearly as deep as they were three generations ago.”
In full context, the Apollo program funding estimate was a bit inaccurate. The took the initial estimate and quadrupled it. So yes, factoring in the massive overruns that were common back then, Apollo did come in under budget.
Does anyone know when they plan on testing the Starship for manned reentry and landing? While the splashdown sequence is still amazing here, it’s the launch, reentry and powered landing of Starship that will be really extraordinary, IMO.
As I recall, that’s a way down the road. ISTR Musk saying they wanted 100 successful flights before they attempted to man-rate it, but keep in mind Starship is being developed to be operated more like an airliner than a space shuttle. If the government gets off their back, that 100 flights could take less than a year.
The 5th test flight Is supposed to be sometime this month. It will be unmanned, and they’re going to attempt the booster pad landing using the big grabber arms. No word if a powered landing of Starship itself will happen on the next flight or not. If all goes well the first manned flight could be sometime next year. Exact date TBD.
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