The era of private spaceflight is taking a big step forward this month with SpaceX planning a launch. Polaris Dawnthe second civilian mission ( Inspiration for 2021 #4), the first in the company’s Polaris program.
originally Announced in 2022Polaris Dawn is designed to push the boundaries of SpaceX’s technology and pave the way for long-term human stays in space. Jared Isaacmanis also funding Inspiration 4. The launch date has been postponed several times over the years, but is now scheduled to launch no sooner than July 12, 2024. According to a recent interview with Isaacman.
Plans for the mission include the first commercial spacewalk, an ambitious study of human health in space, testing Starlink WiFi on board the spacecraft, and reaching high Earth orbit. More than 800 miles above the EarthThe furthest place humans have traveled from Earth Apollo eraSpaceX launched this mission as an early Starship spacecraft pioneeris an ambitious, sci-fi-esque project that aims to carry hundreds of humans into orbit, the Moon, and possibly even Mars.
Polaris Dawn will use SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule Four team members go to spaceThe crew, consisting of Isaacman, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Scott Kidd-Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, spent about five days in Earth orbit, flying above the planet and actually Van Allen radiation beltsThe Van Allen belts are rings of high-energy particles trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field. No one has traveled through the Van Allen belts since the end of the Apollo program in the early 1970s.
The Polaris Dawn crew will take advantage of this fact and will collect medical data to better understand how the radiation environment affects people passing through it. Other Health ResearchThis includes measuring air bubbles in the blood to study decompression sickness (commonly known as “decompression sickness”).
But one of the most daring experiments aims to understand “spaceflight-associated neuro-ophthalmological syndrome,” or SANS, which Poteat explained is “one of the biggest challenges associated with long-term spaceflight.” Interview with NASASpaceflight LiveWhen astronauts are in microgravity, the pressure of their spinal fluid — the mucus that surrounds vital nerves in the brain, spine, eyes, and elsewhere — changes, which can cause unpleasant symptoms like blurred vision. Crew members measure this pressure with noninvasive techniques, but Poteat also hopes to be the first to invasively measure spinal fluid pressure in space. The measuring device will be surgically implanted before the flight.
But that’s not even the mission’s biggest first: Polaris Dawn will also be the first privately funded spacewalk, meaning the first outside the purview of NASA or another government agency. NASA’s first spacewalk A spacewalk occurred in 1965 when astronaut Ed White spent 21 minutes outside the spacecraft during Gemini 4. Since then, spacewalks have Part of the International Space Station’s regular operations,and Used to repair the Hubble Space Telescope during Space Shuttle missions.
The crew of Polaris Dawn SpaceX’s new extravehicular activity suit To protect them from the deadly vacuum of space, the entire journey outside and back to the spacecraft would take about two hours. NASA spacesuits Until now, it has been bulky and only a very limited number of people could actually wear it. SpaceX’s goal is to make the spacewalk suit more flexible, both literally and figuratively, so that people of different heights and body types can experience spacewalks. Ultimately, the company is aiming for a “moon base and a city on Mars.” According to their website“We’re trying to get people to think about this amazing future world of living on Mars.” Isaacman on the Today Show.
Finally, the mission will test Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet, from a spacecraft, aiming to provide internet connectivity even far from Earth. Like Inspiration 4, this mission is also raising funds. St. Jude’s Children’s HospitalMenon plans to broadcast himself reading children’s books from orbit, in an effort to spark kids’ interest in science.
For all these ambitious goals, the crew has been training for several years. sky diving To Alpine climbing,Furthermore Centrifuge Training Like NASA astronauts. But even if they’re ready to go, the launch date depends heavily on the technology they’ll actually send into space. And it’s certainly possible that the mission could be pushed back beyond this month. But no matter when it launches, this will surely be a milestone in humanity’s further journey into space — and provide useful information for future planning. “We want to share the lessons we’ve learned with everyone,” Poteat said. NASA Space Flight Live“This is about getting all of humanity involved so we can get to the Moon and Mars.”