SpaceX’s most recent mission, a daring and risky journey into Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts by a four-person civilian crew aiming to execute the first commercial spacewalk, has been launched.
The Polaris Dawn mission launched at 5:23 a.m. Eastern Time.
A billionaire entrepreneur, a retired military fighter pilot, and two SpaceX employees are utilising the company’s new spacesuits and a modified spacecraft for the trip, which launched Tuesday morning from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre.
The spacewalk, slated for Thursday, is intended to test a new improved spacesuit before the five-person crew splashes down off the Florida coast.
The spacecraft, dubbed Resilience, launched on Tuesday and will travel farther than anyone since NASA’s Apollo program ended in the 1970s, reaching an orbit altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometres).
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, live-streamed the occasion on X, a social media site he acquired in 2022.
As the capsule entered Earth’s orbit, ground controllers, led by SpaceX launch director Frank Messina, encouraged the Polaris Dawn crew, which included the company’s first workers to travel to space.
“As you gaze towards the North Star, remember that your courage lights the path for future explorers. We trust your skills, your bravery, and your teamwork to carry out the mission that lies ahead,” they said.
“Know that the entire team back here is with you every step, watching, supporting and cheering you on as you walk into space. We’re sending you hugs from the ground.”
A launch attempt last month was postponed hours before liftoff due to a tiny helium leak in ground equipment on SpaceX’s launchpad.
The firm repaired the leak, but its Falcon 9 was grounded by US authorities due to a booster recovery failure on an unrelated mission, further delaying the Polaris launch.
We earlier reported that after receiving presidential approval in May 2024, SpaceX’s Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet service, Starlink, is currently active in Zimbabwe.
