Polaris Dawn is the first of up to three spaceflights in the Polaris Program, to rapidly advance human spaceflight capabilities by testing new technologies and conducting extensive scientific research.
Polaris is a planned human spaceflight program organized by businessman and private astronaut Jared Isaacman and operated by SpaceX.
The mission is expected to be launched no earlier than April 2023 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Why is the mission revolutionary?
Polaris Dawn will be a human spaceflight to orbit Earth with only private citizens on board who will spend up to five days in orbit.
The crew will attempt the first commercial extravehicular activity in SpaceX-designed EVA spacesuits approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. This EVA’s purpose is to test a new type of extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits which are an upgrade of the current intravehicular activity (IVA) suits, used by crews during manned spacecraft launches and re-entries.
The mission will also be the first to test Starlink‘s laser technology for communications in space providing data for future connection systems for missions to the Moon and Mars.
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The scientific experiments
The primary purpose is flying higher than any previous Dragon mission and reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown by a crewed spacecraft.
This mission’s unique, high-altitude orbit will expose the crew to more radiation than a trip to the International Space Station and will allow experiments with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health.
One of SpaceX driving goals is to make space accessible to more people. The crew will monitor their glucose levels in space and the accuracy of continuous glucose monitoring systems will be tested so that future diabetic astronauts can fly confidently knowing they can manage their diabetes both in space and on the ground.
The Polaris Dawn crew has been tasked with studying and developing a plan to find the optimal procedure for performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) inside the Dragon capsule and will use a CPR training device to test it.
The crew will also test a new 3-D ultrasound device to build 3-D images of the structure of the eye, to better understand the many changes eyes undergo in microgravity in preparation for both short and long-duration space missions.
Astronauts experience Spaceflight Associated Neuroocular Syndrome (SANS), the symptoms include changes in the shape of the eye and changes in vision. Polaris private astronauts will wear intelligent contact lenses with micro-sensors that will continuously measure the pressure inside their eyes, and they will also perform experiments to test their vision.
The Crew
Jared Isaacman (Mission Commander) is the CEO of Shift4, the leader in integrated payment processing solutions.
He was the commander of Inspiration4 private mission, the world’s first all-civilian mission to space, born to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
He is also a pilot with over 7,000 flight hours of aviation experience, including experimental and ex-military aircraft, and the co-founder of Draken International, an American provider of tactical fighter aircraft.
Scott Poteet (Mission Pilot) is an athlete and a retired United States Air Force lieutenant; he is also a pilot with over 3,200 flight hours best known for his former role as a USAF Thunderbird demonstration pilot.
He served as the Mission Director of Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian mission to space.
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Sarah Gillis (Mission Specialist) is a Lead Space Operations Engineer at SpaceX, responsible for training NASA and private astronauts who fly aboard the Dragon spacecraft.
She trained NASA astronauts for the Demo-2 and Crew-1 missions, and the Inspiration4 private astronauts.
She is also part of SpaceX’s Mission Control and she has personally supported many operations for Dragon’s cargo resupply missions and Dragon’s human spaceflight missions to and from the International Space Station as a navigation officer and crew communicator.
Anna Menon (Mission Specialist and Medical Officer) is a Lead Space Operations Engineer at SpaceX, where she serves in mission control as Mission Director and crew communicator.
She contributed to the development of emergency plans in the event of a fire or depressurization of the Dragon spacecraft.
She also worked at NASA as a biomedical flight controller for the International Space Station supporting ISS crews from mission control.
A little help for Hubble
NASA and SpaceX signed in September 2022 an unfunded Space Act Agreement to study the feasibility of a SpaceX and Polaris Program mission to boost the Hubble Space Telescope into a higher orbit with the Crew Dragon. The new spacesuits for extravehicular activities tested during the first Polaris mission could be used during this future Hubble service mission to replace the telescope components for an upgrade.
A noble mission
Polaris Dawn will continue the project started in 2021 to support St. Jude Children’s Hospital by raising funds for research and hospital patients.
Inspiration4, Jared Isaacman’s previous private mission to space, raised more than $250 million for the kids of St. Jude.
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