Polaris Dawn is a planned private human spaceflight mission, operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, scheduled to launch no earlier than March 2023. The flight will be using the

Crew Dragon Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has also launched private missions such as Ins ...

capsule, and is the first of three planned missions in a program named the Polaris program. It is planned to be the ninth crewed flight overall of the Crew Dragon.

Crew

Mission

Polaris Dawn will be a human spaceflight to orbit Earth with only private citizens on board. The crew will consist of Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and

Anna Menon Anna Menon is an American engineer scheduled to fly on Polaris Dawn, a private space mission. Menon worked for NASA for seven years before joining SpaceX, where she works as a lead engineer of space operations. Education Menon earned a Bach ...

, who will spend up to five days in orbit. Mission plans include reaching an orbit higher than any previous Dragon mission and ultimately the highest Earth orbit ever flown by a crewed spacecraft with an initial apogee of 1400 km, breaking the record set by

Gemini 11 Gemini 11 (officially Gemini XI) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was the ninth crewed spaceflight mission of NASA's Project Gemini, which flew from September 12 to 15, 1966. It was the 17th crewed ...

. The crew will conduct 38 science and research experiments to study the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health. The crew will also attempt the first commercial

extravehicular activity Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA inc ...

(EVA) with SpaceX-designed EVA spacesuits. The mission will also be the first test of

Starlink Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing satellite Internet access coverage to 45 countries. It also aims for global mobile phone service after 2023. SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019. As ...

's communications laser for communication with another spacecraft, potentially improving connection with the spacecraft.

References

External links

Polaris Dawn
Future human spaceflights 2023 in the United States 2023 in spaceflight SpaceX Dragon 2 SpaceX human spaceflights Fully civilian crewed orbital spaceflights {{USA-stub

Crew

Mission

See also

References

External links