Blast-off for Polaris Down   

SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission was successfully launched on early Tuesday, September 10th, 2024, after prolonged delays. After delays faced due to unfavorable weather conditions, it is designed to carry about four crew members to the highest orbital attitude.

Highlights: -

• It is the first spacewalk carried out by an all-civilian crew.
• It lifted off at 5:24 a.m. with the Extra-Terrestrial Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. 
• It is 870 miles above Earth’s surface, i.e... three times higher than the International Space Station.  
• In space, the group will test new spacesuits and technologies, to pave for future long-duration missions to the moon and later extended to Mars.

This mission was led by Jared Isaacman, the founder of Shift4Payments, and had former US Air Force pilot Scott Poteet and SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gills in his team. The crew broke the record of 853 miles achieved by NASA’s Gemini 11 mission in 1956. 

The historic event has well managed the pressure differences, avoided exposure to toxic elements usage, and followed the precautionary measures while executing the mission. Though Isaacman declined to reveal the total investment, it is assumed to be $200 million.