The first Polaris mission will conduct the first commercial spacewalk.
Elon Musk's SpaceX completed the first launch of the private Polaris Program early Tuesday, transporting four astronauts, two of whom will do the first commercial spacewalk.
At 5:24 a.m. Eastern time, a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launched into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket from launch site 39A at NASA's Kennedy orbit Center in Florida. The rocket's first-stage booster separated from the second-stage booster little under three minutes into the flight and landed on a drone ship floating in the Atlantic Ocean.
Crew Dragon detached from the second-stage booster around 12 minutes into the flight.
SpaceX had planned to launch at 3:38 a.m. Eastern time, but it was postponed around 48 minutes due to adverse weather conditions at the launch site. A earlier launch attempt on August 27 was canceled to let SpaceX to address a technical problem. A planned launch on August 28th was also canceled owing to weather conditions for the astronauts' return to Earth.
Polaris Dawn is carrying 36 experiments into space and will spend around five days in orbit. According to the Polaris Program, the mission's study will benefit both human health on Earth and our knowledge of human health during future long-duration spaceflights. The mission is also the first to test Starlink's laser-based communications in space.
The mission's extravehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalk, is set for Thursday.
Jared Isaacman, the CEO of Shift4 Payments Inc. (FOUR), created the Polaris Program. Isaacman, an experienced private astronaut, led SpaceX's all-civilian Inspiration4 flight in 2021, which earned more than $240 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The Polaris Program is also generating funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Related: How many SpaceX starships have exploded?
Isaacman is the Polaris Dawn mission commander. The Polaris Dawn's mission pilot is retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Scott Poteet, who previously served as the Inspiration4 flight director. Gillis and Anna Menon, another top space-operations engineer at SpaceX, are Polaris Dawn mission experts, with Menon also serving as the medical officer.
The third and final mission of the Polaris Program will be the first human spaceflight on SpaceX's Starship rocket.
Earlier this year, SpaceX conducted the fourth test flight of its Starship, marking another milestone for the company's massive spaceship and rocket. Starship, the biggest rocket ever constructed, has more than double the force of NASA's Saturn V rockets, which carried people to the moon. The Starship spaceship with the Super Heavy rocket stand 396 feet tall, higher than the Statue of Liberty or a Saturn V rocket.
Related: Is Elon Musk moving SpaceX and X headquarters from California to Texas?
This is a hectic moment for SpaceX. NASA said last month that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams would return to Earth in a SpaceX capsule next February, after the Boeing Co. Starliner spacecraft that transported them to the International Space Station encountered technical difficulties. On September 7, the Starliner capsule returned to Earth without any crew members.
SpaceX's Crew-9 mission is slated to leave for the ISS no sooner than September 24 and return Wilmore and Williams to Earth in February.
Last month, SpaceX announced plans for the first human spaceflight across Earth's poles, which might take place as early as this year. The Fram2 project will be the first human spaceflight mission to study Earth from polar orbit, flying over the planet's northern regions for the first time, according to the corporation. Chun Wang, a bitcoin entrepreneur, will lead the expedition.
On Saturday, SpaceX CEO Musk said on X that the first Starships to Mars would launch in two years. "These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars," according to him. "If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years."
Anonymous 
The first Polaris mission will conduct the first commercial spacewalk.
Elon Musk's SpaceX completed the first launch of the private Polaris Program early Tuesday, transporting four astronauts, two of whom will do the first commercial spacewalk.
At 5:24 a.m. Eastern time, a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launched into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket from launch site 39A at NASA's Kennedy orbit Center in Florida. The rocket's first-stage booster separated from the second-stage booster little under three minutes into the flight and landed on a drone ship floating in the Atlantic Ocean.
Crew Dragon detached from the second-stage booster around 12 minutes into the flight.
SpaceX had planned to launch at 3:38 a.m. Eastern time, but it was postponed around 48 minutes due to adverse weather conditions at the launch site. A earlier launch attempt on August 27 was canceled to let SpaceX to address a technical problem. A planned launch on August 28th was also canceled owing to weather conditions for the astronauts' return to Earth.
Polaris Dawn is carrying 36 experiments into space and will spend around five days in orbit. According to the Polaris Program, the mission's study will benefit both human health on Earth and our knowledge of human health during future long-duration spaceflights. The mission is also the first to test Starlink's laser-based communications in space.
The mission's extravehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalk, is set for Thursday.
Jared Isaacman, the CEO of Shift4 Payments Inc. (FOUR), created the Polaris Program. Isaacman, an experienced private astronaut, led SpaceX's all-civilian Inspiration4 flight in 2021, which earned more than $240 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The Polaris Program is also generating funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Related: How many SpaceX starships have exploded?
Isaacman is the Polaris Dawn mission commander. The Polaris Dawn's mission pilot is retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Scott Poteet, who previously served as the Inspiration4 flight director. Gillis and Anna Menon, another top space-operations engineer at SpaceX, are Polaris Dawn mission experts, with Menon also serving as the medical officer.
The third and final mission of the Polaris Program will be the first human spaceflight on SpaceX's Starship rocket.
Earlier this year, SpaceX conducted the fourth test flight of its Starship, marking another milestone for the company's massive spaceship and rocket. Starship, the biggest rocket ever constructed, has more than double the force of NASA's Saturn V rockets, which carried people to the moon. The Starship spaceship with the Super Heavy rocket stand 396 feet tall, higher than the Statue of Liberty or a Saturn V rocket.
Related: Is Elon Musk moving SpaceX and X headquarters from California to Texas?
This is a hectic moment for SpaceX. NASA said last month that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams would return to Earth in a SpaceX capsule next February, after the Boeing Co. Starliner spacecraft that transported them to the International Space Station encountered technical difficulties. On September 7, the Starliner capsule returned to Earth without any crew members.
SpaceX's Crew-9 mission is slated to leave for the ISS no sooner than September 24 and return Wilmore and Williams to Earth in February.
Last month, SpaceX announced plans for the first human spaceflight across Earth's poles, which might take place as early as this year. The Fram2 project will be the first human spaceflight mission to study Earth from polar orbit, flying over the planet's northern regions for the first time, according to the corporation. Chun Wang, a bitcoin entrepreneur, will lead the expedition.
On Saturday, SpaceX CEO Musk said on X that the first Starships to Mars would launch in two years. "These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars," according to him. "If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years."