SpaceX Polaris Dawn Mission Set for July 31: First Commercial Spacewalk and Starlink Tests Planned

SpaceX Polaris Dawn Mission Set for July 31: First Commercial Spacewalk and Starlink Tests Planned
Image credit: Polaris Program 

SpaceX has announced a target date of July 31 for its highly anticipated Polaris Dawn mission, according to a social media post on Wednesday. The mission, funded and led by billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 and an accomplished pilot, aims to conduct research on the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health. Additionally, it will be the first crewed mission to test Starlink laser-based communications in space.

The five-day Polaris Dawn mission will see four nonprofessional astronauts, including Isaacman, fly aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to an orbit approximately 435 miles (700 kilometers) above Earth. This is about 185 miles (298 kilometers) higher than the International Space Station (ISS) and the highest altitude any Crew Dragon has flown to date. The mission will utilize SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Polaris Dawn mission launch July 31st
Image credit: spaceNews

During the mission, two crew members will perform the first-ever commercial spacewalk, using newly designed spacesuits to test various aspects of their functionality in microgravity conditions. This spacewalk is expected to last a couple of hours and will take place while orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt.

Joining Isaacman on the Polaris Dawn mission will be Scott Poteet, a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel; Sarah Gillis, a lead space operations engineer at SpaceX responsible for overseeing astronaut training; and Anna Menon, also a lead space operations engineer at SpaceX, who manages the development of crew operations and serves in mission control.

It’s possible that the July 31 date could slip. We’ll be sure to share an update if that happens.