• SpaceX is on the way to another spot in the history books with the first ever commercial spacewalk.
• The crew will test SpaceX’s new suits when they are exposed to the cosmos later this week.
• In addition, 40 other science experiments will be conducted onboard the spacecraft while Polaris Dawn orbits Earth at 700km away.

Earlier today the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. This mission is set to earn the company yet another spot in the history books as the first private company to perform a spacewalk.

The launch of the Polaris Dawn mission was originally scheduled for 26th August. That launch was scrubbed in favour of performing more preflight checks. The next day the launch was once again scrubbed after a helium leak was detected. Weather delayed further launch attempts and finally this morning there was a gap that SpaceX jumped on.

So today Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon lifted off destined for the stars. Well, technically the crew isn’t going that far, even if they’re going further off planet than any human has in a number of years.

Polaris Dawn will take the crew 700km above Earth and they will be testing SpaceX’s extravehicular activity (EVA) suits in the first commercial spacewalk. The crew will be conducting a range of experiments while in that orbit. These include testing Starlink laser-based communications which will be important should humanity wish to establish colonies on the Moon, Mars and beyond.

“Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require millions of spacesuits. The development of this suit and the execution of the spacewalk will be important steps toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions as life becomes multiplanetary,” says SpaceX.

Given that the Dragon capsule is as small as it is, SpaceX is likely hoping these new suits withstand the harsh environment of space. As Space.com points out, during the spacewalk the entire interior of the capsule will be exposed to the cosmos even if the only walkers will be Isaacman and Gillis.

Most of the research being conducted by the crew in this mission revolves around humans travelling further into the cosmos:

• Using ultrasound to monitor, detect, and quantify venous gas emboli (VGE), contributing to studies on human prevalence to decompression sickness;
• Gathering data on the radiation environment to better understand how space radiation affects human biological systems;
• Providing biological samples towards multi-omics analyses for a long-term Biobank; and
• Research related to Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS), which is a key risk to human health in long-duration spaceflight.

This is just a slice of the experiments that will be performed. In total 40 science experiments will be performed by the crew.

If all goes according to plan, Polaris Dawn should end with a splashdown in the ocean off the coast of Florida six days from now.

[Image – Polaris Dawn X]