SpaceX mission will see four civilians “walk” in space

SpaceX, the company owned by South African billionaire Elon Musk, is preparing an unprecedented and risky launch. The mission, called “Polaris Dawn”, promises to launch four civilians (two men and two women), not astronauts, into the Earth’s radiation belts. The launch is scheduled to take place at 4:30 a.m. on August 26.

Who are the civilians?

The commander is Jared “Rook” Isaacman, who commanded the Inspiration4 mission in 2021. He is renowned in the aviation field, having flown commercial and military aircraft. The crew pilot will be his friend and business partner Scott “Kidd” Poteet. He has also competed in four Ironmen World Championships, an annual triathlon event held in Hawaii. Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, SpaceX engineers, will also be on board, with the mission of taking care of the medical side.

_{Polaris Dawn crew (Photo: reproduction/O Globo)}

Objectives

The company's goal is to reach the highest orbit possible for a manned mission, reaching up to 1,400 km – obviously leaving out the Apollo missions to the Moon. Therefore, the mission will be a “test”, observing the effects that the human body will feel when reaching such an extreme height.

Another objective of the mission will be to test the internet connection in space, using laser beams. In 2022, NASA had already carried out some tests of the same type. This would help develop space technology, funding new equipment and discovering how far it can reach.

Walking in space

For the first time in history, commercial crew members will perform an extravehicular activity in space. Since they will be in a place full of radiation, they will have a suit fully prepared for this activity. With advanced technology, the suit will provide the astronaut with comfort and the possibility of recording everything on a state-of-the-art camera in the helmet.

_{Special crew attire (Photo: reproduction/O Globo)}

“After more than two years of training, we are excited to embark on this mission,” said Commander Jared Isaacman. “The idea is to learn as much as we can about the new suit and give it back to the engineers to develop future design evolutions. It's a great honor to have this opportunity to test it on this flight.”.

Despite the risks, the team guarantees that they have already been through more dangerous situations, even inside SpaceX. The commander assured that all possible tests were carried out, both in the engineering and human areas. He also assured that, despite the race against time, this would not be a problem. It is worth remembering that, according to him, there are five or six days of life support in the vehicle.

Featured Photo: Polaris Dawn mission (Reproduction/O Globo)