The first commercial spacewalk mission is back on the calendar with Polaris Dawn announcing its launch by July 31, 2024, as the Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to take a crew of four further from Earth. than any mission in more than 50 years.
Commercial spaceflight means much more than simply private companies fulfilling government space contracts. Although most private missions transport cargo and crews to the international space station, the future promises more private visits to orbit with no direct relationship with national governments.
On September 15, 2021, the first completely private mission in history lifted off from Launch Complex 39a at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this mission called Inspiration 4 involved a SpaceX Falon 9 rocket that launched the space capsule. Crew Dragon to orbit completely privately owned and operated, with private astronauts on board.
The passengers of inspiration 4 remained inside the capsule, but the subsequent Polaris Dawn mission also organized by SpaceX and shift4 CEO Jared Isaacman has more ambitious goals, the mission will attempt to reach an initial orbital altitude of 10,000 km surpassing any manned spaceflight since Apollo 17 in 1972 and Gemini 11 in 1966.
This altitude is enough to penetrate the inner region of the Van Allen belts which are radioactive. Although it is dangerous for the crew composed of mission commander Jared Isaacman, mission pilot Scott Poteet, mission specialist Sarah Gillis and medical officer Anna Menon, the initial orbit will be highly elliptical, with a lower altitude of 190 km minimizing radiation exposure.
The objective of this mission is to carry out 38 scientific experiments to study the effects of space flight and radiation on human health, after completing these experiments the altitude will be reduced to 700 km for the next 5 days in orbit, at this point the first private spacewalk will be attempted.
The Dragon has been specially modified to depressurize and allow the front hatch to open, at least two of the spacesuits are improved versions of a SpaceX intravehicle suit modified to allow greater mobility and with new thermal management materials and a camera in the helmet, as well as a display (HUD).
This mission promises to be a milestone in commercial space exploration, opening new frontiers in science and technology and is part of Elon Musk's plans to take humans to Mars.
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