SpaceX is preparing to launch the first amateur astronaut into space, in a groundbreaking mission set for August 27.
A Five day journey
According to Ziare this marks a significant milestone in space tourism. The mission, dubbed "Polaris Dawn," will see a Falcon rocket take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This mission is spearheaded by Elon Musk's SpaceX, with tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman at the helm.
Isaacman, who has funded the mission and will serve as the crew commander, will lead a team of four on a five-day journey around Earth. The crew will reach an altitude of 1,400 kilometers, pushing the boundaries of human space exploration.
Reflecting on the mission's importance, Isaacman stated:
"We've spent the last 20 years orbiting the Earth with the International Space Station or utilizing the Hubble Space Telescope. We haven't returned to the Moon since Apollo 17, over 50 years ago. To go to the Moon or Mars, we must navigate through the Van Allen radiation belts and contend with solar winds and cosmic radiation."
Will Make Significant Discoveries
A key part of this mission will occur on the third day when Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis will step out of the rocket for a two-hour spacewalk.
Gillis emphasized the mission's potential impact, saying:
"We believe we will make significant discoveries and gather data that will improve future space tourism operations and refine spacesuit designs."
Polaris Dawn represents a crucial step forward in space tourism and will test the limits of current technology. While the total cost of the mission remains undisclosed, it is estimated to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
The next mission in this ambitious initiative will involve repositioning the Hubble Space Telescope to extend its operational life by another 10 to 20 years.
