Image: SpaceX
Polaris Dawn
Mission Profile
| Launch date | 2024-09-10 |
|---|---|
| Launch site | Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| Launch vehicle | Falcon 9 Block 5 |
| Spacecraft | Crew Dragon Resilience (third flight) |
| Target | Low Earth Orbit |
| Type | Crewed |
| End date | 2024-09-15 |
| Recovery | Gulf of Mexico near the Dry Tortugas, Florida |
| Duration | 4 days, 22 hours, 13 minutes |
| Partners | SpaceX, Polaris Program |
Overview
Polaris Dawn, the first mission of Jared Isaacman's privately funded Polaris program, launched from pad 39A on 10 September 2024 at 09:23 UTC aboard Crew Dragon Resilience and promptly flew where no crew had gone in half a century. On its first day the spacecraft raised its apogee to 1,400.7 kilometers — the highest Earth orbit ever flown by a crewed vehicle and the farthest humans had traveled from the planet since Apollo 17 in 1972 — carrying mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon farther from Earth than any women in history. After lowering its orbit, the crew executed the mission's centerpiece on 12 September: the first commercial spacewalk. Because Dragon has no airlock, the entire cabin was depressurized and all four crew members were exposed to vacuum in newly developed SpaceX EVA suits; Isaacman and then Gillis each emerged through the hatch to test suit mobility, with Gillis, at 30, becoming the youngest person to perform a spacewalk. The flight also tested Starlink laser communications from Dragon and carried roughly 36 science and research experiments, while Gillis played violin in orbit for a charity broadcast. Resilience splashed down near Florida's Dry Tortugas on 15 September at 07:36 UTC after 4 days and 22 hours aloft.
Crew
Jared Isaacman
Commander
Second spaceflight after Inspiration4; first commercial spacewalker
Scott Poteet
Pilot
Retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel and former Thunderbird pilot
Sarah Gillis
Mission Specialist
SpaceX lead astronaut trainer; youngest person to perform a spacewalk, at 30
Anna Menon
Mission Specialist & Medical Officer
SpaceX lead space operations engineer; with Gillis, traveled farther from Earth than any woman before
Key Milestones
2024-09-10
Launch from LC-39A at 09:23 UTC aboard Crew Dragon Resilience
2024-09-10
Apogee raised to 1,400.7 km — highest crewed Earth orbit ever, farthest humans from Earth since Apollo 17
2024-09-12
First commercial spacewalk: cabin depressurized, Isaacman and Gillis exit Dragon in SpaceX EVA suits
2024-09-13
Starlink laser-communication tests and science program continue; Gillis performs violin broadcast from orbit
2024-09-15
Splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico near the Dry Tortugas at 07:36 UTC
Key Achievements
First commercial spacewalk in history, conducted 12 September 2024
Highest Earth orbit ever flown by a crewed spacecraft, with a 1,400.7 km apogee
First in-space test of SpaceX's EVA suits, with all four crew members exposed to vacuum
Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon traveled farther from Earth than any women in history
Demonstrated Starlink laser communications from a crewed Dragon
Legacy & Significance
Polaris Dawn moved private spaceflight from passenger experience to genuine flight test. Its commercial spacewalk — performed without an airlock, in suits designed and built outside any government program — broke a 59-year government monopoly on extravehicular activity and produced the suit heritage SpaceX intends to scale for future Mars ambitions. The altitude record swept past Gemini 11's 1966 mark and brought a crew deeper into the inner Van Allen radiation environment than any mission since Apollo, yielding rare human radiation-exposure data. As the opening act of the Polaris program, it set the template for privately funded missions that advance engineering, science and philanthropy at once.
