From sci-fi to reality; SpaceX set to blast off for first-ever private spacewalk adventure!
What is fiction? It's only tomorrow's reality! When the movie “A Trip to the Moon” was released in 1902, it was termed as fiction, which later turned into reality as soon as humans landed on the Moon for the first time in 1969. Meanwhile, we are entering into a brand new era of space exploration. With the announcement of the Polaris Dawn mission, let's understand private spacewalk and importance of this mission.
Elon Musk's SpaceX is preparing for its first revolutionary step in space tourism. In a recent press conference, the company mentioned: “Polaris Dawn mission will be launched on August 19” and American fintech billionaire will be the first person to participate in private spacewalk. Earlier, it was scheduled for July 31 launch. Due to back to back failure of SpaceX satellites (Falcon-9), the launch is postponed.
Credit - @PolarisProgram X handle
During the press conference, the director of SpaceX's Dragon mission management Sarah Walker said, “There's a lot going on on [the International Space Station] right now. We opted to fly the Crew-9 mission as our next [astronaut] mission and are ready to fly Polaris Dawn in late summer, as soon as we fulfill those obligations.”
Apart from SpaceX’s revolutionary approach, the mission is on limelight due to the participation of an American, self-made billionaire, Jared Isaacman, 41, who is the founder of the payments processing company Shift4 Payments. Apart from being a successful businessman, Isaacman is a pilot with over 7,000 flight hours, who participated in numerous experimental as well as ex-military aircrafts. Passion for flight made him co-found world's largest private airforce training school, Draken International in 2011.
Meanwhile, Isaacman has previously flown on a SpaceX rocket. It was an extremely expensive orbital vacation in 2021. Apart from Isaacman, other crew members are Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, and Sarah Gillis.
Credit - @rookisaacman X handle
Currently, Isaacman and the crew are preparing for ‘ghost ride’ in space. According to company website, “After the Polaris Dawn mission gets launched, it will not link up with the ISS but will take Isaacman and his comrades farther from the orbit of the moon.”
The spacecraft will reach a high orbit around 700 kilometers above the Earth. Since Apollo’s manned moon mission, this will be the highest-altitude crewed flight. As per planning, the crew members will stay there for 5 days and perform spacewalk.
It is probably one of the biggest steps for civilian space travel. The data collected will be used for analysing human health in space. Human body’s reaction to this extremely low gravity area will be a big leap for alternate space habitation. Another important aspect is checking Starlink WiFi for future space mission communication. This is surely have a huge impact on future space policies opening the door for public interest and investments.
GoPro footage during spacewalk shows curvature of Earth and people still think Earth is flat.pic.twitter.com/yN8oG2Gp5J
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) July 22, 2024
Credit - @MAstronomers X handle
The participation of private spaceflight organisations from the middle of 20th and in ongoing 21st century have greatly impacted space exploration as well as commercialization of the space industry.
From manufacturing to operating satellites and conducting missions, private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, Axiom Space have enhanced the access to the space.
