The mission, dubbed Polaris Dawn, will see a billionaire entrepreneur, a retired military fighter pilot, and two SpaceX employees launch into space, with the aim of conducting the first-ever private spacewalk. This mission, which is scheduled for next week, will test pioneering equipment, including streamlined spacesuits and a cabin devoid of an airlock, marking a significant milestone in the annals of private space exploration.
According to The New York Post, the crew, which includes billionaire Jared Isaacman, will launch on Tuesday aboard a modified Crew Dragon craft. Two days later, they will undertake a 20-minute spacewalk 434 miles into space, a feat previously only attempted by government astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), 250 miles above Earth. The mission, funded by Isaacman, the founder of electronic payment company Shift4, is estimated to have cost over $100 million.
WE KNEW JAMES CARVILLE WAS NUTS BUT THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE!
The Polaris Dawn mission will follow an oval-shaped orbit, coming as close to Earth as 118 miles and venturing as far as 870 miles, the farthest any humans have traveled since the conclusion of the United States' Apollo moon program in 1972. The crew will don SpaceX's new, slimline spacesuits in a Crew Dragon vehicle that has been modified to open its hatch door in the vacuum of space, eliminating the need for an airlock.
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR’S BIZARRE DEFENSE OF CHILD GENDER TREATMENTS SPARKS UPROAR!
Retired NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman commented on the mission's ambitious nature, stating, "They're pushing the envelope in multiple ways. They're also going to a much higher altitude, with a more severe radiation environment than we've been to since Apollo."
August 24, 2024
Joining Isaacman on this daring mission will be mission pilot Scott Poteet, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, and SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, both senior engineers at the company. For SpaceX, a company that has revolutionized space exploration with affordable, reusable rockets and costly private spaceflight, the mission presents an opportunity to advance technologies that could be utilized on the moon and Mars.
The mission will test the electronics and shielding on Crew Dragon and spacesuits as they pass through parts of the Van Allen belt, an area where charged particles from the sun can disrupt satellite electronics and pose risks to human health. "That's an additional risk that you don't face when you just stay in low-Earth orbit and go up to the ISS," Reisman noted.
REMEMBER THE OHIO WOMAN WHO MASSACRED AND ATE HER CAT? IT'S ABOUT TIME SHE MET HER FATE!
The Polaris spacewalk is slated for the mission's third day, with preparations commencing about 45 hours in advance. The entire cabin of the gumdrop-shaped Crew Dragon will be depressurized and exposed to the vacuum of space. While only two of the astronauts will venture outside, tethered by an oxygen line, the entire crew will rely on their spacesuits for life support.
WATCH ‘THE VIEW’ PRAISE BIDEN’S HUNTER PARDON IN CRINGEWORTHY SPECTACLE!
In the days leading up to the spacewalk, the crew will initiate a "pre-breathe" process to fill the cabin with pure oxygen and remove any nitrogen from the air. This is crucial as nitrogen, if present in astronauts' bloodstreams in space, could form bubbles, obstruct blood flow, and lead to decompression sickness, known as "the bends," similar to the risks faced by scuba divers who ascend too quickly to the water's surface.
WHY SO HUSH-HUSH ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN NEW JERSEY?
The crew will utilize an ultrasound device to monitor any bubble formation, one of many tools to be used in the mission to inform dozens of scientific experiments. This will provide researchers with a rare insight into how astronauts might fare on the moon's surface or elsewhere in deep space.
UH OH! AOC HAS HER EYES SET ON A NEW POSITION!
Emmanuel Urquieta, vice chair for aerospace medicine at the University of Central Florida's internal medicine department, said, "It gives us a very unique opportunity to test these vehicles in such a very unique environment."
While astronaut safety on NASA missions is rigorously overseen by the agency, there are no such U.S. standards or laws for spaceflight safety in private missions like Polaris. SpaceX officials and the Polaris crew have planned for various contingency scenarios if something during the mission goes awry, such as an oxygen leak or failure to reseal the hatch door, but they did not detail what those were.
DEMOCRATS’ DELETED TWEET SPARKS OUTRAGE OVER AMERICANS’ ECONOMIC WOES
Reisman expressed confidence in the Polaris crew's preparedness to handle any unexpected mishaps, but he cautioned, "But there's not a lot of room for error." This mission, therefore, underscores the inherent risks and challenges of private space exploration, even as it propels humanity further into the final frontier.
