SpaceX launches Polaris Dawn mission, which will attempt the first private spacewalk

SpaceX's Polaris Dawn ngo launched connected Tuesday from Florida connected a Falcon 9 rocket, which carried the Dragon capsule "Resilience" into orbit.

It's the archetypal of 3 missions that billionaire and Shift4 founder Jared Isaacman purchased from SpaceX successful 2022 for his quality spaceflight effort known arsenic the Polaris Program.

The multi-day travel isn't headed to a destination similar the International Space Station, but alternatively is simply a free-flying ngo tracing orbits that the unit hopes volition spell acold from Earth.

As a centerpiece to the mission, the unit volition effort to execute the first-ever SpaceX spacewalk. Extravehicular activities, oregon EVAs, person been a regular part of authorities astronauts missions but nary backstage task has attempted an EVA before. The EVA is expected to past 2 hours agelong from commencement to finish.

In summation to the spacewalk, Polaris Dawn plans to behaviour astir 40 subject and probe experiments during the mission.

The motorboat had been postponed aggregate times implicit the past fewer weeks due to the fact that of unfavorable weather conditions and a helium leak.

Isaacman is commanding the mission, starring a unit of 4 that includes the archetypal 2 SpaceX employees, Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, to spell to space. This is Isaacman's 2nd clip going to orbit, having led the historic Inspiration4 formation successful 2021.

Polaris Dawn represents SpaceX's 14th crewed ngo to date, and its 5th backstage quality spaceflight.