SpaceX launches Polaris : a full-fledged private space program, designed only to carry civilians. The first flight, Polaris Dawn, is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year 2022. On this occasion, tourists on board the spacecraft can go out in space. A great first…
SpaceX will get civilians into space
The first flight of the Polaris program will aim to send a crew of four to a farther distance than any other manned spaceflight for nearly 50 years. The record was set in 1966 by the crew of Gemini 11, which flew 1,372 kilometers from Earth, the highest altitude for a crewed non-lunar mission according to NASA. As part of the Polaris program initiated by SpaceX, civilians on board will also be able to perform a spacewalkwhich has never happened before.
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It was Jared Isaacman, the billionaire entrepreneur who once took a trip on a spaceX space shuttle, who ordered three new space flights. The founder of Shift4 and commander of the Inspiration4 mission, said the first two flights will take place aboard SpaceX’s Dragon shuttles, the ones currently used to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. The third flight could even take place aboard Starship, the new spacecraft from SpaceX. No manned flight has yet taken place on board this machine.
Jared Isaacman takes over as head of the Polaris program
As part of the Polaris program, Isaacman will once again be the mission commander. Two SpaceX operations engineers will also be on board, Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis. Anna Menon’s role is symbolic of the evolution of private spaceflight. Her husband Anil Menon was chosen to become a NASA astronautbut she will probably go to space before her spouse.
SpaceX is currently in the process of developing space suits to allow its crew to go out into space. The development of the Starship ship takes time… It is to be expected that Polaris’ schedule stretches slightly. Either way, this program represents a new standard in private spaceflight.
By allowing civilians to go out into space and try out a new spacecraft before astronauts, SpaceX wants to trivialize private space travel. Isaacman and SpaceX did not disclose the cost of this program, but it could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. We just know that the cost of the Inspiration4 mission was less than $200 million.