SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission: How to follow the launch

SpaceX is about to send its manned spacecraft further than ever before in Spacewith a crew of four civilians.

During the five-day Polaris Dawn mission Crew Dragon The capsule is expected to reach its highest orbit, 435 miles above Earth, about 185 miles beyond the International Space Stationwhere the company’s space probe regularly NASA astronauts.

The trip will also attempt to make history with the first commercial spacewalk. The purpose of the crew exiting the spacecraft is to explore the new Spacesuitsthat is designed to adapt to different body types. The mission also includes 36 research studies and experiments.

UPDATE: August 27, 2024, 10:15 a.m. EDT SpaceX has canceled a launch attempt on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, due to a helium leak in a fuel line from the rocket to the launch tower. The space company is now aiming for a new launch date of August 28.

During the five-day Polaris Dawn mission, the Crew Dragon capsule is expected to reach its highest orbit ever: 697 kilometers above Earth.
Photo credit: SpaceX

The crew consists of ordinary people – that is, if you consider a billionaire, two SpaceX engineers and a retired US Air Force fighter pilot to be “normal”. These include Jared Isaacmanwho funded the mission and will serve as its commander. Also on board are Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis and Medical Officer Anna Menon.

If everything goes according to plan, Menon will beat her husband, Dr. Anil Menoninto space. Prior to being recruited for NASA astronaut training in 2021, Dr. Menon served as SpaceX’s medical director.

How to follow the launch of Polaris Dawn

Tweet may have been deleted

Polaris Dawn is now scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at about 3:38 a.m. ET on Wednesday, August 28. There are two other launch opportunities within the four-hour window, at 5:23 a.m. ET and 7:09 a.m. ET. If the mission is canceled, the launch could be pushed back to Thursday, August 29.

About 3.5 hours before launch, a live broadcast begins on X, the social platform of the SpaceX founder Elon Muskthrough the Space company account. It will also be streamed on SpaceX website.

The Polaris Dawn crew will be the first to test SpaceX’s Starlink satellite communications service in space.