A SpaceX capsule carrying four private citizens splashed down off the coast of Florida, marking the end of a historic mission that included the world’s first all-civilian spacewalk. The crew, including billionaire Jared Isaacman, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Scott “Kidd” Poteet, and engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, returned to Earth in a Crew Dragon capsule that executed several risky maneuvers. The mission saw Isaacman and Gillis conduct a spacewalk outside the capsule, an unprecedented feat due to the lack of a pressurized airlock. The crew also reached an altitude of 870 miles, passing through the Van Allen radiation belt in order to study the effects of space radiation on humans and spacecraft.
Isaacman, the founder of payment processing company Shift4, funded the Polaris Dawn mission, his second spaceflight, for an undisclosed sum. The mission was part of the larger Polaris program, aimed at testing new technologies and procedures for future long-duration missions. The crew’s successful completion of the spacewalk represents a major milestone in human spaceflight, as previously only government astronauts had conducted such activities.
The findings from the mission are expected to aid in planning future missions to the moon and Mars, as astronauts would need to navigate through the Van Allen radiation belts. The success of the Polaris Dawn flight sets the stage for future missions in the Polaris program, although details on the cost and timeline for these missions have not been disclosed.
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