The Polaris Program, a test and developmental program of new spaceflight technology, will usher in a new era of commercial space exploration when SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launches the program’s first mission, Polaris Dawn, on Monday, August 26, 2024. This milestone mission will include testing a next-generation spacesuit during the first commercial spacewalk; endeavoring to achieve the highest altitude of any human spaceflight mission since the Apollo program; and testing a new communication system using Starlink. There will be a special on-orbit reading of a children’s book, Kisses from Space, written by a crewmember; and much more. The four crewmembers will also use their approximately five days on-orbit to conduct nearly 40 critical health research experiments, all while raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.
After more than two years of training, we are excited to embark on this mission,” said Jared Isaacman, commander of the Polaris Dawn mission. “We are incredibly thankful for this opportunity and to the thousands of SpaceX engineers who have contributed to this endeavor. We hope the results from our mission will accelerate SpaceX’s vision to make life multiplanetary and support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and its efforts to improve global survival rates for childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Throughout our mission, we will aim to inspire humankind to look up and imagine what we can achieve here on Earth and in the worlds beyond our own.”
The Polaris Dawn crew includes:
- Jared Isaacman, Mission Commander, is founder and CEO of Shift4, and also served as Mission Commander of Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian mission to space in 2021 that helped raise over $250 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. An accomplished aviator and adventurer from Pennsylvania, Isaacman is rated to fly commercial and military aircraft and holds several world air records, including two Speed-Around-The-World flights;
- Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Mission Pilot, is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and his 20 years in the service included Commander of the 64th Aggressor Squadron, USAF Thunderbird #4 Demonstration Pilot, Operational Test & Evaluation Pilot, and Flight Examiner. Poteet previously served as mission director for Inspiration4. A runner and triathlete, New Hampshire native, Poteet has completed 15 Ironman Triathlons since 2000, including four Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii;
- Sarah Gillis, Mission Specialist, is a Colorado native who is a Lead Space Operations Engineer at SpaceX, where she is responsible for overseeing the company’s astronaut training program. A classically trained violinist, Gillis began as an intern for SpaceX in 2015, and worked on human-in-the-loop testing of the Dragon spacecraft. Her mentor, former NASA astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, first encouraged her to study aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. Inspired by her experience as a musician, Gillis has developed a curriculum, A Musician’s Guide to Reaching for the Stars, in collaboration with El Sistema USA, that encourages students to reach for their dreams and discover the connections between music, creativity and exploration; and
- Anna Menon, Mission Specialist and Medical Officer, is a Lead Space Operations Engineer at SpaceX, where she manages the development of crew operations and serves in Mission Control as both a Mission Director and Crew Communicator. Menon resides in Houston and is married to newly minted NASA astronaut Anil Menon. She has written a children’s book, Kisses from Space, which was inspired by her experience preparing for the Polaris Dawn mission and her desire to share her spaceflight experience with her two young children. She will read it from space during the mission and proceeds from her sales of the book will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. Kisses from Space is now available in bookstores nationwide and wherever books are available online.
The Polaris Dawn crew will leverage Falcon 9’s and Dragon’s maximum performance to endeavor to reach several milestones for commercial spaceflight, including:
- Flying higher than any previous Dragon mission to date and reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown while moving through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt at an orbital altitude of 190 x 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from Earth’s surface – or more than three times higher than the International Space Station. This will be the highest altitude of any human spaceflight mission in more than a half-century since the Apollo program;
- Attempting the first-ever commercial spacewalk. This will take place at an elliptical orbit of 190 x 700 kilometers (435 miles) above Earth in newly developed SpaceX EVA spacesuits. During the spacewalk, the crew will conduct a series of tests that will provide necessary data that will allow SpaceX teams to produce and scale for future long-duration missions. The crew worked with SpaceX engineers throughout suit development, testing various iterations for mobility and performance (along with mobility aids and systems procedures), and conducted operations inside vacuum chambers to validate pre-breathe protocols and the readiness of the EVA suit;
- Testing laser-based satellite communication using optical links between the Dragon spacecraft and Starlink satellites, revolutionizing the speed and quality of space communications;
- Conducting nearly 40 experiments for critical scientific research designed to advance our knowledge of human health both on Earth and during future long-duration space flights.
The Polaris Dawn crew is in the final stages after more than two years of essential training activities preparing them for the landmark mission. This training has included centrifuge operations, hundreds of hours of Dragon simulations, skydiving, survival training, high performance aircraft piloting, Zero-G flight training and altitude training, as well as classroom academics and medical testing. Additionally, and especially important for Polaris Dawn, the crew received extensive EVA training, both underwater and suspended operations, as well as the associated medical training.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® is the official charitable partner of Polaris Dawn and fundraising for St. Jude will be integrated into various aspects of the mission. DORITOS®, a PepsiCo Foods brand, is making a significant donation to St. Jude and will join this historic mission. IWC Schaffhausen will also support the mission through its specially designed and donated Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Polaris Dawn” watch, which will be worn on the flight before being auctioned to benefit St. Jude.
Additional details will be revealed leading up to, during, and after the mission via the Polaris Dawn website and social media channels, including other first-of-their-kind events to be held and shared while in orbit.
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About Polaris Dawn
Polaris Dawn is the first of three human spaceflights under the Polaris Program. The program is named after Polaris, a constellation of three stars more commonly known as the North Star, which has been a guiding light throughout human history to help us navigate the world and inspire progress. The mission is in support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. To learn more about Polaris Dawn, visit https://polarisprogram.com/dawn/ and follow the mission on X (@PolarisProgram), and Instagram (@PolarisProgram).
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