Artykuły o Polaris Program

[Orionid]

SpaceX and Isaacman to partner on series of crewed Dragon and Starship flights
by Jeff Foust — February 14, 2022 [SN]


The first mission of the Polaris program, Polaris Dawn, will include the first spacewalk on a commercial mission. Credit: Polaris Program

WASHINGTON — The billionaire who paid for and commanded the first private Crew Dragon mission last year announced Feb. 14 a program of additional missions that will culminate in the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s Starship vehicle.

Jared Isaacman, who funded and flew on the Inspiration4 Crew Dragon mission last September, said he was starting the Polaris Program to build up experience in human spaceflight in cooperation with SpaceX to help the company meet its goals of sending humans to the moon and Mars.

Polaris “is a series of pioneering Dragon space missions that will aim to rapidly advance capabilities for human exploration,” Isaacman said in a call with reporters. “This program has been purposefully designed to advance long-duration human spaceflight capabilities and guiding us toward the ultimate goal of facilitating Mars exploration.”

The first mission, called Polaris Dawn, will fly no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2022. The mission, lasting up to five days. will go to a higher altitude than previous Crew Dragon missions, including Isaacman’s Inspiration4 mission that went to 585 kilometers. “We’re endeavoring to fly to the highest Earth orbit ever flown” for a crewed mission, he said. Gemini 11 in 1966 reached an apogee of about 1,375 kilometers.

Source: https://spacenews.com/spacex-and-isaacman-to-partner-on-series-of-crewed-dragon-and-starship-flights/

[Orionid]

Billionaire plans three more flights with SpaceX, culminating in Starship mission
February 14, 2022 Stephen Clark [SFN]


Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, Jared Isaacman, and Sarah Gilles pose with prototypes of Starship vehicles in South Texas. The four will fly into orbit on the Polaris Dawn mission. Credit: Polaris Program / John Kraus

Jared Isaacman, the billionaire businessman who bankrolled the first human space mission with all private citizens last year, announced plans Monday for up to three more SpaceX flights, a privately-funded program that will include the first commercial spacewalk, and ultimately a ride on the giant Starship rocket ship.

Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/02/14/billionaire-plans-three-more-flights-with-spacex-culminating-in-starship-mission/

SpaceX training begins this month for first commercial spacewalk mission
May 10, 2022 Stephen Clark [SFN]


Artist’s concept of a crew member performing a spacewalk outside of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX / Polaris Program

The four-person crew who will fly on the all-private Polaris Dawn mission — set to include the first commercial spacewalk and the debut of SpaceX’s extravehicular spacesuit — will begin training this month for their ride on a Dragon spacecraft to an altitude more than three times higher than the International Space Station.

Jared Isaacman, the billionaire businessman and pilot commanding the Polaris Dawn mission, said in a recent interview that the crew would begin training after SpaceX completed a busy stretch of crew rotations to and from the space station.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/05/10/spacex-training-begins-this-month-for-first-commercial-spacewalk-mission/

Scott Poteet Discusses Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn Missions (Part 1)
by Ben Evans May 8, 2022 [AS]


The Polaris Dawn crew, slated to ride Dragon Resilience to orbit for a five-day mission no sooner than 1 November 2022, comprises (from left) Commander Jared “Rook” Isaacman, Mission Specialists Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis and Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet. Photo Credit: Polaris Program/John Kraus

Six months out from attempting the highest non-lunar altitude record in over a half-century and the first all-commercial Extravehicular Activity (EVA), Polaris Dawn Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet took time out last week to talk with UK-based GoSpaceWatch about his dramatic five-day mission to low-Earth orbit. Commanded by Shift4Payments billionaire Jared “Rook” Isaacman—who purchased the seats and led last fall’s historic all-civilian Inspiration4 mission—the Polaris Dawn crew also includes Poteet and SpaceX lead space operations engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis. They will launch from historic Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida no sooner than 1 November 2022, riding SpaceX’s twice-flown Dragon Resilience.
https://www.americaspace.com/2022/05/08/scott-poteet-discusses-inspiration4-and-polaris-dawn-missions-part-1/

Scott Poteet Discusses Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn Missions (Part 2)
by Ben Evans May 9, 2022 [AS]


The Polaris Dawn, backdropped by a Starship stack at SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. Photo Credit: Polaris Program/John Kraus

Six months out from attempting the highest non-lunar altitude record in over a half-century and the first all-commercial Extravehicular Activity (EVA), Polaris Dawn Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet took time out last week from a packed training schedule to discuss with UK-based GoSpaceWatch a dramatic five-day mission to low-Earth orbit. Commanded by Shift4Payments billionaire Jared “Rook” Isaacman—who purchased the seats and led last fall’s historic all-civilian Inspiration4 mission—the Polaris Dawn crew also includes Poteet and SpaceX lead space operations engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis.
https://www.americaspace.com/2022/05/09/scott-poteet-discusses-inspiration4-and-polaris-dawn-missions-part-2/

Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission preparing for summer launch
Jeff Foust February 23, 2023


Jared Isaacman, the billionaire funding the Polaris Program of private astronaut missions, said the first mission, Polaris Dawn, is scheduled for summer. Credit: SpaceNews/Jeff Foust

ORLANDO — A billionaire-backed series of private astronaut missions is now planning its first launch this summer that will include the first spacewalk on a commercial spaceflight.

Jared Isaacman, who led the Inspiration4 private astronaut mission that flew himself and three others for three days on a Crew Dragon in 2021, announced the Polaris Program a year ago. The program is a series of missions that will start using Crew Dragon and culminate with the first crewed Starship flight.
https://spacenews.com/polaris-dawn-private-astronaut-mission-preparing-for-summer-launch/

[Orionid]

Przewidziany jest spacer z udziałem 2. astronautów (Isaacman, Gillis), po rozhermetyzowaniu kabiny.
Pozostała dwójka raczej nie wychyli się poza burtę, ale również będzie miała na sobie uniwersalne skafandry.

SpaceX reveals EVA suit design as Polaris Dawn mission approaches
Jeff Foust May 4, 2024 [SN]


The four crew members for the Polaris Dawn mission sit in a Crew Dragon cabin wearing the EVA suits SpaceX developed that will be tested on the flight. Credit: SpaceX

ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX has unveiled long-awaited spacesuits intended for spacewalks that will first be used on an upcoming private spaceflight. (...)

The suits will also be used as the pressure suits worn during launch and reentry on typical Crew Dragon missions. SpaceX plans to eventually combine the two suits into a single one, with some changes already incorporated into pressure suits starting with the Crew-6 mission based on what the company learned developing the EVA suits. (...)
https://spacenews.com/spacex-reveals-eva-suit-design-as-polaris-dawn-mission-approaches/
https://twitter.com/KiddPoteet/status/1787185284230123858
https://twitter.com/rookisaacman/status/1786765758690709932
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=42938.620
https://polarisprogram.com/dawn/

SpaceX will attempt the first commercial spacewalk
BY BRILEY LEWIS POSTED ON JUL 2, 2024 10:10 AM EDT


An illustration of the upcoming space mission. Polaris Program

The Polaris Dawn mission aims to hit several major milestones, like traveling 800 miles above Earth.

(...) The Polaris Dawn crew plans to take advantage of that fact and will collect medical data to better understand how that radiation environment impacts the people traveling through it. They’ll also take on an array of other health research, including measuring the gas bubbles in their blood to study decompression sickness (colloquially known as “the bends”).

One of the wildest experiments, however, aims to understand “spaceflight associated neuro ocular syndrome” or SANS. This is “one of the biggest challenges associated with long duration spaceflight,” explained Poteet in an interview with NASASpaceflight Live. When an astronaut is in microgravity, the pressure of their spinal fluid—all the goo surrounding your brain and important nerves like those in your spine and eyes—changes, sometimes resulting in disconcerting symptoms like blurry vision. The crew will be measuring this pressure with some non-invasive techniques, but Poteet also hopes to be the guinea pig for the first invasive measurement of spinal fluid pressure in space, where he would have a measuring mechanism surgically implanted before flight. (...)
https://www.popsci.com/science/spacex-polaris-dawn-spacewalk/

Civilian Polaris Dawn spacewalk mission is set to make history next week
August 20, 20245:00 AM ET By  Bill Chappell


Four astronauts from the Polaris Dawn mission — from left, Jared Isaacman (mission commander), Sarah Gillis (mission specialist), Anna Menon (mission specialist/medical officer) and Scott “Kidd” Poteet (pilot), say they've gone through some 2,000 hours of simulator training to prepare for an ambitious visit to space.
John Kraus/Polaris Program

(...) “We get into space in about 10 minutes,” Menon said.

With an orbital altitude topping out around 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from Earth’s surface, the Polaris mission will move through the inner regions of the Van Allen radiation belt. The craft’s nose will be oriented to minimize the astronauts’ exposure to radiation. Along the way, data about the crew’s health and the craft’s performance will be collected.

“It is a different radiation environment, it is a different micrometeorite orbital debris environment,” Isaacman said. “And we stand to learn quite a bit from that, in terms of human health science and research.”

After a brief visit to high orbit, the capsule will descend to a new cruising orbit with an apogee some 435 miles above Earth. (...)
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/20/nx-s1-5081178/spacex-polaris-dawn-mission-spacewalk

Different than NASA: Polaris Dawn spacesuits, spacewalk break new ground
Brooke Edwards   Florida Today August 23, 2024

How do you solve space motion sickness — so astronauts aren’t "nauseous and potentially throwing up" the entire mission?

How do you test a new spacesuit to ensure it not only works in weightlessness, but also in the vacuum of space?

And, finally, what will launching into space feel like?

Those are some of the questions the crew of the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission have been focusing on as they prepare for their history-making civilian mission − slated to liftoff in a SpaceX Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral early Tuesday. (...)
https://eu.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/spacex/2024/08/23/sarah-gillis-and-anna-menon-isaacman-polaris-dawn-dragon-falcon-9-launch-and-spacex-eva-suit-nasa/74825925007/

Polaris Dawn astronauts, set to perform first commercial spacewalk, arrive in Florida ahead of launch
August 20, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith


The crew of the Polaris Dawn mission pose in front of the Alpha jets they flew in on to the Kennedy Space Center. Left to right: Mission Specialist Anna Menon, Pilot Scott “Kidd” Potent, Commander Jared Isaacman, Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

The four-member crew of what is set to be an historic spaceflight arrived in Florida on Monday. Against the backdrop of clear blue skies and summertime humidity, the quartet of astronauts descended from the camouflage clad Dassault Alpha jets owned by the mission’s commander, Jared Isaacman.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2024/08/20/polaris-dawn-astronauts-set-to-perform-first-commercial-spacewalk-arrive-in-florida-ahead-of-launch/

The first SpaceX spacewalk: What the Polaris Dawn commander says about the bold upcoming mission
Published Sat, Aug 17 20249:00 AM EDTUpdated Sat, Aug 17 202410:29 AM EDT Michael Sheetz


Polaris Dawn commander Jared Isaacman during spacesuit testing. John Kraus / Polaris Program

(...) Day one is all about looking for a time when there’s minimal risk from micrometeorite orbital debris, which will determine exactly when Polaris Dawn will launch. After reaching an orbit of 190 kilometers by 1,200 kilometers, Isaacman said the crew will do extensive checks of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule Resilience.

“It’s really important to know that the vehicle has no faults before going up to 1,400 kilometers” altitude, Isaacman said.

The spacecraft will also take early passes through the high radiation zone known as the South Atlantic Anomaly.

“You ideally want to take that at the lowest altitude as you can because even down at 200 kilometers, the radiation level there is substantially higher … Our two or three passes at high altitude through the South Atlantic Anomaly will be almost the entirety of the radiation load on the mission and like an equivalency of three months on the International Space Station,” Isaacman said.

Day two will focus on some of the science and research that Polaris Dawn plans to accomplish — which will total about 40 experiments. The crew will also prep for the spacewalk, testing out the EVA suits.

“So we can make sure that ... there’s nothing unexpected in microgravity versus what we were able to test on Earth,” Isaacman said.

Day three is the big one: The EVA. (...)
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/17/first-spacex-spacewalk-polaris-dawn-mission-launch-date-details.html

[Orionid]

Dwoje załogantów ma opuścić Resilience na ok. 15-20m.
Wystawienie 4. załogantów na kosmiczną próżnię ma trwać ok. 2h.

Crew Dragon launches on Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission
Jeff Foust September 10, 2024


A Falcon 9 lifts off Sept. 10 on the Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission. Credit: Polaris Program

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Crew Dragon is in orbit on a long-awaited private astronaut mission that will attempt the first commercial spacewalk and go higher than any crewed mission in more than 50 years.

(...) That schedule slipped significantly, though, in large part due to work on the EVA suits. “When we first started, we would come in every day for training and, pretty much every single day, we walk in and there would be a different suit,” Gillis recalled at the press conference, as engineers tweaked various components of it.

Isaacman said at the briefing that the original schedule was too ambitious. “If it was the initial nine-month timeframe, I think you’d probably all be wondering how we were able to work that quickly,” he said, but added it provided motivation for the project. “I think it was right in the beginning to say we’re going to try and achieve this at light speed.” (...)
https://spacenews.com/crew-dragon-launches-on-polaris-dawn-private-astronaut-mission/

SpaceX launches Polaris Dawn crew on daring excursion into Earth’s radiation belts
By Jackie Wattles, CNN Updated 6:42 AM EDT, Tue September 10, 2024

(...) The endeavor will be hazardous, exposing all four crew members and the Crew Dragon’s interior to the vacuum of space. Such a situation may make it difficult to relock the vehicle’s hatch due to differences in pressure. And exposure to the vacuum may cause toxins to be released from hardware when the cabin is repressurized, though SpaceX said it has taken steps to prevent this.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/10/science/polaris-dawn-mission-spacex-launch/index.html

https://spaceflightnow.com/2024/09/09/live-coverage-spacex-to-launch-polaris-dawn-astronaut-mission-on-falcon-9-rocket-from-the-kennedy-space-center/
https://news.satnews.com/2024/09/09/spacex-is-standing-on-tuesday-for-polaris-dawn-launch-so-far/
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/09/10/spacex-launch-polaris-dawn-mission/74921927007/

Polaris Dawn Crew Talks Mission Highlights, Next Steps
Jack Daleo Updated Oct 15, 2024 3:05 PM EDT

Crew during the five-day mission pulled off several feats—including the first civilian spacewalk—that could open new opportunities for human spaceflight.


Polaris Dawn crewmembers (from left) Anna Menon, Sarah Gillis, and Jared Isaacman speak on a panel during the 2024 UP.Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas. [Courtesy: UP.Summit]

BENTONVILLE, Arkansas—The first civilian spacewalk, an on-orbit symphony performance, and nearly 40 scientific research experiments. Those were just a few highlights of September’s Polaris Dawn mission: a five-day, four-person orbital spaceflight purchased from SpaceX and commanded by Jared Isaacman, the billionaire CEO of Shift4 Payments.

But Isaacman—now a SpaceX “frequent flier” after also taking part in 2021’s Inspiration4 mission, the first all-civilian spaceflight—is just getting started.

“If we actually believe in the future that SpaceX is trying to create—where tens of thousands of people can be in space, on the moon, walking around on Mars—these kinds of capabilities have to exist within commercial industry,” Isaacman told FLYING at the 2024 UP.Summit.
https://www.flyingmag.com/news/polaris-dawn-crew-talks-mission-highlights-next-steps/


SpaceX temporarily lost control before world's first private spacewalk, no trouble announced - sources
By Marisa Taylor, Joey Roulette Updated 1:52 a.m. GMT Dec. 18, 2024 + 14 days ago

SpaceX temporarily lost control before world's first private spacewalk, no trouble announced - sources

It has been revealed that ground control of the Crew Dragon spacecraft orbiting Earth was unavailable for at least an hour during the world's first private spacewalk mission conducted by SpaceX in September. Photo provided by SpaceX (2024, Reuters)

[Washington, 17th Reuters] - It has been revealed that ground control of the Crew Dragon spacecraft orbiting Earth was unavailable for at least an hour during the world's first private spacewalk mission conducted by SpaceX in September. The cause was a power outage at the company's California facility. Three people familiar with the matter said.

The power outage occurred on September 12, before two American businessmen and women aboard the spacecraft performed an extravehicular activity. Reuters was unable to determine the exact time of the outage. The two men spent about 10 minutes each at an altitude of about 730 kilometers in space, becoming the world's first successful private citizens to perform an extravehicular activity. Read more

The spacewalk was conducted by Jared Isaacman (41), founder of electronic payment company Shift4FOUR.N, and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis (30). Isaacman has been nominated by President-elect Trump to be administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Isaacman and the three other crew members were safe during the blackout and maintained communication with the ground through SpaceX's Starlink satellite network.

No information had been disclosed about the outage until now. Douglas Reiger, a senior social scientist at the RAND Corporation, a U.S. think tank, said disclosure was necessary so the whole industry would know what was going on and could mitigate or prevent similar accidents.

SpaceX, Elon Musk, who heads the company, and NASA did not respond to Reuters' questions about the matter.
https://jp.reuters.com/markets/global-markets/RZPOERME2FKZDHEXWFGYD45NAY-2024-12-18/

Billionaire completes first private spacewalk
12 September 2024 Georgina Rannard



(...) SpaceX say the suits are comfortable and flexible enough to be worn during launch and landing, eliminating the need to have separate IVA suits.

Extra nitrogen and oxygen tanks were installed and all four astronauts wore the suits, meaning the mission broke the record for the most people in the vacuum of space at once.

The Resilience spacecraft left Earth on Tuesday on a SpaceX rocket.

The mission said it would travel up to 870 miles (1,400km) up in orbit - further than any human has been in space since Nasa's Apollo programme ended in the 1970s. (...)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86l6j2w865o