Space tourism is becoming a reality: the Polaris Dawn mission will host the first spacewalk by a private citizen

SpaceX has long sought to popularise space travel and make it available to everyone.

On 10 September, the Polaris Dawn mission was launched, which should show the reality of space tourism.

Here's What We Know

SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA. It put into orbit the Crew Dragon spacecraft with four non-professional astronauts on board.

The crew includes:

• Commander of the spacecraft (and mission sponsor) billionaire Jared Isaacman;
• SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis;
• retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott Poteet.

The crew's mission includes the first ever civilian spacewalk: at an altitude of 700 kilometres from Earth, two Polaris Dawn crew members will leave the confines of the spacecraft at once. Since Crew Dragon does not have an airlock, the interior of the spacecraft will be exposed to the space vacuum during the spacewalk, so the remaining mission members on board will also be in full gear.

Another important achievement of Polaris Dawn will be its range. The Crew Dragon spacecraft will reach 1,400 kilometres from Earth - the only time people have gone farther than that was during the Apollo mission (1972). After making a few revolutions, the rocket will descend to 700 kilometres and in this orbit the main part of the flight, including spacewalks, will be carried out.

The Polaris Dawn operation will last five days, after which the crew will return to Earth.

By the way, the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, after putting the spacecraft into orbit, made a successful landing on an offshore platform.

Source: Space