After the first private spacewalk, SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission has returned to Earth

The Dragon spacecraft landed off the coast of Florida at 03:37 local time (07:37 GMT), according to a live video feed from SpaceX.

A team was immediately deployed to recover the capsule and the four crew members. The capsule was slowed in its dramatic descent by parachutes.

All major objectives of the mission, marking a new milestone in commercial space exploration, were met.

It was conducted under the leadership and with the support of American billionaire Jared Isaacman, CEO of financial company Shift4. Also on board were two SpaceX engineers, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, and former U.S. Air Force pilot Scott Poteet.

After a brief medical check, Anna Menon, smiling, was the first crew member to exit. A helicopter then transported them to solid ground.

The crew had launched from Florida on Tuesday, and on the very first day, their spacecraft ventured up to 1,400 kilometers in altitude, farther than any crew since the Apollo lunar missions over fifty years ago.

Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon became the two women who traveled the farthest from Earth.

Then on Thursday came the event: the first spacewalk conducted by civilians, a risky operation previously reserved for professional astronauts.

Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis each ventured outside the spacecraft for about ten minutes, at an altitude of 700 kilometers, still much higher than the International Space Station (ISS).

"Back home, we have a lot of work, but from here, Earth really looks like a perfect world," said the 41-year-old billionaire, as impressive views of the blue planet were broadcast live.

The two adventurers performed movements to test their white and gray space suits—the first from SpaceX designed for spacewalks.

Developing and testing these suits, which the company hopes to eventually produce in "millions" for colonizing Mars, was one of the mission's major objectives.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on Thursday, stating that this event represented "a giant leap for the commercial space industry."

The crew, which trained for over two years for this mission, also tested a laser communication system between the spacecraft and SpaceX's Starlink satellites, which provide internet from space.

They also conducted about thirty scientific experiments, including studies on the effects of space travel on the human body.

This was the second time Jared Isaacman flew on a SpaceX orbital mission, following a less ambitious one he chartered in 2021.

The businessman advocates for private investment to accelerate the technological developments needed for the goal he shares with SpaceX: making humanity a multiplanetary species.

Polaris Dawn inaugurates the Polaris program, which he announced two and a half years ago.

"A new era of commercial flights is opening, with many things to come," he commented about the program, which is set to include three missions in total.

Following a second mission similar to the one just completed, the third is expected to be the first crewed flight of SpaceX's mega rocket Starship, currently in development and intended for missions to the Moon and Mars.

 

 

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