Billionaire's Private Crew Set For Breakthrough Spacewalk on SpaceX Mission
In a daring and potentially risky endeavor, SpaceX is poised to launch its first ever private astronaut spacewalk as part of the Polaris Dawn mission. This historic flight aims to push the boundaries of commercial space travel farther than ever before.
Lifting off in the pre-dawn hours aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, four orbital pioneers representing the new era of private spaceflight are expected to venture outside the pressurized confines of their Crew Dragon spacecraft. The billionare founder of an electronic payments firm is bankrolling this audacious objective which has recruited a veteran military test pilot, and two SpaceX engineers to attempt the feat.
Despite delays from technical issues, the launch is now scheduled for early Tuesday with backup opportunities that day if necessary. Weather remains a close watch as conditions are only 40% favourable. If successful, the group will embark on a groundbreaking five day voyage reaching orbital altitudes up to 400 miles from our planet.
On their third day in the unforgiving environment of space, two crew members will exit the capsule while tethered together for a 20 minute spacewalk. Relying solely on their newly designed private spacesuits in the void of pressure, it will mark a giant leap beyond what even NASA astronauts routinely experience aboard the International Space Station.
This unprecedented private mission signifies both an expansion of commercial possibilities in low-Earth orbit, as well as valuable research data into the physiological tolls of long term spaceflight. As the dawn of a new era of commercial human spaceflight is on the horizon, history may be made once more if all goes well for this elite group of adventurers.
