SpaceX safely lands Polaris Dawn mission space tourists off the coast of Florida

The aerospace company SpaceX and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States completed the Polaris Dawn mission, which included the first ever spacewalk of space tourists. The Crew Dragon ship and its crew splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida at 03:36 local time (10:36 Moscow time).

Image source: Spacex

«The Polaris Dawn mission is completed. Thank you for your assistance in completing this mission,” the ship’s captain, Jared Isaacman, said after landing. He was accompanied by pilot Scott Poteet, a former lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. As for spacewalks, Isaacman and Gillis were behind the Crew Dragon. They spent about eight minutes in outer space, being in constant contact with the ship.

It should be noted that the stage of the Crew Dragon spacecraft’s entry into the Earth’s atmosphere was observed by crew members of the International Space Station. “We had a pretty good view of Polaris Dawn entering the atmosphere. We all crowded into the dome, watching this. It was very impressive for us,” said NASA astronaut Mike Barratt, who is part of the orbital station crew.

As for the Polaris Dawn mission itself, it was organized and financed by billionaire Jared Isaacman, who became one of the participants in the flight. He also previously funded the Inspiration4 mission, in which SpaceX conducted the first-ever privately crewed flight of the Crew Dragon into Earth orbit in 2021. The Polaris Dawn mission was planned to take place in 2022, but was repeatedly delayed due to technical issues.

The Polaris Dawn mission, like Inspiration4, is historically significant because it marked the first time a private spacewalk was conducted. This is precisely the reason why the launch of the mission was postponed several times. SpaceX needed to develop its own suit suitable for entering outer space, as well as modify the Crew Dragon to perform this task.