SpaceX Announces Date For First Commercial Spacewalk

SpaceX has announced that the Polaris Dawn mission is “designed to advance the future of spaceflight”, with the launch set for a four-hour window on 27 August. The historic event will be live-streamed on SpaceX's website and social media channels.

SpaceX said the Polaris Dawn mission is “designed to advance the future of spaceflight”, with the launch set for a four-hour window on 27 August – a day later than originally scheduled. “The new date allows additional time for teams to complete preflight checkouts ahead of next week’s launch,” the company wrote in a post to X on Wednesday.

"This Dragon mission will take advantage of Falcon 9 and Dragon’s maximum performance, flying higher than any Dragon mission to date and endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown," Polaris Dawn said. "Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health.

It will be the second flight for US billionaire Jared Isaacman, who is personally financing the mission. Isaacman’s first self-funded mission into space took place in 2021, during which he spent three days orbiting Earth with three other people – all of which had no prior spaceflight experience.

“We will happily take an extra day to ensure readiness,” Mr Isaacman wrote on X after SpaceX announced the new Polaris Dawn launch date.

"Every one of these missions will be filled with a number of objectives that are meant to accelerate SpaceX's vision to make life multiplanetary, but you can always count on — just as it is with this mission — that we will use every bit of the time available for science and research, as well as supporting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital," Isaacman told reporters. He also committed to chasing these goals "throughout the duration of the Polaris program."

This will be a significant milestone for SpaceX as it continues to expand its commercial space operations and pave the way for future space tourism endeavors.

The spacewalk will be conducted outside the Dragon spacecraft, which is docked to the ISS. SpaceX has been meticulously preparing for the event, conducting numerous simulations and training sessions to ensure the safety of the astronauts.

The live stream of the spacewalk will provide viewers with a unique opportunity to witness the awe-inspiring spectacle of human beings working in the vacuum of space. SpaceX has promised to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the mission control center and the astronauts' preparations.

As the date of the spacewalk approaches, excitement is building among space enthusiasts around the world. This historic event will mark a new chapter in commercial space exploration and could inspire a new generation of space explorers.