The much-anticipated mission to make the first ever private/commercial 'Spacewalk' happen has come to fruition and completion. The crew, led by billionaire and CEO of Shift4 Payments, Jared Isaacman, along with three other non-professional 'astronauts', culminated the mission with their spacewalk. The crew has now returned to Earth.
Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX made this launch and the mission happen, took to his X account to share the news of the return of the crew.
Polaris crew is home safe & sound! https://t.co/2wch1wlBoX pic.twitter.com/BYfz3pq3x5
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 15, 2024
Elon Musk posted a photograph of the crew with the caption, "Polaris crew is home safe & sound!". This is crucial, as the mission was touted to be risky, given the amount of challenges involved in the mission.
SpaceX's Polaris Dawn Astronauts Achieve Milestone: First-Ever All-Civilian Spacewalk Successfully ConductedMission Accomplished
One of the major sticking points was regarding the spacecraft, Dragon, whose design led to some concerns over the safety of the crew. In addition, the crew's spacesuits were also under scrutiny due to their mobility issues.
Dragon's hatch is open and the Polaris Dawn crew is getting ready to exit the spacecraft pic.twitter.com/KItVBSwJff
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 15, 2024
HARMONY OF RESILIENCE: Recorded in space and sent to Earth via @SpaceX’s @Starlink constellation, Polaris Dawn crewmember and violinist @Gillis_SarahE invites you to enjoy this music moment in support of @StJude & @ElSistemaUSA → https://t.co/My8cUwAWzg pic.twitter.com/OoxTllCZNP
— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) September 13, 2024
However, the crew and the mission at large overcame all the troubles to make the historic mission happen.
Dragon and the Polaris Dawn crew splash down off the coast of Florida, completing the @PolarisProgram's first human spaceflight mission pic.twitter.com/Sobt66zxnL
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 15, 2024
Rise Of SpaceX
The success of the mission after major delays comes as a boost to SpaceX, who have helped position themselves as a strong private sector alternative to other players in the new and emerging space exploration business. It was just recently that another American giant, Boeing, completed its mission with sweet but majorly bitter results.
'Self-Sustaining City On Mars In 20 Years': Elon Musk Gives Crucial Update On Future SpaceX Mission To Red PlanetThis was as the Boeing Starliner made a return to Earth. But the spacecraft did not have professional astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, in it. The two astronauts are stranded until around February 2025. And reportedly, will have to wait for a SpaceX mission to take them back home.
When it comes to the Polaris Dawn mission, this is part of the larger mission, which includes a set of two more scheduled missions that will transpire in the time to come.
