SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launches for first commercial spacewalk
At 5.24 local time (11.24 Belgian time), SpaceX’s Falcon 9 was launched from its base at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The Polaris Dawn mission will be the first in which private passengers can venture outside the spacecraft, protected only by their spacesuits.
On board are four people, including businessman and commander Jared Isaacman, who is paying for the mission. He previously made a commercial space flight in 2021, the first with only civilians on board. His fellow passengers now are pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.
The key moment will fall on the third day of the flight, when Isaacman and Gillis step out of a hatch of the Crew Dragon spacecraft for a spacewalk. They will each take turns going out for 15 to 20 minutes while remaining tethered to the craft. The whole voyage will take about five days.
The launch has been postponed several times, in part due to bad weather.
SpaceX's Polaris Dawn Falcon 9 rocket blasts off at Cape Canaveral, Florida, 10 September 2024 © PHOTO JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / VIA AFP
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