KENNEDY SPACE CENTER: SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is sending civilians to spacewalk for the first time in history, has been launched.
The mission of Polaris Dawn is the idea of a 41-year-old billionaire named Jared Isaacman. Apart from Isaacman, the passengers include former US pilot Scott Poteet (50), SpaceX crew members and engineers Sarah Gillis (30) and Anna Menon(38). Anna Menon is the wife of Anil Menon, who is of Indian-Ukrainian descent.
The spacecraft was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It's a five-day mission. The spacewalk will happen on the third day of the mission.
Characteristics
The first spacewalk by civilians
The first mission to the Van Allen radiation belt full of solar wind particles
The largest orbit that the Crew Dragon is reaching (700 - 1400 km)
Surpassing the 1373-km milestone set by NASA's Gemini 11 spacecraft in 1966
The longest distance reached by women in space
Spacewalk
In an orbit of 700 km
Gillis and Isaacman will come out separately
The two will stay out for 20 minutes each.
Studies
How space radiation can affect the body
The laser communication system of Starlink, SpaceX's internet satellite network, will be tested
30 scientific experiments
New spacesuit
Resistant to extreme heat
3D printed helmet
Visor that resists fine meteorites
Oxygen and temperature can be observed in the visor
