SpaceX to Launch 'Polaris Dawn' and 'Crew-9' Missions with Possible Changes in Crew
TapTechNews August 22nd news, SpaceX on Wednesday showcased the CrewDragon space capsule for the upcoming Polaris Dawn (PolarisDawn) and International Space Station-9 (Crew-9) missions, which are scheduled to launch on August 26th and September 24th respectively.
According to TapTechNews, Polaris Dawn is the first mission in the Polaris Program funded by billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman. This mission will transport Isaacman, Scott Kidd Poteet, as well as SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon on a five-day Earth orbit trip.
Polaris Dawn will conduct the first private spacewalk by humans and will fly at a height of 435 miles (700 kilometers) from the Earth, which is farther than any manned mission since the Apollo era, and Gillis and Menon will also become the farthest women to go deep into space.
The upcoming mission will be Isaacman's second space flight. He commanded and funded the Inspiration 4 Earth orbit trip in September 2021. Like Inspiration 4, Polaris Dawn will also be an independent vehicle, orbiting the Earth independently instead of docking with the International Space Station (ISS).
International Space Station-9 will be SpaceX's ninth long-term manned space mission for NASA. Currently, it is planned to send Roscosmos' Alexander Gobnov and NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Zena Cardman, and Stephanie Wilson to the International Space Station.
However, the crew list of this mission may change. NASA is considering using the CrewDragon to bring astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth. The two took Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for the first manned test flight earlier this year, and the thruster failed on the way to the International Space Station, and its return time is still undetermined.
If NASA thinks it is too risky for Williams and Wilmore to take the Starliner back to Earth, they will only send two astronauts to carry out the International Space Station-9 mission, and then the CrewDragon of this mission will bring Williams and Wilmore and its original two crew members back to Earth early next year.