The historic SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, which includes the first-ever commercial spacewalk, will launch tonight from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four private astronauts, three of whom have never been to space before, will travel to the highest altitude yet reached by a SpaceX Crew Dragon and perform experiments into human health in space.
The mission has been repeatedly delayed because of a confluence of issues including weather and the FAA temporarily grounding the Falcon 9 rocket following the failure of a booster during landing. But now the go-ahead has been given, and the company is readying for a launch in a few hours’ time. Launch is scheduled for 3:38 a.m. ET on September 10. If necessary, there are also two other possible launch times at 5:23 a.m. ET and 7:09 a.m. ET., and more opportunities on Wednesday.
“During their multi-day mission to orbit, Dragon and the crew will endeavor to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown since the Apollo program and participate in the first-ever extravehicular activity (EVA) by commercial astronauts wearing SpaceX-developed EVA suits,” SpaceX writes. “They will also conduct 36 research studies and experiments from 31 partner institutions designed to advance both human health on Earth and during long-duration spaceflight, and test Starlink laser-based communications in space.”
The mission will mark the highest altitude ever reached by the Crew Dragon and its farthest distance from Earth. Polaris Dawn will last for five days and see the astronauts stay in orbit rather than docking with the International Space Station (ISS). Instead, they will orbit at up to 870 miles from the planet’s surface, three times the altitude of the ISS, and study the radiation levels experienced at these altitudes. The spacewalk will be performed at an altitude of 435 miles, and the crew will be fitted with radiation monitoring sensors and will also test out a new SpaceX spacesuit.
How to watch the Polaris Dawn launch
SpaceX will be live-streaming the launch, with coverage beginning just after midnight ET (9 p.m. PT) ahead of the 3:38 a.m. ET (12:30 a.m. PT) launch.
You can watch on SpaceX’s website, or on SpaceX’s X account, which will also carry text updates throughout the mission.