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SpaceX launched the Polaris Dawn mission aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday, September 10, 2024, sending a crew of four into orbit on a groundbreaking private flight that achieved the first commercial spacewalk before returning safely to Earth.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 5:23 a.m. EDT (0923 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, following multiple delays caused by technical checks and weather concerns.
The mission is funded by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, who commanded the flight. His crewmates were SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, along with former U.S. Air Force pilot Scott Poteet. Together, they flew aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit designed to push the limits of commercial human spaceflight.
Polaris Dawn reached a peak altitude of 1,408 kilometers (870 miles), the highest Earth orbit for astronauts since the Apollo era. The crew passed through the Van Allen radiation belts, marking the first human trip through that region in more than 50 years. Gillis and Menon also became the first women to travel this far from Earth.
The launch, originally scheduled for August 26, 2024, was repeatedly postponed. Engineers discovered helium leaks in equipment meant to separate from the rocket, and poor weather forecasts in potential splashdown zones forced further delays on August 28 and 29. The successful liftoff finally came on September 10, 2024.
On the third day of the mission, Isaacman and Gillis performed the first-ever commercial Extravehicular Activity (EVA) wearing new spacesuits developed by SpaceX in just two and a half years.
Isaacman spent nearly eight minutes outside Dragon, followed by Gillis for just over seven minutes. The entire crew was briefly exposed to space vacuum during the operation, setting another record for private human spaceflight.
Beyond the EVA, the crew conducted medical and scientific experiments, including research on spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS), radiation monitoring, and other health effects. They also tested Starlink’s laser-based communications system in orbit.
In a symbolic moment, Gillis played a violin solo from space to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, continuing Isaacman’s long-standing fundraising efforts.
After five days in orbit, Polaris Dawn splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico on September 15, 2024. Menon was the first to exit the capsule, followed by Gillis, Poteet, and Isaacman.
The mission’s success earned the Polaris Dawn team the 2025 John L. “Jack” Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration, honoring achievements such as record-breaking altitude, the first commercial spacewalk, and pioneering communications tests.
Polaris Dawn is only the beginning of the broader Polaris Program, a series of private missions designed to advance human spaceflight. Future flights may include a study of options for servicing the Hubble Space Telescope and the first crewed launch aboard SpaceX’s Starship, pending its readiness.
