Sun Sep 15 10:11:09 UTC 2024: ## SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Mission Makes History with First Private Spacewalk, Returns to Earth
**CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA** – SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, which saw the first spacewalk conducted by non-government astronauts, successfully splashed down off the coast of Florida early Sunday morning. The Dragon spacecraft landed in the ocean at 3:37 am (0737 GMT), with a recovery team retrieving the capsule and crew in the pre-dawn darkness.
The four-member crew, led by fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman, launched from the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday. They ventured further into space than any human in the past 50 years, reaching a peak altitude of 870 miles (1 400 kilometers), surpassing the International Space Station and the furthest humans had traveled since the Apollo missions.
The highlight of the mission was the historic spacewalk on Thursday. Isaacman and fellow astronaut, SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, emerged from the Dragon spacecraft and performed mobility tests on SpaceX’s next-generation suits. This marked a significant step for the commercial space industry and a triumph for SpaceX, which has quickly become a leader in the field.
Beyond the spacewalk, the crew conducted around 40 scientific experiments, including testing the impact of long-duration space missions on human health. They also demonstrated connectivity with SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellite constellation, sending back a high-resolution video of Gillis playing Star Wars’ Rey’s Theme on the violin.
Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions under the Polaris program, a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX. The final mission aims to be the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s Starship, a key part of Elon Musk’s plans for colonizing Mars.
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