SpaceX has released spectacular images and video of an orbital sunset from the Crew Dragon spacecraft of the Polaris Dawn mission, which is now at a high altitude above Earth.
Orbital sunset from Dragon pic.twitter.com/maDHdiSxNH
— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) September 12, 2024
From this height, Earth looks even more distant than it does from the International Space Station, because Crew Dragon is in a three times higher orbit. After launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the four-person crew has reached apogee at an altitude of more than 1,400 km, the farthest human flight since the Apollo mission.
On Thursday, two crew members – Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis – will take a spacewalk at an altitude of about 700 kilometers, marking the first ever spacewalk with Crew Dragon and a commercial spacewalk overall. This event will also be a test of a new spacesuit that provides more comfort and mobility. An improved version of this spacesuit could be used for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) September 12, 2024
In their social media account X, the crew said they were actively preparing for the spacewalk while also engaging in scientific research. They conducted several video calls to Earth, including communicating with families using Starlink.
The Polaris Dawn mission is funded by businessman Jared Isaacman, creator of the Shift4 Payments system. He has already made one spaceflight in 2021 as part of the Inspiration4 mission. The crew plans to return to Earth this Sunday after spending about five days in orbit.
Earlier we reported on how Elon Musk’s dog became a weightlessness indicator aboard Polaris Dawn.
According to digitaltrends.com
