SpaceX's Polaris Dawn: Poised for the Farthest Spacewalk Since Apollo

Four private astronauts will soon be launched by SpaceX farther than any human has traveled since the end of the Apollo era.  Polaris Dawn is scheduled to launch early on Tuesday, August 27, from SpaceX's Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. This pad served as the foundation for all of the crewed Apollo moon missions. It's true that LC-39A has been the launch pad for all of SpaceX's astronaut launches to date, but it's especially appropriate that Polaris Dawn's crew will launch from there as well, given this mission will carry them farther than any crewed flight has since Apollo 17, in 1972.The group's goal is to carry out the first-ever commercial spacewalk in history ~ (Source: Google Images)  Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, posted on X on Monday, August 26, saying, "The Polaris Program mission readiness review just finished and we are currently going for launch in just over 24 hours." Because this trip will be the furthest humans have flown from Earth since Apollo and the first commercial spacewalk, crew safety is of the utmost importance and there is more risk than usual! The launch will be delayed if there are any issues until those issues are resolved."The mission is being funded by billionaire philanthropist Jared Isaacman, who plans to use it as the first of three in his "Polaris Program." Dawn will be both Isaacman's second personal orbital launch and the second space mission he has funded. The purpose of these missions, along with the following two that the Polaris Program has planned, is to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital while also pushing the boundaries of private human space exploration. Isaacman and the mission raised $250 million in donations for the charity with Inspiration 4.In addition to the mission's pilot, retired Lieutenant Colonel Scott "Kidd" Poteet of the United States Air Force (USAF), and the first two Lead Space Operations Engineers from SpaceX to launch into orbit, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, will be flying with Isaacman as mission commander Polaris Dawn. Menon and Gillis will act as mission experts.