Polaris Dawn Mission: Launch Date, Time, Where To Watch And All You Need To Know

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will soon launch the Polaris Dawn mission from Florida. Polaris Dawn is the first of three human spaceflights under the Polaris Program. The mission will launch four private astronauts to space on a commercial flight financed by billionaire Jared Isaacman.

Here's all you need to know:

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Polaris Dawn mission from NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida on August 28. SpaceX is targeting a launch at 3:38 a.m. ET which will be around 1:00 p.m. IST.

There are two additional launch opportunities within the four-hour window at 5:23 a.m. ET and 7:09 a.m. ET. If needed, backup opportunities are available on Thursday, August 29 at the same times.

SpaceX will live stream the launch on its official website and X. The live stream will begin 3.5 hours prior to the launch.

The mission duration is up to five days in orbit and its objectives are:

1. High altitude

• Aiming for the highest Earth orbit ever flown

• Will conduct research on spaceflight and radiation effects on human health

2. First Commercial Spacewalk:

• At approximately 700 km above Earth.

• Using SpaceX-designed EVA spacesuits.

• Important step towards developing scalable spacesuit designs for future missions.

3. In-Space Communications:

• First crew to test Starlink laser-based communications in space.

4. Health Impact Research:

Conducting various studies on human health in space, including:

• Venous gas emboli monitoring.

• Radiation environment data gathering.

• Biobank sample collection.

• Research on Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS).

Here are some key points of the Polaris Mission:

Collaboration: The mission involves collaboration with various research institutions and organisations, including TRISH, BioServe Space Technologies, and others.

Spacesuit Development: SpaceX is developing new EVA suits for the mission. Suits feature improved mobility, heads-up display, and new materials. It is a part of a larger goal to create scalable spacesuit designs for future space exploration.

Polaris Dawn’s time in space will be spent testing communications between it and Earth via Starlink satellites and completing almost 40 experiments. Many of these experiments will study how the human body reacts in low-gravity environments and measure the radiation the capsule receives.

But Polaris Dawn's biggest task will be the first private spacewalk. The spacewalk will test out SpaceX's new extravehicular activity, or EVA, suits and learn about how they function in the low-gravity environment of space.

Here are the crew members of the project:

• Jared Isaacman (Mission Commander): CEO of Shift4, experienced pilot.

• Scott "Kidd" Poteet (Mission Pilot): Retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel.

• Sarah Gillis (Mission Specialist): SpaceX Lead Space Operations Engineer.

• Anna Menon (Mission Specialist & Medical Officer): SpaceX Lead Space Operations Engineer.

(with PTI inputs)