Musk's company's Polaris Dawn mission launches today: 4 astronauts will spacewalk over 700 km, going where no one has gone in 50 years

Elon Musk's company SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission will launch today at 01:08 pm. The Polaris Dawn mission involves 4 astronauts on a spacewalk about 700 km above Earth. This will be the world's first private spacewalk. The orbit that astronauts will travel to on this 5-day mission has not been visited by an astronaut in more than 50 years. The mission was scheduled to launch on August 27, but had to be postponed due to a helium leak and bad weather. Mission Objective: Spacewalk and Human Health Experiments During this mission, the Dragon capsule will attempt to reach altitudes that have not been reached since the Apollo program. Here two astronauts will perform the first private extravehicular activity (spacewalk). During this time he will wear an EVA suit developed by SpaceX. 36 research studies and experiments related to human health will also be conducted during the mission. Apart from this, Starlink's laser based communication will be tested in space. This will be the first time that two SpaceX employees will be part of a human spaceflight crew. Spacewalk duration: 20-minute spacewalk 700 km above Earth Astronauts Jared Isekman and Sarah Gillis will spacewalk 700 km above Earth on the third day of the mission. This walk will be 15-20 minutes. However, this entire process will take about 2 hours. Before a spacewalk, the crew will begin a “pre-breathe” procedure. In this process the cabin will be filled with pure oxygen and any traces of nitrogen will be removed. If nitrogen reaches an astronaut's bloodstream while in space, it can cause a blockage of blood flow. Decompression sickness can also occur. Falcon 9 is the world's first orbital-class reusable rocket The Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed by SpaceX to carry people and payloads into and out of Earth orbit. Falcon 9 is the world's first orbital class reusable rocket. Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying 7 astronauts into space. It is the only private spacecraft that carries humans to the space station and back. Dragon's first test flight took place in 2010. Polaris Program: Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned missions Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned missions in the Polaris program. Iceman funds it. If all goes according to plan, the third Polaris flight will be the starship's first crewed mission. Starship is the most powerful rocket in the world, which is being tested.

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