Polaris Dawn: The First Private Spacewalk and the Highest Crewed Earth Orbit Since Apollo
In September 2024, four private astronauts flew Crew Dragon to 1,400 km altitude and performed the first commercial EVA. Inside Polaris Dawn — and what comes next.
Polaris Dawn flew higher with humans aboard than any mission since Apollo, ran the first private spacewalk in history, and tested SpaceX's new EVA suit on a real flight. It was a fully commercial mission — privately funded, with two SpaceX engineers on board for the first time as crew.
The crew
- Jared Isaacman (Commander) — billionaire and pilot who funded the mission, flew first as Inspiration4 commander in 2021.
- Scott Poteet (Pilot) — retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel and former Thunderbirds commander.
- Sarah Gillis (Mission Specialist) — SpaceX lead operations engineer for crew training.
- Anna Menon (Mission Specialist) — SpaceX lead operations engineer and former NASA biomedical flight controller.
What made the mission unprecedented
- Peak altitude
- 1,408 km — highest crewed orbit since Apollo
- Mission duration
- ~5 days (Sept 10-15, 2024)
- EVA crew
- Isaacman and Gillis, sequentially
- EVA duration
- ~10 minutes outside Dragon for each
- Vacuum exposure
- Entire cabin depressurized — Dragon has no airlock
- Suit
- SpaceX EVA suit, derived from intra-vehicular suit
How the EVA worked without an airlock
Crew Dragon does not have an airlock. To do a spacewalk, the entire cabin had to be depressurized — meaning all four crew members were in vacuum, even the two who stayed inside. SpaceX redesigned the suit, the umbilical, the hatch, and pre-breathe protocols to make that possible. The mission validated the architecture for future commercial EVAs.
The radiation experiment
Polaris Dawn flew through the inner Van Allen radiation belt at 1,400 km. The crew measured radiation exposure and tested how human physiology responds, returning data that informs the design of future Mars missions and lunar transit vehicles.
What is Polaris Program?
Polaris is a three-mission private program funded by Isaacman. Polaris Dawn was the first. The next two missions are slated to push crewed Crew Dragon capability further before culminating in the first crewed Starship flight, also Isaacman-funded.
Frequently asked questions
Was Polaris Dawn safe given the high radiation altitude?
The crew exposure was within accepted limits for short missions. Returning data on radiation effects is one of the mission's scientific goals.
How many people have done private spacewalks?
Two — Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis on Polaris Dawn. They are the only non-government astronauts to have performed an EVA.
When is Polaris II?
No firm date is published. The Polaris program timeline depends on Crew Dragon and Starship progress and other Isaacman commitments.
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