Polaris Dawn, the initial flight of a planned series of three private spaceflights led by American entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman, has been delayed according to an announcement from the program today. “We are now targeting no earlier than summer 2024 for launch of Polaris Dawn, the first of the Polaris Program’s three human spaceflights,” they said in a post on the X platform.

Flying aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 and a Crew Dragon capsule from Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A, the five-day Polaris Dawn mission will represent several firsts for private spaceflight: the first time an EVA is undertaken from a private spacecraft in orbit, and at a planned altitude of at least 700 km (434 miles) it will be well above the 400 km (~250 mile) orbit of ISS when that spacewalk happens.

They are also planning a 1,400 km (~870 mile) apogee during the flight, according to Polaris Program. Currently, the record for altitude for a crew in Earth orbit is 1,369.0 km, (739.2 nautical miles.) Should Polaris Dawn reach 1,400 km, it will be the highest crewed orbital flight in human history, and certainly the highest in over fifty years.

Polaris Dawn Science Plans

Aside from the groundbreaking EVA, Polaris Dawn will also be “the first crew to test Starlink laser-based communications in space.” They will also perform experiments:

• “Using ultrasound to monitor, detect, and quantify venous gas emboli (VGE), contributing to studies on human prevalence to decompression sickness;
• “Gathering data on the radiation environment to better understand how space radiation affects human biological systems;
• “Providing biological samples towards multi-omics analyses for a long-term Biobank; and
• “Research related to Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS), which is a key risk to human health in long-duration spaceflight.”

There are other experiments planned for Polaris Dawn. More information about the Polaris Dawn mission is at the program’s website.

After the Polaris Dawn flight, the Polaris Program plans one additional flight on a Falcon 9 / Crew Dragon, and a final flight being planned to be completed using a SpaceX Starship, the company’s new rocket under development in south Texas. The third flight is also slated to be the first crewed flight of Starship according to the Polaris Program website. Launch timelines for those missions have not yet been publicly disclosed.

More Development Time Needed

According to the Polaris Program, “The additional time continues to provide necessary developmental time to ensure both the completion of these mission goals and a safe launch and return of Dragon and the crew.” They did not give specifics about which aspects of the mission require further time, but did add that the crew is already training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California and also that additional time gives the crew additional time to raise funds for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

About St. Jude

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and according to their website, they “Advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.”

There are few causes with greater impact than helping families whose children are undergoing treatment for severe, life-threatening illnesses. Interested people can donate to St. Jude through the Polaris Dawn website.