SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Crew Safely Returns to Earth After Historic Mission
After a period of silence during the Dragon spacecraft’s reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, viewers on the SpaceX live stream were treated to images of the drogue parachutes deploying. Minutes later, the main parachutes opened, slowing the spacecraft that was transporting the Polaris Dawn crew as it descended toward the ocean early Sunday.
Cheers erupted from the SpaceX team in mission control located in Hawthorne, California.
Notably, the Polaris Dawn crew’s Dragon spacecraft successfully splashed down at 3:36 a.m. EDT Sunday morning, off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida. This small island lies approximately 70 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico.
This splashdown is especially significant as it marks exactly three years since the Inspiration4 mission launched, which was also led and funded by Polaris Dawn commander Jared Isaacman. Inspiration4 was the first all-civilian mission to orbit the Earth.
Having launched into space on Tuesday, September 10, the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission reached an impressive altitude of 1,400.7 km (870.35 miles), the furthest any human has traveled in 52 years. Previous to this, the last NASA mission to the moon, Apollo 17, saw astronauts maneuvering in low Earth orbit. For context, the International Space Station orbits at about 250 miles above the Earth’s surface.
The Polaris Dawn mission also made history by conducting the first spacewalk by private astronauts. Traditionally, such activities have been limited to government astronauts from organizations like NASA or the Russian and Chinese space agencies. Moreover, Polaris Dawn was the inaugural instance where a private company introduced its own spacesuit for these spacewalks, also referred to as EVAs (extravehicular activities). Because the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft lacks an airlock, all four crew members depended on their spacesuits when the hatch was opened.
Activities during Polaris Dawn
In addition to Isaacman, the mission’s crew included pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, mission specialist and medical officer Anna Menon, and mission specialist Sarah Gillis.
Both Gillis and Menon set a new record for the farthest distance traveled into space by a female astronaut. However, this record is expected to be surpassed next year when Christina Koch embarks on a lunar orbit mission as part of NASA’s Artemis II.
Throughout their journey, the crew conducted various experiments focused on astronaut health and tested laser communication with Starlink. They made several calls back to Earth and connected with Folds of Honor on 9/11, during which Menon read her children’s book titled, Kisses from Space.
Gillis also recorded a violin performance while students from El Sistema, an organization that provides music education to children, played along. This musical initiative, called Harmony of Resilience, benefited St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Brooke Edwards reports on space for Florida Today. Reach her on X: @brookeofstars.