After five days in orbit, the Polaris Dawn crew has safely returned to Earth, creating history with the first-ever commercial spacewalk. The four-person civilian team, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, landed in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Florida. Their mission broke the previous record for the highest human spaceflight since the Apollo missions more than 50 years earlier, reaching a peak height of 1,400 kilometers.
Apart from the spacewalk, the crew carried out more than 40 experiments to investigate the impact of space travel on human health and the capabilities of cutting-edge satellite communication equipment. The performance of “Rey’s Theme” from Star Wars by SpaceX employee Sarah Gillis inside the spacecraft and its subsequent broadcast down to Earth via SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network was one memorable moment.
SpaceX and Isaacman are working together on the Polaris program, of which this is the first of three scheduled missions. Additionally, it prepares the way for the eventual Starship launch by SpaceX, which intends to send people further into space than they have ever gone.