SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn astronauts returned back safely

SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn Dragon capsule splashed down off the coast of Florida at 3:37am on Sunday
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission on Sept. 10, 2024. — Polaris Dawn
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission on Sept. 10, 2024. — Polaris Dawn 

SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission ends in a splashdown off the Florida coast. During its mission, the crew became historic as they held the first-ever commercial spacewalk ever done.

The four-person crew led by fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre on Tuesday, sending humans farther into space than at any time in nearly half a century. The crew reached a maximum altitude of 1,400km and surged into the Van Allen radiation belt, crossing the orbit of the International Space Station by more than three times.

On Thursday (September 12), engineer Sarah Gillis and Isaacman did the historic spacewalk. They tested a new spacesuit that was meant to protect the crew against hostile vacuum. The spacewalk proved to be successful because the crew felt no severe symptoms associated with space travel.

Scores of tests were conducted: inter-satellite laser communication, a high-definition video stream of Gillis playing his violin, and mobility as well as transmission tests of the new spacesuit.

Read more: Asteroid 2024 PT5 to become Earth's mini-moon for 53 days

SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn Dragon capsule splashed down off the coast of Florida at 3:37am on Sunday (September 15) (07:37GMT). Recovery teams recovered the crew-carrying capsule. With preliminary medical checks, crew exited from the capsule, waving and grinning.

The Polaris Dawn presents the new frontier of commercial spaceflight. More and more wealthy individuals interested in travelling into outer space would likely seek the possibility of being spacewalkers. In addition to this mission, The Polaris Program, created by Isaacman and SpaceX, would conduct two more missions.

SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn program now opens doors in the future toward commercial spacewalking and space tourism. The whole industry would be spurred forward by the technologies and expertise that exist at SpaceX.

Discusses the emotional and experiential moments of the mission crew. There was "Isaacman described the view of Earth as 'a perfect world.' Gillis described 'how thrilled she felt to be part of this historic mission.'"