A new SpaceX mission will take its crew through a radiation belt to a higher orbit for a test spacewalk in new spacesuits.
In less than a week, the latest release ofSpaceX will send four astronauts into space to attempt the first private spacewalk.
The mission Polaris Dawnthe first of three missions sponsored and captained by the billionaire Jared Isaacmanwill take off from Florida on Monday, August 26 with a crew of four: Isaacman, his colleague Scott Poteet and two members of SpaceX, from Elon Musk, Anna Menon y Sarah Gillis.
The crew will orbit through a radiation belt and will try to reach the highest Earth orbitaccording to the Polaris Dawn website.
“We have a lot to learn [de esta misión] on human health, science and research,” Isaacman said in a pre-mission briefing.
This mission also stands out, according to Isaacman, because it is the first time a private company will carry out a spacewalk. They plan to do it at about 700 km above Earth.
What is the mission plan?
The astronauts will have five days to fit everything into your missionbut most of the attention will be focused on the spacewalk.
The crew has several times when a possible launch could occur around August 26 and, according to Isaacman, they will choose the best time to minimize he risk of special debris, all orbital debrisof micrometeorites generated by previous missions.
On the first day, once the crew is in orbit, will try the Dragon capsuleto ensure that there are no major failures before reaching the 1,400 km orbit.
That first daythe crew will also go through the call South Atlantic Anomalya high radiation zone of the Earth’s magnetic field.
According to a statement from the Polaris program, dedicated to the testing and development of new technology for space flights, the research carried out in this area will try to understand “the effects of space flight and space radiation on human health“.
For him second daythe crew will be working on the 40 scientific experiments that Polaris Dawn wants to accomplish, Gillis explained.
This includes the launch of several satellites by SpaceX that can communicate with each other rather than relying on ground infrastructure to send signals.
To carry out this space walk, SpaceX has developed a completely new suit called EVA which features cameras and display screens that show astronauts information about the status of their suits outside the vehicle.
The suits also have what the company calls “enhanced thermal management” and a helmet that acts as a sunshade.
He third day is the spacewalk, in which the astronauts will retest the support systems and suits before the hatch opens and two of the four crew members complete the spacewalk.
ADVERTISINGTwo hours moving in space outside the ship
The vehicle Crew Dragon used for the ride features new handholds and a nitrogen pressurization system for the spacecraft once the astronauts are back.
Isaacman He said it will look like the astronauts are “dancing a little bit” during their spacewalk, but it will actually be a way to test how the suit moves when pressurized with oxygen at such a high altitude. The walk will last about two hours and will be broadcast live from Polaris Dawn.
Los last two days of the mission will continue the scientific research the team hopes to complete, Gillis added.
Making life “multiplanetary”
Isaacman explained that one of the objectives of this mission is to provide scientific data that contributes to SpaceX’s ultimate goal: making life “multiplanetary.”
ADVERTISINGElon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, already said in 2008 that multiplanetary life fits into the scale of the world’s great evolutionary stages, such as life moving from the oceans to land.
The Polaris Dawn mission will help collect data on suits that might be needed to “Build a base on the Moon and a city on Mars”according to a May statement about the launch of the Polaris program suit.
