 "An image provided by SpaceX, shows a view of Earth and the Skywalker spacewalk platform. Image Courtesy: SpaceX/X")
The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission is set to make history on Thursday (September 12) with the first spacewalk by non-professional astronauts.
Tech entrepreneur and billionaire Jared Isaacman and his team have reached an altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometres) and will attempt a spacewalk to test the spacesuits that will be crucial for future space missions. This will surpass the record set during NASA’s Project Gemini in 1966.
They launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Tuesday (September 10). Now, the crew of four is gearing up for the mission’s main objective - an extravehicular activity (EVA) scheduled for 5:58 am ET (3:28 pm IST) on Thursday.
Earlier, SpaceX informed that the spacewalk would be deferred, without giving any other explanation.
Interestingly, Isaacman and a SpaceX engineer will take turns emerging from their capsule hundreds of miles above Earth, sticking close to the hatch. Two other crew members will remain strapped in their seats.
As the non-professional astronauts attempt to make this spacewalk history, let us take a closer look at the mission.