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SpaceX has experienced take-off.<\/p>\n
In a boundary-pushing endeavor, the private aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company launched a four-person crew Tuesday at 5:23 a.m. ET into Earth\u2019s Van Allen radiation belts from Launch Complex 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/p>\n
The launch was live-streamed on X<\/a>\u2014the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which SpaceX CEO Elon Musk<\/strong> purchased in 2022\u2014by the California-based space firm.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know about the mission, known as Polaris Dawn.<\/p>\n The four-person crew includes billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman<\/strong>, founder and CEO of the payment processing company Shift4, who is financing the Polaris Dawn mission in partnership with SpaceX; retired Air Force Lt. Col. Scott \u201cKidd\u201d Poteet<\/strong>; and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis<\/strong> and Anna Menon<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The crew members rode to orbit in a Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket.<\/p>\n Jared, Kidd, Sarah, and Anna walking down the crew arm ahead of entering Dragon pic.twitter.com\/o0HCKwFhJW<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 10, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cAs you gaze towards the North Star, remember that your courage lights the path for future explorers. We trust your skills, your bravery, and your teamwork to carry out the mission that lies ahead,\u201d SpaceX launch director Frank Messina<\/strong> said to the crew from ground control.<\/p>\n \u201cKnow that the entire team back here is with you every step, watching, supporting, and cheering you on as you walk into space. We\u2019re sending you hugs from the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly after the capsule reached orbit, Isaacman\u2014who previously funded and participated in the first all-civilian SpaceX mission to orbit in 2021\u2014thanked everyone who supported the mission and came out to watch the liftoff.<\/p>\n \u201cWe appreciate it. We\u2019re going to get to work now,\u201d he radioed to mission controllers on the ground.<\/p>\n The five-day mission is set to include the first spacewalk conducted by an all-civilian crew and is designed to take them to the highest orbital altitude reached by humans since the final Apollo moon mission in 1972: 870 miles above Earth\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n While in space, the crew will test new spacesuits and technologies that could pave the way for future long-duration missions to the moon and eventually Mars.<\/p>\n The @PolarisProgram<\/a> astronaut mission is headed for an altitude 3 times higher than the Space Station, the furthest that humans have been from Earth in over half a century! pic.twitter.com\/lYgsA5vMGk<\/a><\/p>\nWho Was on the Four-Person Crew?<\/h2>\n
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What\u2019s the Purpose of the Mission?<\/h2>\n
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