SpaceX
SpaceX Polaris Dawn Mission Day 1 Updates
On September 10, 2024, at 5:23 a.m., SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with Polaris Dawn mission crew to Earth’s orbit, this is a multi-day journey and we now have the overview of flight day 1 here.
Shortly after liftoff, the crew began a two-day pre-breathe protocol in preparation for their anticipated spacewalk on Thursday, September 12 (Flight Day 3). During this time, Dragon’s pressure slowly lowers while oxygen levels inside the cabin increase, helping purge nitrogen from the crew’s bloodstreams. This will help lower the risk of decompression sickness (DCS) during all spacewalk operations.
About two hours into Flight Day 1, the crew enjoyed their first on-orbit meals before engaging in the mission’s first science and research block and testing Starlink, which lasted about 3.5 hours.
Dragon made its first pass through the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), a region where Earth’s magnetic field is weaker, allowing more high-energy particles from space to penetrate closer to Earth. Mission control operators and the crew worked closely to monitor and respond to the vehicle’s systems across all high-apogee phases of flight, particularly through the SAA region.
During its first orbit, the Dragon reached an apogee of approximately 1,216km. Afterward, the spacecraft performed an 8-minute apogee burn, which led the mission to 1,400 km, the highest Earth orbit.
Orbiting Earth higher than any human mission in the past 50 years, the crew will rest for about eight hours on Flight Day 2.
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