SpaceX launches 4 private astronauts into orbit

SpaceX launched four private citizens into orbit early Tuesday morning for an ambitious flight that aims to venture farther into space than most astronauts have flown before — aside from the 24 Apollo astronauts who have been to the moon.

The daring flight, called Polaris Dawn, also seeks to include the first-ever spacewalk conducted by private citizens, though they will not venture away from the capsule.

Professional astronauts routinely conduct spacewalks at the International Space Station, but they are considered one of the riskiest parts of the spaceflight, according to The Associated Press. The spacewalk is scheduled for Thursday, midway through the five-day flight.

Another goal of the mission, which was previously delayed, is to test new spacesuits to see how they will fare under difficult conditions.

Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, who shared the cost of the flight with SpaceX, is one of the four people aboard. Two SpaceX engineers, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, are also participating in the flight, along with a former Air Force Thunderbirds pilot, Scott “Kidd” Poteet. They are all wearing the spacesuits.

The trip is the first of three that Isaacman purchased from SpaceX owner Elon Musk, after he returned from his first private spaceflight in 2021. He declined to say how much he invested in the trip, saying at a pre-flight press conference, “not a chance.”

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Tuesday just before dawn from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The four astronauts will first travel far beyond the International Space Station, to an altitude of 870 miles, where they plan to remain for 10 hours. That height, according to the AP, is “filled with extreme radiation and riddled with debris.”

The astronauts will then reduce the orbit by half, to an altitude of 435 miles, which still is farther than the space station and the Hubble Space Telescope.

During the spacewalk, all four crew members will be exposed to the dangerous environment, but Isaacman and Gillis will take turns briefly popping out of the hatch, while Poteet and Menon will monitor from inside.

Isaacman and Gillis will test their custom suits by twisting their bodies, and they will always have a hand or foot touching the capsule or attached to the ladder-like structure.

The flight will splashdown off the coast of Florida.

 “We wouldn’t be on this journey without all 14,000 of you back at SpaceX and everyone else cheering us on,” Isaacman said via radio, after the crew reached orbit.

The Associated Press contributed.