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| SpaceX plans to walk into commercial space |
Billionaire Jared Isakman, who flew into Earth orbit in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule last year, plans to fly with the company again.
Isaacman announced that he has purchased three more upcoming flights with SpaceX, a series of missions called Polaris that will take him into deep space aboard the company's spacecraft.
Isaacman, who made his fortune through payment processor Shift4 Payments, made headlines last September when he funded a full Crew Dragon passenger mission called Inspiration4.
The Inspiration4 team went to orbit together for a three-day trip to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Now it appears that Isaacman plans to recreate the Inspiration4 mission multiple times on ever larger scales. The three flights he purchased included two missions to Earth orbit aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
After the Crew Dragon's first flight called Polaris Dawn, Isaacman plans to fly again. The trip is also another fundraising opportunity for St. Jude.
And if the flight is successful, it will fly at the highest altitude reached by the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, not to mention the people on board.
Polaris Dawn's flight could exceed the distance humans have traveled since we last landed on the moon, Isaacman says.
The primary purpose of the Crew Dragon is to transport astronauts and cargo to and from NASA's International Space Station.
SpaceX hosts the entire private space program
SpaceX boarded its first NASA astronauts in May 2020, with a few more astronauts following in recent years.
But the company is starting to grow its business with Inspiration4 on its first full-fledged private mission. He also plans to launch a series of special Axiom missions to the International Space Station.
Crew Dragons is a mission to test manned space travel with SpaceX. At the same time, the company is trying to develop new features.
Includes a spacewalk to the North Star Dawn. Astronauts wear a new type of spacesuit designed for spacewalks. The suits are currently being developed by SpaceX
The flight tested Starlink's laser communications in space. It can also monitor the huge constellation of satellites the company is building to provide global broadband coverage.
The mission is also studying how the crew deals with the deeper space environment. The trip took a crew of four on the Van Allen treadmill.