SpaceX’s Polaris Program will launch on Tuesday, August 27 from Kennedy Space Center at 12:38 – 4:09 am PDT.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 82°F, clear skies, 8% cloud cover and a wind speed of 9mph.
About the Program
The Polaris Program is a first-of-its-kind effort to rapidly advance human spaceflight capabilities, while continuing to raise funds and awareness for important causes here on Earth.
Polaris, a constellation of three stars more commonly known as the North Star, has been a guiding light throughout human history to help navigate the world around us and the sky above.
The Polaris Program seeks to demonstrate important operational capabilities that will serve as building blocks to help further human exploration to the Moon, Mars, and beyond
Mission Objective High Altitude
This Dragon mission will take advantage of Falcon 9 and Dragon’s maximum performance, flying higher than any Dragon mission to date and endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Polaris Dawn mission from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dragon and the Polaris Dawn crew will spend up to five days in orbit, flying higher than any Dragon mission to-date and endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown. The crew of Polaris Dawn will conduct a spacewalk, support scientific research designed to advance both human health on Earth and our understanding of human health during future long-duration spaceflights, and be the first to test Starlink laser-based communications in space.