Polaris Dawn Splashes Down After Five Busy Days

Polaris Dawn Splashes Down After Five Busy Days

By Marcia Smith | Posted: September 15, 2024 4:52 am ET | Last Updated: September 15, 2024 4:56 am ET

The Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission came to an end this morning, splashing down in the Dry Tortugas near Key West, Florida.  The five-day flight achieved a number of firsts including flying higher than any previous earth-orbiting human spaceflight mission and the first commercial spacewalk. It was also the first Dragon landing in the Dry Tortugas, a new SpaceX splashdown site.

Jared Isaacman, Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon waited more than two weeks for liftoff on September 10 from the Kennedy Space Center because of weather. Unlike most other Crew Dragon flights, Polaris Dawn did not visit the International Space Station so could only remain in space as long as air and other supplies lasted. That meant they had to know before launch that the landing weather also would be favorable.

Indeed it was this morning at 3:37 am ET and splashdown went perfectly.

The Polaris Dawn spacecraft appears bright white in this infrared image as it floats under its four main parachutes. Screengrab.
Polaris Dawn splashdown in the Dry Tortugas, FL, 3:37 am ET, September 15, 2024. Infrared image. Screengrab.
Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft being lifted aboard the recovery ship, September 15, 2024. Screengrab.
Polaris Dawn crew inside Crew Dragon Resilience onboard the recovery ship, September 15, 2024. L-R: Anna Menon, Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Jared Isaacman, Sarah Gillis. Screengrab.

During their five days in orbit, they reached an altitude of 1,400.7 kilometers (870 miles) according to a post from SpaceX on X, although a commentator on SpaceX’s landing broadcast said it was 1,408 km. Either way it is higher than the 1,373 km (853 miles) record set by Gemini 11 in 1966.  The only human spaceflight missions that have gone further were the Apollo missions to the Moon (Apollo 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17) between 1968 and 1972.


They lowered their altitude to about 700 km (430 miles) to conduct the world’s first commercial spacewalk. Isaacman and Gillis spent about 8 minutes each standing in a frame attached to Crew Dragon’s hatch called Skywalker, testing the SpaceX-designed spacesuits. Crew Dragon does not have an airlock so the entire capsule had to be depressurized and all four crew members were in spacesuits even though only two of them actually exited the spacecraft.


They also conducted about 40 scientific experiments and tested communications through SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband Internet system.


Isaacman is a billionaire tech entrepreneur and experienced private fighter jet pilot who paid for this mission and Inspiration4 in 2021. He’s purchased another Crew Dragon mission and the first crewed earth-orbital flight of SpaceX’s Starship, which is still in development. The dates for those flights have not been announced.  Poteet is a retired Air Force pilot who works for one of Isaacman’s companies. Menon and Gillis are SpaceX engineers who worked with Isaacman on the Inspiration4 mission.

Polaris Dawn crew in space, L-R: Sarah Gillis, Jared Isaacman, Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Anna Menon. Credit: @SpaceX on X

Isaacman and his crewmates use these missions as fundraising opportunities for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Menon co-authored a children’s book, Kisses from Space, that she read to her own two children and children at St. Jude’s during the mission. Proceeds from sales of the book will go to St. Jude’s.

Gillis is a classical violinist and played John Williams’ Rey’s Theme from Star Wars with an orchestra and children from several countries around the world. Their Crew Dragon is named Resilience and the compelling performance is called Harmony of Resilience.

Last Updated: Sep 15, 2024 4:56 am ET

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