"The Polar Star Dawn" launches into space! The first commercial spacewalk in human history is imminent
The success of SpaceX and Tesla has also propelled founder Musk's wealth to new heights. Reports suggest that SpaceX's success, especially with the upcoming Starlink IPO, could make Musk the world's first trillionaire by 2027
Elon Musk's space exploration technology company SpaceX announced on Tuesday that the "Polaris Dawn" carried by the Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Florida, USA on Tuesday, and four commercial astronauts will conduct the first-ever commercial spacewalk.
The "Polaris Dawn" is SpaceX's 14th manned mission to date and its fifth private manned spaceflight mission. This is the first mission of the three human spaceflight missions purchased by billionaire and Shift4 founder Jared Isaacman from SpaceX in 2022, known as the "Polaris Program."
Unlike previous missions to the International Space Station, this is a free-flying mission where the crew hopes to orbit far from Earth, with an orbit altitude of about 1,400 kilometers above the Earth's surface, the farthest distance astronauts have traveled from Earth since the Apollo 17 moon landing mission in 1972.
Isaacman serves as the mission commander, leading a team of four including two SpaceX employees entering space for the first time, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, as well as pilot Scott Poteet.
The core part of the mission is that the crew will attempt SpaceX's first spacewalk. Previously, spacewalks were routine in government space projects, but private companies have not attempted them. The spacewalk is expected to last two hours. Isaacman and Gillis will not detach from the spacecraft and float freely in space. They will use a series of tracks called "Skywalker" installed at the hatch to completely leave the spacecraft, while being tethered to the spacecraft with a 12-foot-long tether.
In addition to the spacewalk, "Polaris Dawn" also plans to conduct approximately 40 scientific and research experiments during the mission.
Due to unfavorable weather conditions and helium leaks, the launch has been postponed several times in the past few weeks.
In the coming years, Isaacman hopes to execute a second "Polaris Dawn" mission with the Crew Dragon spacecraft, possibly to enhance NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, although NASA has not yet approved it. The "Polaris Dawn" mission is planned to launch three times in total, and Isaacman hopes the third mission may be the first manned flight of the "Starship."
The success of SpaceX and Tesla has also boosted founder Musk's net worth. According to a new report released by the wealth tracking website Informa Connect, Musk may become the world's first trillionaire in 2027.
Informa Connect stated that Musk's current net worth is $195 billion, and assuming Musk's wealth continues to grow linearly at an annual rate of 110%, this billionaire's wealth will reach $1 trillion in 2027.
The website stated that most of Musk's wealth comes from Tesla's dominant position in the electric vehicle field. The next source of wealth growth for him will be the space race, as well as his company SpaceX's leading position in rocket launches and space internet. Earlier reports indicated that SpaceX is valued at around $210 billion. The website pointed out that SpaceX's Starlink may soon go public for the first time (IPO), unlocking more wealth for the billionaire.
Boosted by the "Polaris Dawn" launch mission and the EU's potential reduction in proposed tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, Tesla's stock price rose over 4% on Tuesday before slightly narrowing its gains. According to reports, the EU is considering lowering the proposed tariff rate on Tesla electric vehicles imported from China from 9% to slightly below 8%.
