Billionaire Jared Isaacman and the Polaris Dawn crew splashed down safely in a SpaceX capsule off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida, at 3:36 a.m. EDT on Sunday, concluding a historic mission that featured the first-ever commercial spacewalk.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, designed by Elon Musk’s company, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and landed in the ocean using four parachutes, as confirmed by SpaceX on its social media platform.
The mission’s highlight came on Thursday when Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis exited the spacecraft for a spacewalk, marking a significant milestone in commercial space exploration. Wearing newly designed SpaceX spacesuits, the pair tested the suits’ mobility for 15 to 20 minutes while tethered outside the capsule.
Meanwhile, fellow crew members Anna Menon, another SpaceX engineer, and Scott “Kidd” Poteet, a former Air Force pilot and friend of Isaacman, remained inside the spacecraft, also donning the new spacesuits as the cabin was exposed to the vacuum of space through the open hatch.
Earlier in the mission, the Dragon capsule reached a record altitude of 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) above Earth, marking the furthest humans have traveled into space since the Apollo moon landings. This achievement allowed Menon and Gillis to set a new record for the women who have traveled the farthest from Earth.
The Polaris Dawn mission represents another milestone for SpaceX as it continues to push the boundaries of commercial space exploration, bringing humanity closer to regular deep-space travel.
