The Polaris Dawn crew is pictured in a provided image. (Photo credit: Polaris Program / John Kraus) LOS ANGELES - Plans for three more crewed SpaceX private missions were announced this week, the first of which is targeted for launch later this year and will again be commanded by Jared Isaacman — a billionaire tech entrepreneur who previously experienced his own SpaceX flight.
If all goes well, the last of the three missions could be the first crewed flight aboard SpaceX’s Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built.Isaacman, who founded the credit card processing company Shift4Payments, on Monday unveiled the Polaris Program— which aims to launch up to three human spaceflight missions in the future.
The first mission, called Polaris Dawn, will include Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers and a retired Air Force pilot who will blast off aboard a Falcon rocket no earlier than November 2022.They will circle the earth for up to five days, flying higher than any previous Dragon mission to date and hoping to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown.
Isaacman previously paid an undisclosed amount for a three-day spaceflight for himself and three others last September as part of the Inspiration4 mission.