Elon Musk’s SpaceX Polaris Dawn faces deadly risks as safety experts raise concerns

For the first time ever, two civilian astronauts will conduct a spacewalk from a commercial spacecraft.

SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission is described as a "first-of-its-kind," carrying four private astronauts farther into space than any human has traveled since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s.

On the third day of the mission, two crew members will step outside into space, making it the first attempt by a commercial spaceflight company to conduct a spacewalk.

However, spaceflight safety experts have raised concerns about the significant risks the crew may face, including dangerous radiation exposure and sudden pressure changes that could lead to life-threatening conditions.

Additionally, the spacecraft lacks an airlock, and the spacesuits the crew will wear have never been tested in space before.

Polaris Dawn launched around 5:30 am ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday, carrying four American engineers and pilots—Jared Isaacman, who funded the mission, Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon—aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule for a five-day orbit.

Isaacman, the founder of the electronic payment company Shift4, financed the mission and chose his friend Poteet as the mission's pilot.

Although Isaacman has not disclosed the exact cost of the mission, it is estimated to exceed $100 million.

Following launch, Crew Dragon will ascend to an initial orbit of 745 miles above Earth before using its thrusters to reach an altitude of 870 miles, which is farther than any crewed spacecraft has traveled since the Apollo moon missions.

The two-hour spacewalk will occur after the spacecraft descends to an altitude of about 430 miles. This is scheduled for the third day of the mission, which will be Friday.

When astronauts perform spacewalks from the International Space Station (ISS), they first enter a sealed chamber where air is removed before the hatch is opened.

This process enables astronauts to transition safely from the pressurized environment of the ISS to the vacuum of space, while protecting the rest of the space station from exposure to the vacuum.

However, the spacewalk on Polaris Dawn will be conducted under very different circumstances.