KEY WEST, FL – SpaceX's Polaris Dawn made a successful splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico early Sunday, concluding a groundbreaking five-day mission. This mission not only marked the world’s first commercial spacewalk but also saw astronauts travel farther from Earth than humans have since the 1970s.
The Crew Dragon capsule, carrying four astronauts, landed off the coast of Dry Tortugas, west of Key West, Florida, at 3:37 a.m.
The journey began on Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. By Wednesday, the crew had orbited Earth at an altitude of 870 miles—higher than any spacecraft since Apollo 17’s moon mission in 1972.
To ensure a safe return, the capsule executed a "de-orbit burn," orienting itself to re-enter the densest part of the atmosphere. During re-entry, temperatures soared to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit, but the Crew Dragon’s heat-resistant coating protected the spacecraft. It then slowed its descent with the help of four parachutes before splashing down.
After hitting the water, the capsule bobbed briefly until rescue teams arrived and transferred it to a specialized boat known as the "Dragon's Nest."
The mission crew included Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 Payments and mission commander; former US Air Force pilot Scott "Kidd" Poteet; and SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis. Gillis and Menon made history as the first women to travel so far from Earth.
Since the Dragon spacecraft lacked an airlock, its interior was exposed to space during the spacewalk, so the astronauts wore specialized spacesuits for protection.
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