SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn crew has safely returned to Earth after completing a five-day mission in orbit, marking a historic achievement with the world’s first commercial spacewalk. The Dragon capsule splashed down off the coast of Florida at 03:37 EDT (07:37 GMT), as SpaceX broadcast the event live.
“Splashdown of Dragon confirmed! Welcome back to Earth,” SpaceX announced on X, formerly known as Twitter. NASA hailed the mission as “a giant leap forward” for the commercial space industry.
During re-entry, the spacecraft faced extreme temperatures of 1,900°C (3,500°F) due to the pressure and friction generated while traveling at approximately 7,000 mph (27,000 kph). The four-member civilian crew, funded and led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, flew farther into space than any humans have in more than 50 years.
Joining Isaacman were retired U.S. Air Force pilot Scott Poteet, along with SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. Isaacman and Gillis made history as the first non-professional astronauts to complete a spacewalk, exiting the spacecraft 435 miles (700 km) above Earth. This was a groundbreaking achievement, as only government space agency astronauts had previously attempted such a feat.
During the spacewalk, Isaacman commented to mission control in Hawthorne, California, “Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here — looks like a perfect world.” The mission was made possible by advanced spacesuits equipped with cutting-edge technology to protect the crew from the vacuum of space, as Dragon lacks an airlock.
In addition to the spacewalk, the crew conducted over 40 experiments, focusing on human health in space and testing intersatellite laser communication between the Dragon spacecraft and SpaceX’s Starlink network.
One standout moment came when Sarah Gillis, a trained violinist, performed “Rey’s Theme” from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, accompanied by orchestras on Earth. The performance was transmitted back to Earth using Starlink as a demonstration of the satellite network’s potential for in-space connectivity. The video was created in partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the mission’s fundraising beneficiary.
The crew launched aboard the Dragon spacecraft, named Resilience, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, reaching an altitude of 1,400 km (870 miles), higher than any human has traveled since the final Apollo mission in 1972.
Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned missions, a collaboration between Jared Isaacman and SpaceX. Future missions will include the first manned flight of SpaceX’s Starship, which is still under development.