SpaceX Wants To Send Tourists On A Space Walk Without An Airlock

Photo: Polaris Program/John Kraus

SpaceX, somehow not the worst American space company, has long had big plans for its missions. From spacewalks to killing the International Space Station, the company always seems interested in unprecedented stunts. Now, SpaceX is rolling that spacewalk plan in with another: Sending tourists 870 miles from Earth, with no airlock.

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The mission, entitled Polaris Dawn, is set to launch this coming Monday, August 26. It has a few different goals: First, reaching that 870-mile mark — the highest altitude for human spaceflight since the Apollo program. Second, a spacewalk at 435 miles of altitude to test SpaceX’s new suits. Third, a test of some communication with Starlink satellites, and lastly some tests on the passengers’ health.

Most intriguingly, the Dragon capsule used for the flight will have no airlock between the crew and the vacuum of space to maintain pressure during the spacewalk. Instead, the entire capsule will be slowly depressurized over the course of 45 hours as the passengers prepare to exit their tin can. It’s far from a standard approach, and should make for an interesting watch when the nearly two-day countdown starts.

The Polaris Dawn mission will be led by Jared Isaacman, a guy who made a payment processor once and who now owns a private fleet of military aircraft, and sponsored by Doritos. This is how spaceflight works in 2024. Again, this is somehow better than whatever Boeing is doing.