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An all-civilian space team, known as SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn crew, has returned to Earth after five days in orbit, marking the first time such an endeavour has been completed by a privately funded and operated mission.
The United States team was led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, alongside Sarah Gillis of SpaceX, Anna Menon, and Kidd Poteet.
The historic mission, live-streamed by SpaceX, saw the team reach the highest altitude attained by any human in five decades. The Dragon capsule splashed down off the coast of Florida on Sunday morning.
In a post on its official X handle on Sunday, SpaceX wrote, “Splashdown of Dragon confirmed! Welcome back to Earth.”
During re-entry, the spacecraft endured extremely high temperatures as it passed through the thickest parts of Earth’s atmosphere, caused by the pressure and friction of travelling at around 17,000 miles per hour.
However, the crew was protected by the Dragon’s heat shield. The spacecraft landed in the water, where rescue crews hauled it onto a special boat known as the Dragon’s Nest.
Final safety checks were completed before the crew disembarked from the capsule and began their journey back to dry land.
In response, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration hailed the mission as “a giant leap forward” for the commercial space industry.
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