The new mini Space Program

A billionaire pays to create his space endeavor

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Jared Isaacman has the space bug. So much so that the billionaire entrepreneur is creating what he says, “is essentially a mini space program.” The CEO of Shift4 Payments has agreed to help fund up to three space flights with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Isaacman wants to set a record, conduct the first commercial spacewalk, perform some research, and be part of the first human crew on SpaceX’s Starship. It’s called the Polaris Program.

Jared Isaacman, second from right, with Polaris Dawn crew. (Credit: Polaris Program/ John Kraus)

This new effort follows Isaacman’s successful Inspiration-4 spaceflight with three other civilians. Isaacman is not saying how much he is paying for these new flights. He is again connecting the missions to fund-raising for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

The aviation enthusiast said he’s been talking to SpaceX about doing more after Inspiration-4, but, “it had to be really, really impactful, both for what we try and achieve in space, but also, you know, what we could accomplish here as well.”

PRIVATE FUNDING

Isaacman says there is a bigger lesson in his purchasing these flights. He says it is about free enterprise. “I think this should be eye-opening as to what can be achieved through private funding and for and what that means for the future of commercial space exploration missions.”

Scenes from the Inspiration 4 mission that carried Jared Isaacman to space for the first time. (Credit: SpaceX)

“We know space is expensive at this point. Costs will come down just as they have from any other groundbreaking technology, whether you think of computers or cell phone, car phones in the early days, some 40 years ago,” Isaacman told reporters. “I think what matters now is what you're looking to accomplish and will it make a difference? And we're certainly hopeful that the Polaris Program will do that, “ he said.

POLARIS DAWN

As early as this winter, Isaacman and his three crew-mates will embark upon a mission of up to five days. Two of the crew members are SpaceX employees.

Western Australia as seen from Gemini XI at an altitude of 853 miles in September 1966. (Credit: NASA)

To reach its goal of achieving the highest-ever orbit around earth, the Dragon capsule will have to be more than 853 miles above the planet. That record orbit was set by Gemini XI in September of 1966. Of course, astronauts traveled farther than that by reaching the moon.

NEW SUIT FOR FIRST COMMERICAL SPACEWALK

Isaacman also wants to conduct the first-ever commercial spacewalk. That will require SpaceX to convert, or upgrade, its current intervehicular suit into an extravehicular suit. There is a big difference between protecting an astronaut inside a vehicle from sudden decompression and venturing outside the spacecraft to contend with micro-meteorites and radiation. NASA has encountered so many problems creating a new suit for the space station and the Moon that it just opened its effort to outside bidders.

Artist rendering of the SpaceX Starship after separation from its super-heavy booster. (Credit: SpaceX)

One of the SpaceX crew members and leader astronaut training, Sarah Gillis, says each of the crew will wear a single suit that would be capable of an extravehicular activity (EVA). Only one member is expected to exit the Dragon. But the entire vehicle will have to be depressurized for the EVA because there is no airlock on the capsule. “There's going to be a lot of development for not only what the suit looks like, but then also how we test it,” Gillis explained.

The Polaris Program will also test laser communications with the SpaceX Starlink system. Lasers can provide data faster than traditional radio-frequency signals between satellites and the ground.

SPACEFARING

Billionaires in space have recieved a lot of criticism the past year. Isaacman, like Musk, says issues on Earth can be addressed while the effort is made to “open up space for everyone and make humankind a spacefaring civilization.”

Patch for Isaacman's first Polaris Program mission called Polaris Dawn. (Credit: Polaris Program/ John Kraus)

“I'm incredibly passionate that we can make meaningful progress towards a world we all want to live in for tomorrow, while also working to address the challenges and hardships of today,” Isaacman explains as he launches his mini space program.

(Cover image credit: Polaris Program)