SpaceX Polaris Program: Starship Will Start Human Flights Soon; Who Are The Members?

Last year, millionaire Jared Isaacman went to Earth's orbit on SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule. He expects to fly with SpaceX again this year. He has successfully acquired three more forthcoming SpaceX flights, the "Polaris Program," a set of trips that would send him farther into orbit aboard the company's spaceship.

Isaacman and two SpaceX staffers, as well as a veteran Air Force pilot, will be on board for the space flight. Polaris Dawn, the inaugural Crew Dragon voyage, will involve the first commercial spacewalk.

SpaceX Polaris Program

Isaacman and SpaceX proudly announced the Polaris Program on Twitter on Monday. Elon Musk's aerospace business stated its ambitions and efforts to develop a support system for SpaceX's Starship project to continue and accomplish its goals for human spaceflight.

The collaborative activity did not indicate where it originated or who initiated the effort, but it did establish a strong link to SpaceX and the Starship. According to the official website, Polaris Program will assist in raising cash for the progress of the Stainless Steel spacecraft, assuring that its initiatives will continue.

The SpaceX Starship is still seeking approval from authorities and licensing organizations for its full stack test flights, including innovative landing procedures.

The Polaris Program will assist SpaceX Starship in ensuring three spaceflight missions that will establish its ability to transport humans to another planet. The program will also assist the corporation in research to improve or alter the functionalities required to transfer humans to other worlds safely.

The purpose of the initiative is to assist SpaceX in achieving its first human flight.

Crew Members Joining Polaris Dawn Program

Space.com said Shift4 CEO Jared Isaacman will join three crew members with extensive aviation or spaceflight operations expertise. They want to try the first commercial spacewalk, test Starlink laser-based communications in space, and conduct different scientific experiments.
Space.com said Shift4 CEO Jared Isaacman would join three crew members with extensive aviation or spaceflight operations expertise. They want to try the first commercial spacewalk, test Starlink laser-based communications in space, and conduct different scientific experiments.

Jared Isaacman

Jared Isaacman, 38, is a veteran of spaceflight who led the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission to Earth orbit in September 2021. He paid for the vacation since he is the creator and CEO of Shift4 Payment, which has made him a fortune.

Sarah Gillis

Sarah Gillis is the headspace operations engineer at SpaceX, and her age is unknown. She will be in charge of the company's new astronaut training program, including flights like Inspiration4 and NASA Crew Dragon missions Demo-2 and Crew-1.

According to her profile, Gillis also has mission control expertise. She has worked as a navigation officer for Dragon cargo resupply flights and crew communication for Dragon human spaceflight missions.

While studying engineering and dance at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Gillis interned at SpaceX in 2015. Her first professional ambition was to be a classical violinist. Still, after speaking with a high school mentor, retired NASA astronaut Joe Tanner, she changed her mind and decided to pursue a career in aerospace engineering.

Anna Menon

Anna Menon, age unknown, is a lead space operations engineer at SpaceX. She oversees crew operations development and serves as a mission director and crew communicator at the company's mission control.

NASA's crewed spaceflights Demo-2 and Crew-1, as well as the uncrewed cargo missions CRS-22 and CRS-23, are among her major mission control tasks, according to her biography.

Menon's prior position was as a biomedical flight controller for the International Space Station at NASA for seven years. Supporting orbiting space station astronauts, interacting with foreign partner engineers and medical care providers, and serving as the biomedical operations lead for Expedition 47/48 were all part of this duty.

Scott "Kidd" Poteet

According to his Polaris Dawn biography, Scott "Kidd" Poteet is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Lieutenant Colonel and a pilot with more than 3,200 flight hours in aircraft such as the F-16, A-4, T-38, T-37, T-3, and Alpha Jet. He has also served in Operations Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Joint Guardian, Freedom's Sentinel, and Resolute Support, totaling over 400 hours of combat duty.

During his 20 years in the Air Force, he served as commander of the 64th Aggressor Squadron, USAF Thunderbird No. 4 display pilot, operational test and evaluation pilot, and flying examiner, among other positions.

Poteet is a long-time colleague of Isaacman's who joins the mission. Director of business development at Draken International and vice president of strategy at Shift4, both Isaacman firms, were among his previous positions. Poteet was also the director of Inspiration4's mission.

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