On August 29, 2024, Blue Origin’s NS-26 spaceflight took six people into outer space and then brought them back in about 11 minutes. The flight launched and landed on time and experienced no discernible problems. It was almost routine. We have to say “almost” because routine is a dangerous word; no space mission is ever routine. All of them are dangerous because the space environment is lethal, and when the “routine” mindset seeps in, we have accidents.
Another non-NASA flight, Polaris Dawn, had been scheduled to launch two days before NS-26. However, it has been postponed for a variety of reasons, including helium leaks and bad weather in the recovery area.
There is nothing routine about Polaris Dawn. Funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, it will be his second trip into outer space. His first, Inspiration4, spent three days in orbit, with a crew of four, none of whom were professional astronauts. Once again, his four-person crew will be launched by SpaceX on a Falcon 9, and they will circle the Earth in a Dragon spacecraft. Their orbit will take them farther from Earth than any orbital mission has gone. Even more dramatic is the fact that Isaacman also plans to perform the first-ever spacewalk by a private individual.
At first glance, these two flights seem to have nothing in common. Blue Origin’s trips last about 11 minutes, the participants have no jobs to do, and training is relatively brief.
Image via Polaris Program
By contrast, the Polaris Dawn crew has been training for months, will be in orbit for five days, and will be performing various tasks while they are off-world.
Still, they do have a lot in common:
First, of course, both are privately funded by billionaires. Like it or not, this will be true for quite a while, because spaceflight is expensive, and only wealthy individuals can provide the finances for private missions.
Second, there are no professional astronauts on board either flight. These missions are automated and computer-controlled; though there are two qualified pilots on Polaris Dawn (Isaacman and retired Air Force office Scott Poteet), they are not expected to do anything unless there is an emergency.
Finally, after both flights, the crew members will be given their wings and take on the title of “Astronaut.”
Even though these two missions seem wildly dissimilar, there is one thing that unites those who fly on both of them: whether a person straps in for a short mission or a long one, a trip above the Karman Line, or a journey that breaks all kinds of records, that individual is risking their lives to experience the Overview Effect®, and bring that sacred knowledge back to those of us on Earth. They are to be honored for their courage.
About the Author
Frank White is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a Rhodes Scholar. He earned an M.Phil. in Politics from Oxford University, where he was a member of New College. The fourth edition of Frank’s best-known book, The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution, was published by Multiverse Publishing, a division of Multiverse Media LLC, in 2022. Frank is president of The Human Space Program, Inc., a nonprofit organization based on an idea initially proposed in The Overview Effect. The Overview Effect® is a registered trademark owned by Frank White.
(c) Copyright Frank White, 2024, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Above Space
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