Watch: Stunning video captures SpaceX's Polaris Dawn predawn launch in Reading
TOPSHOT - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Resilience capsule, carrying the crew of the Polaris Dawn Mission, lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on September 10, 2024. (Photo by CHANDAN
PHILADELPHIA - Stunning footage from Reading, Pennsylvania captured SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket as it embarked on the Polaris Dawn mission early Tuesday morning.
X user @RevAnon1776 shared video of the mid-flight rocket on SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission.
"Pretty amazing to see the Polaris Dawn launch right before starting my work day in Reading, Pennsylvania," the user tweeted.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida just before 5:30 a.m.
The Polaris Program, designed to test and develop new spaceflight technology, will begin a new chapter in commercial space exploration with the launch of its first mission, Polaris Dawn, using SpaceX's Falcon 9.
The multi-day mission to orbit will include the first commercial spacewalk with a next-gen spacesuit, an attempt to reach the highest altitude since Apollo, and testing new communication technology via Starlink.
"The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew Crew-1 to and from the International Space Station, and Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission to orbit," according to SpaceX's website. "This will be the fourth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-8 and two Starlink missions."
Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage is expected to land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
"This Dragon mission will take advantage of Falcon 9 and Dragon’s maximum performance, flying higher than any Dragon mission to date and endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown," Polaris Dawn said. "Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health."