Who is on SpaceX’s Historic Private Spacewalk Mission?

On Tuesday, SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Resilience capsule, carrying the crew of the Polaris Dawn Mission. The mission aims to make history with the first-ever private spacewalk, a task typically reserved for astronauts from government space agencies.

Jared Isaacman, Billionaire
Jared Isaacman, the 41-year-old billionaire, leads the mission as commander. Isaacman is the CEO of Shift4 Payments, a company he founded at 16. An experienced pilot with a passion for space exploration, Isaacman previously flew on SpaceX’s 2021 Inspiration4 mission, which featured no professional astronauts.

Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, SpaceX Employees
Two SpaceX employees, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, are part of the crew. Gillis, 30, manages astronaut training at SpaceX, while Menon, 38, previously worked for NASA and has written a children’s book about space. Both are key members of the mission, contributing to its operations and vision.

Scott Poteet, Pilot
Scott Poteet, a retired US Air Force veteran, serves as the mission’s pilot. Poteet, who flew combat aircraft for 20 years, is a close friend of Isaacman and has worked alongside him in several ventures.

The Polaris Dawn mission marks a significant leap in private space exploration, aligning with SpaceX’s long-term goal of making humankind a “multi-planet species.”