On Tuesday morning, billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman embarked on his second journey into space with the launch of Polaris Dawn, a mission developed in collaboration with SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket company. Send us, SpaceX, Mr. Isaacman declared with just over 30 seconds remaining on the countdown. 23 a.m. Eastern Time, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Within 15 minutes, the Crew Dragon capsule, carrying Mr. Isaac Mann and three other astronauts, was in orbit, where they will remain for the next five days. We're going to get to work now, Mr. Isaac Mann communicated to the launch controllers. Polaris Dawn aims to achieve significant milestones in private spaceflight, including the first spacewalk by non-professional astronauts and the furthest journey from Earth since NASA's moon landings over 50 years ago. Why was the flight delayed? The launch, originally set for August 28, was postponed due to a helium leak. Following that, unpredictable weather around Florida created additional challenges,not for the launch itself, but for the splashdown scheduled for the mission's sixth day. The Polaris Dawn mission has limited supplies of air, food, and other essentials. Unlike an ISS mission, we don't have the option to delay long on orbit, so we must ensure the forecast is as favorable as possible before we launch, Mr. Isaac Mann explained on X, referencing the International Space Station. On Tuesday, the weather conditions improved, and the Polaris Dawn crew boarded the spacecraft. However, they faced delays on the ground. Rain showers near the initial launch window at 3:38 a.m. caused a postponement, but later, the skies cleared enough to allow for a successful launch. Who is on board? Alongside Jared Isaac Mann, the crew includes Scott Poteet, a retired U.S Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and pilot who is a close friend of Mr. Isaac Mann, and two SpaceX employees, Anna Menon, a space operations engineer, and Sarah Gillis, an engineer responsible for astronaut training. How high above Earth will Polaris Dawn travel?The launch placed the spacecraft and crew into an elliptical orbit ranging from 118 miles above the Earth's surface to an altitude of 745 miles, the farthest distance from Earth since the Apollo Moon missions. A planned thruster firing will then extend the orbit's farthest point to 870 miles, surpassing the 853-mile altitude record set by NASA astronauts Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon during the Gemini 11 mission in 1966. These elliptical orbits will provide valuable data on the effects of radiation and micrometeoroid bombardment in deeper space. Later, another thruster firing will bring the Crew Dragon into a lower orbit for the remainder of the mission. What will happen during the spacewalk?The spacewalk is set for Thursday, the third day of the mission, with the exact time yet to be announced. All four crew members will don their spacesuits, and the capsule will be depressurized to match the vacuum of outer space. Once the hatch is opened, Jared Isaac Mann and Sarah Gillis will exit the capsule, while Scott Poteet and Anna Menon will stay inside to manage the umbilical cords and monitor all systems. The primary objective of the spacewalk is to test the new spacesuits designed by SpaceX for this mission. These suits are an upgraded version of those used on previous flights,featuring added protection against micrometeoroids and enhanced temperature control for the astronauts. After completing the spacewalk, Mr. Isaac Mann and Ms. Gillis will re-enter the capsule, and the cabin will be re-pressurized. What else will they be doing in orbit?The crew will perform around 40 experiments before and after the spacewalk. These experiments include capturing magnetic resonance images, MRIs, of the astronauts' brains and attempting to take X-ray images without using an X-ray machine by leveraging the natural radiation in outer space. The mission also supports fundraising efforts for SC. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.