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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Oliver Holmes

Polaris Dawn mission blasts off with plans for first commercial spacewalk

SpaceX ISS Jared Isaacman Elon Musk Butch Wilmore Earth Florida NASA Suni Williams United States
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Resilience capsule carrying the crew of the Polaris Dawn mission lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Resilience capsule carrying the crew of the Polaris Dawn mission lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photograph: Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images

Four astronauts have blasted out of the atmosphere as part of a privately funded five-day mission that aims to carry out the first commercial spacewalk.

Jared Isaacman, the American billionaire founder of the electronic payment company Shift4, is bankrolling the Polaris Dawn mission and acting as commander of the crew.

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