Jared Isaacman, CEO of payments processing company Shift 4, recently purchased three more flights into space with Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX, the first of which is expected to depart later this year.
The series of flights, called “Polaris” after the North Star, will occur at the end of 2022 and into 2023 and are expected to go further into space than any person has traveled since the moon landing. Isaacman told the Washington Post that the goal is to travel into “deep space,” which is typically considered the moon or further. The first flight is expected to last five days and includes a spacewalk.
“The Polaris Program is an important step in advancing human space exploration while helping to solve problems through the use of innovative technology here on Earth,” Isaacman said in a statement.
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The first two flights are expected to pave the way for the first trip on Musk’s SpaceX rocket “Starship,” which Musk hopes will one day lead to transporting people to Mars. The first flight, called “Polaris Dawn,” will feature a four-person crew of civilians, including veteran Air Force fighter pilot Scott Poteet and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. Menon will serve as the medical officer.
The purpose of the flight will be to test the first private company spacewalk with SpaceX suits, conduct research on human health in space, and test Starlink satellite communications in space.
Isaacman, who made headlines last year after being on the “Inspiration4” flight, will be returning to space with the crew and will be the only one who has already been to space. No information on the price Isaacman spent on the flights has been revealed. However, he did claim to spend under $200 million for the Inspiration4 flight last year. The flight was part of a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Hospital where Isaacman donated $100 million, Musk donated $50 million, and the rest was raised by donors, according to CNN.
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SpaceX said there are other flights in the works. The next space flight is scheduled for April 15, 2022, but will be done on behalf of NASA, sending four astronauts to the International Space Station.
