US billionaire Jared Isaacman, who led the all-civilian Inspiration4 trip to space last year, has unveiled a programme of new private missions with SpaceX, including the first crewed flight of its Starship rocket.
Mr Isaacman, the founder and chief executive of payments-processing firm Shift4 Payments, revealed the details of the Polaris Program — named after the north star and paying homage to the great space programmes of the 1950s and 1960s — which he said was intended as “an important step in advancing human space exploration while helping to solve problems through the use of innovative technology here on Earth”.
The first of three planned flights, named Polaris Dawn, is scheduled to take off before the end of 2022, with the aim of reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown using a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
A second flight would also use the Dragon capsule — the same spacecraft that Nasa uses to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and back — and a third flight would be the first to make use of the Starship rocket that SpaceX is developing.
Mr Isaacman, 39, is named among the crew of four slated to ride into space on the first flight.
“We’re going to go farther into space than humans have gone since we last walked on the Moon,” he told US broadcaster NBC.
As well as flying further than any other mission since the last Moon landings in 1972, the Polaris Dawn crew hope to carry out the commercial space sector’s first ever spacewalk, and test a new laser-based communication system for SpaceX’s Starlink satellites.
“Alongside these important objectives, we will be supporting scientific research to advance both human health interests on Earth and our understanding of human health during future long-duration space flights,” Mr Isaacman said.
Joining Mr Isaacman on the programme’s first flight will be former US Air Force officer and Shift4 executive Scott Poteet, as well as two SpaceX employees who help run the company’s astronaut training programme, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.
The cost of the flights hasn't been disclosed by either Mr Isaacman or SpaceX, but is expected to run to hundreds of millions of dollars.
The programme will continue to raise money for St. Jude Children’s research hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Mr Isaacman led the first all-civilian trip to space in September 2021, blasting off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The Inspiration4 mission ultimately raised more than $243 million for St. Jude hospital, including a $125 million donation from Mr Isaacman and his wife, as well as $55 million donated by SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
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MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
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