SpaceX will soon send the Polaris Dawn crew to attempt the first commercial space flight

private space mission that aims to complete the first human space flight, is expected to be launched this week. On , SpaceX said it is heading Tuesday August 27 at 3:38AM ET to lift off the Falcon 9 rocket that will carry the Polaris Dawn crew into orbit. Led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, Polaris Dawn plans to send its crew of four private citizens 870 kilometers from Earth – the farthest any human has traveled since the Apollo program. The spacewalk, in which two crew members will step outside the SpaceX Dragon capsule, will take place at an altitude of 435 miles above Earth.

The Polaris Dawn team includes Isaacman, CEO of Shift4, as commander, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott “Kidd” Poteet as pilot, and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon as mission technicians. Menon will also serve as medical officer. The mission is expected to take about five days.

Although only two crew members will leave the spacecraft mid-flight, they will all be exposed to the void when the hatch opens – the Dragon capsule does not have an airlock. It will be a critical test of SpaceX’s Extravehicular Activity spacesuits, which the entire Polaris Dawn crew will be required to wear to keep them safe. In interview no before the operation, Menon said the suits had undergone extensive testing on the ground and expressed confidence in their performance. “We really know the suits can push there,” Menon said, adding that the team “has spent a lot of time pressing the suits right now.”

Polaris Dawn will also test Starlink’s laser-based communications in space for the first time, and collect data to support research into the effects of spaceflight on human health. The mission is several years in the making and is the first of three planned Polaris spacecraft.