A Durham native and three other crew members are preparing to embark on a flight of a lifetime to push the boundaries of commercial space exploration.On Aug. 26, Mission pilot Scott Poteet will help lead SpaceX’s Falcon Rocket with the goal of soaring more than 1400 kilometers at approximately 17,500 mph beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The launch will take place at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida.According to Poteet, the Polaris Dawn mission has four main objectives — set a new record for highest orbit in history, perform the first commercial spacewalk, test the efficiency of new Star Link communications, and conduct dozens of experiments on new spacesuit technology that’s capable of withstanding temperatures as extreme as plus or minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit.”We do have visions of getting back to the moon and Mars and other planets and colonizing, and in order to do that, we got to solve big challenges,” Poteet said. “If the ultimate goal is to have people walking on the surface, hundreds, if not thousands, you got to develop a suit that can handle that type of capacity.”Poteet said the last time a crew got close to 1400 kilometers was back in 1972 during the Apollo 11 mission, which peaked at approximately 1368 kilometers. “We’re going higher than anyone has gone since Apollo 17, back in 1972, over 50 years ago. It will be the highest Earth orbit ever achieved,” Poteet said.For more than two-and-a-half years, Poteet said he and his other crew members, including Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, have been training for the historic five-day flight.According to Poteet, training consisted of rigorous hiking trips in Ecuador and intense sessions inside flight simulators to prepare for extreme G-Force endured during the launch. “We spin around and around to get used to the G-Forces that we will feel on launch. We also go through the altitude chamber, different pressurization, because we do this protocol where they change the pressure of the capsule all the way down to vacuum throughout our first three days of the mission,” Poteet said.Poteet said he and his other crew members will fly down to Florida on Saturday to prepare for the flight after a brief period of quarantining. With the help of his more than 20 years of experience in the United States Air Force as a combat pilot, Poteet said he’s ready to make history.” is near and dear to my heart. It’s truly an honor to represent everyone back home and I can’t wait to share this mission with everyone,” Poteet said.
A Durham native and three other crew members are preparing to embark on a flight of a lifetime to push the boundaries of commercial space exploration.
On Aug. 26, Mission pilot Scott Poteet will help lead SpaceX’s Falcon Rocket with the goal of soaring more than 1400 kilometers at approximately 17,500 mph beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The launch will take place at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida.
According to Poteet, the Polaris Dawn mission has four main objectives — set a new record for highest orbit in history, perform the first commercial spacewalk, test the efficiency of new Star Link communications, and conduct dozens of experiments on new spacesuit technology that’s capable of withstanding temperatures as extreme as plus or minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
“We do have visions of getting back to the moon and Mars and other planets and colonizing, and in order to do that, we got to solve big challenges,” Poteet said. “If the ultimate goal is to have people walking on the surface, hundreds, if not thousands, you got to develop a suit that can handle that type of capacity.”
Poteet said the last time a crew got close to 1400 kilometers was back in 1972 during the Apollo 11 mission, which peaked at approximately 1368 kilometers.
“We’re going higher than anyone has gone since Apollo 17, back in 1972, over 50 years ago. It will be the highest Earth orbit ever achieved,” Poteet said.
For more than two-and-a-half years, Poteet said he and his other crew members, including Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, have been training for the historic five-day flight.
According to Poteet, training consisted of rigorous hiking trips in Ecuador and intense sessions inside flight simulators to prepare for extreme G-Force endured during the launch.
“We spin around and around to get used to the G-Forces that we will feel on launch. We also go through the altitude chamber, different pressurization, because we do this protocol where they change the pressure of the capsule all the way down to vacuum throughout our first three days of the mission,” Poteet said.
Poteet said he and his other crew members will fly down to Florida on Saturday to prepare for the flight after a brief period of quarantining.
With the help of his more than 20 years of experience in the United States Air Force as a combat pilot, Poteet said he’s ready to make history.
“[New Hampshire] is near and dear to my heart. It’s truly an honor to represent everyone back home and I can’t wait to share this mission with everyone,” Poteet said.
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