KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – The crew attempting the first commercial spacewalk next week will go further away from Earth than any astronauts since the final Apollo mission, but soaring three-and-a-half times higher than the International Space Station will come with additional risks.
Research chemist Dr. Ken Kremer is very familiar with the dangers of space like radiation.
Kremer, who is also the editor of SpaceUpClose.com, told News 6 reporter James Sparvero about the unforgiving environment the Polaris Dawn mission will venture to.
”The radiation could be extreme,” Kremer said. “They could get about three months’ worth of radiation you would have on the ISS during the about three orbits they’re gonna do. We’re talking about, like, seven hours or so. So that’s a lot of radiation in a short amount of time.”
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Kremer touched on radiation’s deadly effects, including causing cancer and a variety of diseases.
“So you gotta protect the astronauts, as well as the crew Dragon because radiation could impact the spacecraft systems, and then they can’t get home, either,” he said.
When the crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday, commander Jared Isaacman talked more about the risks associated with the bold objective.
“When you go higher into space, that comes with all sorts of potential challenges,” Isaacman said. “You’re putting a lot of energy into your vehicle and then you take it out. But there’s other realities when you’re up there too, which is a completely different micrometeorite orbital debris environment. So a lot of smart people at SpaceX figured out the optimal times for us to launch, which is why we have that launch window.”
Currently, the launch window opens at 3:38 a.m. on Wednesday. The launch has been delayed twice since the press conference on Monday.
Join News 6 and ClickOrlando for team coverage of the countdown at the space center starting at 11 p.m. on Monday.
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