How high did SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission reach at its highest point in 2024?

SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission reached an apogee of about 1,400 kilometres above Earth in September 2024.

Polaris Dawn was a privately funded human spaceflight mission operated with a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Its orbit was the highest crewed Earth orbit since the Apollo lunar missions, taking the four-person crew through the Van Allen radiation belts during part of the flight.

The mission also conducted the first commercial spacewalk. Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis exited the spacecraft one at a time while the other crew members remained inside, using SpaceX spacesuits developed for future missions.

The 1,400-kilometre figure is an apogee, meaning the highest point of the mission’s elliptical orbit. It should not be confused with the International Space Station’s much lower orbit, which is roughly 400 kilometres above Earth.