spacetoday.net: Billionaire to fund series of SpaceX crewed missions

Posted: Sat, Feb 19, 2022, 10:28 AM ET (1528 GMT)
The billionaire who commanded the first private Crew Dragon mission announced a program of future crewed missions Monday. Jared Isaacman said the Polaris Program will include up to three missions, culminating with the first crewed Starship flight. The first Polaris mission, a Crew Dragon flight called Polaris Dawn, is scheduled for launch as soon as late this year, carrying a crew of four that includes Isaacman and a director from last year's Inspiration4 mission as well as two SpaceX employees. The mission will include the first spacewalk from a Crew Dragon spacecraft using a modified version of the pressure suits worn by Crew Dragon astronauts. Isaacman declined to discuss the cost of the Polaris Program but said it was "fully funded" with unspecified support from SpaceX.