HAMPTON, Va. — Early risers in North Carolina and Virginia woke up to a thrilling sight this morning: lights from SpaceX's Polaris Dawn launch.
A resident from the area sent the photos and video to News 3 this morning. The photos and video were taken around 5:30 a.m. The crew of four aboard the Falcon 9 rocket Crew Dragon spacecraft will embark on a journey like no other.
Watch related video here: Polaris Dawn eyeing yet another launch date after rescheduling nearly 10 times
The first part will be the first-ever civilian spacewalk, and although they will be more than 400 miles away from the earth, they still plan to exit the spacecraft while remaining attached to cables.
The crew will spend up to five days circling through parts of the Van Allen radiation belt. This is the furthest anyone in space has ever gone since the Apollo Mission in the 1960s and 70s.
Watch: Polaris Dawn to bring first private space walk
The goal of this mission is to provide research that will help better understand the effects of space radiation and space flight on human health.
You can learn more about the Polaris Dawn mission by going to SpaceX’s website.
