SpaceX launches people of color and LGBTQ+ astronauts into orbit, as billionaire tourist takes their place.

Private Space Walk, Oligarch-Style

Four astronauts, three stars, one intolerable ego trip: meet Polaris Dawn.

A billionaire boys' club joy ride

With delusions of grandeur, Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned spaceflights, funded by billionaire boys' club members Jared Isaacman and Elon Musk. They're playing astronaut with SpaceX tech, including next-gen spacesuits. The crew arrived Monday like they owned the place at Kennedy Space Center, because of course, it's Florida.

The billionaires' boys club

With a launch window from 3:30 to 7 a.m. on Monday, August 26, these boys will attempt to make history with their toys. Objectives for the five-day stay in orbit include:

• Reaching altitudes higher than any human since Apollo, because why not? It's not like we need to worry about the dangerous radiation belt 870 miles up.
• Attempting the first private spacewalk, because they can.
• Conducting 40 scientific experiments, because that makes it sound legitimate.
• Testing a laser-based satellite comms system, because we all know billionaires' boys' toys need the latest lasers.

All publicity is good publicity, right?

"We hope the results from our mission will accelerate SpaceX’s vision to make life multiplanetary,” said Isaacman, the man who dropped out of high school to start an internet company and now thinks he can colonize other planets. Don't forget, this is all "to inspire humankind."

What's in a name?

Named after the North Star, these three rich, white guys plan to boldly go where only governments have gone before.

Meet the crew

• Leading this clown car is commander Jared Isaacman, the aforementioned billionaire dropout, Inspiration4 funder, and avid space tourist. With 7,000 flight hours, he's basically Maverick.
• Scott "Kidd" Poteet, retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and Thunderbirds pilot, is also along for the ride. He's a mission director for Inspiration4, so he knows how to keep these egos in check.
• Sarah Gillis, a Colorado native and lead space operations engineer at SpaceX, is responsible for the company's astronaut training program. She trained the Inspiration4 crew, so she clearly has the patience of a saint.
• Anna Menon, a Houston-based SpaceX engineer who's served in mission control, will also be there. She wrote a children's book, "Kisses from Space", to share her experience with her kids.