The Ukrainian flag traveled to space during the historic Polaris Dawn mission, which included the world's first commercial spacewalk. Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, shared the news.
The flag, featuring the UNITED24 logo, was carried by Jared Isaacman, a friend of the fundraising platform and the mission's pilot. Isaacman has been supporting Ukraine since 2022, donating $100,000 for an ambulance through UNITED24.
Thanks to Isaacman, the Ukrainian flag orbited Earth on an elliptical trajectory, reaching a record 1,400 km distance— the furthest since the Apollo program.
Elon Musk's SpaceX launched the first commercial Polaris Dawn mission, which was streamed live for viewers around the world. The mission's uniqueness lies in the four non-professional astronauts aboard, who spent five days in space.
Polaris Dawn also set a new record for altitude, reaching greater heights than any human in the last five decades. The spacewalk performed was the first of its kind in a private mission.
The Ukrainian flag was first flown in space in 1997 by Leonid Kadenyuk, the first astronaut of independent Ukraine.
