SpaceX’s ‘Polaris Dawn’ Mission Delayed Again

SpaceX’s privately chartered spaceflight, led by Elon Musk, has been delayed again. The mission, set to send four civilians into Earth’s orbit for a historic spacewalk, was initially scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday. It was first postponed to August 28 due to a helium leak. Now, the launch faces another delay due to predicted bad weather off the coast of Florida, where the crew capsule is expected to splash down after the mission, the company announced on X.

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“Due to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, we are now standing down from tonight and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn,” SpaceX stated. Teams will continue to monitor the weather to identify favorable launch and return conditions, the company added.

Weather and Critical Mission Objectives Require Patience for Safe Launch

“Our launch criteria are heavily constrained by forecasted splashdown weather conditions,” said Jared Isaacman, billionaire entrepreneur and mission commander, in a post on X. “With no ISS rendezvous and limited life support consumables, we must be absolutely sure of reentry weather before launching.

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“As of now, conditions are not favorable tonight or tomorrow, so we’ll assess day by day,” Isaacman noted. He added that as Elon Musk mentioned, Polaris Dawn is a challenging mission with critical objectives, so they’ll wait for the best opportunity to ensure success. The launch was postponed to August 28 after engineers found a helium leak in a launch pad umbilical, which pushes propellants to the rocket’s engines. “Sometimes, the hardest journeys require the most patience, and we’re ready to wait for the right moment,” Isaacman posted on X.

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Isaacman to Lead ‘Polaris Dawn’ in Record-High Orbit and First Commercial Spacewalk

Isaacman, along with former F-16 pilot Scott Poteet and SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, will command the mission. They will ride into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Which will enter Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts.

Once launched, the ‘Polaris Dawn’ mission is expected to last about five days in an oval-shaped orbit that extends up to 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) from Earth. Higher than any astronaut has flown since the Apollo 17 moon mission in 1972. On the third day of their journey, crew members will exit the spacecraft. At an altitude of roughly 435 miles (700 kilometers) above Earth. Spending up to 20 minutes exposed to the vacuum of space.

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The astronauts will test SpaceX’s new Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) suits, developed in just two and a half years. A key challenge will be venting the cabin to a vacuum before opening the hatch. As the ship lacks an airlock.

‘Polaris Dawn’ is the first of three planned missions under the Polaris Program. Funded and organized by Isaacman in collaboration with Elon Musk. In 2021, Isaacman financed and commanded Inspiration4, the first all-civilian commercial flight to orbit operated by SpaceX.