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SpaceX's first private spacewalk mission delayed to Wednesday, August 28 due to helium leak

2024-08-27

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IT Home reported on August 27 that SpaceX tweeted on the X platform yesterday (August 26) announcing the postponement of the "Polaris Dawn" mission, which means that the first private spacewalk plan will be postponed for a few days.

SpaceX said the main reason for the delay was a helium leak. The official tweet translated by IT Home is as follows:

The team has now carefully checked the ground-side helium leak. The results of the investigation show that Falcon and Dragon remain healthy, and the crew continues to prepare for the multi-day low-Earth orbit mission.

The next launch opportunity will not be until after Wednesday, August 28th.

The Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch at 3:38 a.m. EST (15:38 BJT) on Wednesday, August 28, but there are two backup opportunities that day - at 5:23 a.m. EST (17:23 BJT) and 7:09 a.m. EST (19:09 BJT).

IT Home Note: "Polaris Dawn" is the first mission in the "Polaris Project" funded by billionaire technology entrepreneur Jared Isaacman. The mission will carry Isaacman, Scott "Kid" Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon on a five-day trip to Earth orbit.

Polaris Dawn will conduct the first private spacewalk and will fly 435 miles (700 kilometers) above Earth, farther than any manned mission since the Apollo era, making Gillies and Menon the women who have traveled the farthest into space.

The upcoming mission will be the second spaceflight for Isaacman, who commanded and funded the Inspiration 4 mission to Earth orbit in September 2021. Like Inspiration 4, Polaris Dawn will be a standalone vehicle, orbiting the Earth on its own rather than docking with the International Space Station (ISS).