SpaceX’s historic Polaris Dawn astronaut mission has been delayed again.
Polaris Dawn was originally scheduled to launch early Monday morning (Aug. 26) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but SpaceX pushed things back a day to perform more preflight checkouts.
The company then called the planned Tuesday (Aug. 27) attempt off after detecting a helium leak, targeting Wednesday (Aug. 28) instead.
“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.
Teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions,” SpaceX announced Tuesday evening via X. Polaris Dawn will send four people to Earth orbit in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which will depart the planet atop one of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets.
Related: Polaris Dawn: Everything you need to know about the 1st mission of the Polaris Program The crewmembers are commander Jared Isaacman, pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.
Isaacman is a billionaire entrepreneur who’s funding Polaris Dawn; Poteet is a former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and Gillis and Menon are both SpaceX engineers.
Isaacman and Gillis will conduct the first-ever private spacewalk, for example, and Polaris Dawn aims to send the Dragon to a maximum altitude of about 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) — higher than any crewed mission since the Apollo era.
SpaceX has not yet announced a new target launch date for Polaris Dawn, which will spend about five days circling our planet.
But, as the company’s Tuesday-evening X post makes clear, both Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 29) are out, so Friday (Aug. 30) is now the earliest possible liftoff day.
The historic SpaceX astronaut mission Polaris Dawn has been rescheduled.
Initially, Polaris Dawn was supposed to launch on Monday morning (Aug. 26) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida; however, SpaceX decided to take an extra day off in order to conduct additional preflight inspections. Next, the business called the scheduled Tuesday, August. Upon identifying a helium leak, they decided to try again on Wednesday, August 27. 28) in its place. But Mother Nature has now thwarted that strategy.
We are now canceling tonight’s and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn due to unfavorable weather forecast in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida. “Teams will persist in observing meteorological conditions to ensure optimal conditions for both launch and return,” SpaceX declared on Tuesday night through X.
A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four passengers will be launched into Earth orbit by Polaris Dawn on top of one of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets.
Related: Polaris Dawn: All the information you require regarding the Polaris Program’s inaugural mission.
Jared Isaacman, the commander, Scott “Kidd” Poteet, the pilot, and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon make up the crew. Polaris Dawn is being funded by billionaire businessman Isaacman; Poteet is a former U.S. lieutenant colonel. s. Gillis and Menon are both engineers with SpaceX, and they served in the Air Force.
There are multiple ways in which the upcoming mission will make history. For example, Polaris Dawn intends to launch the Dragon to a maximum altitude of roughly 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) — higher than any crewed mission since the Apollo era. Isaacman and Gillis will carry out the first-ever private spacewalk.
Polaris Dawn will circle our planet for approximately five days, but SpaceX has not yet disclosed a new target launch date. However, the company makes it clear in its Tuesday night X post that on Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 29) are available, so this Friday, August. 30) is the earliest liftoff day that is currently feasible.
