SpaceX has announced a delay of at least one day for the launch of its Polaris Dawn mission due to a helium leak in ground equipment at Kennedy Space Center. The liftoff of the Crew Dragon capsule, initially scheduled for Tuesday, will now take place no earlier than Wednesday. The mission, which is set to last five days, will feature a historic private spacewalk 434 miles (700 km) above Earth, planned for two days after the rescheduled launch. The Falcon 9 rocket will now aim to launch at 3:38 a.m. ET (0738 GMT) on Wednesday, according to an update posted on X.
All you need to know about the historic mission
The five-day mission’s key event is scheduled to occur two days after launch, when the crew will attempt a 20-minute spacewalk 434 miles (700 km) above Earth—the first private spacewalk in history.
SpaceX now aims to launch the spacecraft, carried by a Falcon 9 rocket, at 3:38 a.m. (0738 GMT) on Wednesday, according to a post on X.
Until now, only government astronauts have performed spacewalks, typically as part of International Space Station missions, where crew members regularly venture outside in spacesuits for maintenance and inspections.
First US spacewalk
The first US spacewalk took place in 1965 during the Gemini program and followed a similar procedure to what is planned for Polaris Dawn: depressurizing the capsule, opening the hatch, and allowing a tethered astronaut to exit. During this mission, the Polaris Dawn crew will be testing SpaceX’s new, streamlined spacesuits.
Of the four crew members—billionaire Jared Isaacman, mission pilot and retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon—only two will conduct the spacewalk. Isaacman, who founded the electronic payments company Shift4, funded the mission. Although he has not disclosed the exact cost, estimates suggest it exceeds $100 million.