The launch of a SpaceX rocket that was to carry a billionaire, a pilot and two employees on Wednesday for an unprecedented space mission including the first private spacewalk in history, Polaris Dawn, has been postponed indefinitely, the operator announced, citing weather conditions.
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“Due to unfavorable weather forecast in the landing area (of the capsule) Dragon off the coast of Florida, we are giving up today’s and tomorrow’s launch slots for (the rocket) Falcon 9 for Polaris Dawn,” SpaceX said on the X Network.
“Teams continue to monitor the weather for favorable takeoff and return conditions,” the operator added.
The launch of the Polaris Dawn mission had already been postponed by 24 hours after a “helium leak” was detected on a fuel line Monday. Helium, which is not a flammable gas, is often used in propulsion systems.
Rocket takeoff Falcon 9, with the capsule Dragon which welcomes the crew, had been rescheduled for Wednesday at 3:38 a.m. from the Kennedy Space Center (7:38 a.m. GMT).
“All systems are ready for launch tomorrow,” SpaceX assured on Tuesday.
The commander of this five-day mission is American billionaire Jared Isaacman, who has been working with Elon Musk’s company for several years.
The trip is intended to test SpaceX’s very first spacesuits, which are white and have a futuristic look.
The spacewalk, which promises to be spectacular, was to be broadcast live on the third day of the mission.
The spacecraft must also venture to an altitude of 1,400 km, the furthest for a crew since the Apollo lunar missions.
This is the first time that SpaceX employees will go to space: Sarah Gillis is in charge of astronaut training there and Anna Menon worked for NASA before joining SpaceX.
The fourth person on board is pilot Scott Poteet, a former U.S. Air Force veteran and close friend of Jared Isaacman.
The four adventurers have undergone intensive training for over two years: some 2,000 hours in a simulator, centrifuge sessions (rapid rotation), scuba diving, parachute jumping and even survival training in Ecuador…
Women’s record
Polaris aims to be a new milestone for commercial space exploration.
Jared Isaacman, 41, the head of financial firm Shift4, already went to space in 2021 aboard another SpaceX orbital mission he chartered, Inspiration4, the first in history to include no professional astronauts.
He did not disclose how much he has invested in Polaris. SpaceX’s ambitious program is to include three missions, including the first crewed flight of the megarocket Starship, under development and intended for trips to the Moon and Mars.
“The idea is to develop and test new technologies and maneuvers to advance SpaceX’s bold vision of enabling humanity to travel among the stars,” he said.
At 1,400 km away, more than three times that of the International Space Station, the environment is completely different in terms of radiation and micrometeorites, Isaacman explained.
The next planned spacewalk, at a lower orbit, would be the first by civilians who are not professional astronauts.
