First private spaceflight in history postponed: Helium leak delays SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission
SpaceX announced on Monday, August 26, that the first private space mission to provide an exit from the vehicle, which was scheduled to take off on Tuesday from Florida, was postponed for at least 24 hours, due to a “helium leak.”
This unique flight is supposed to allow, for the first time, private passengers to leave their module to travel through space, protected only by their suits.
but SpaceX Teams Take Closer Look at Helium Leak on Earthwritten about Elon Musk's company X. Helium is a non-flammable gas that is commonly used to compress rocket fuel.
24 hour difference
The mission, called Polaris Dawn, has been delayed by 24 hours, until 3:38 a.m. local time on Wednesday, August 28 in Florida (07:38 GMT). SpaceX warned that the launch could be delayed again, either later on Wednesday or at the same time on Thursday.
Four people should have the chance to be the first private passengers to temporarily leave their spacecraft. Two of the future passengers are SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. They will be accompanied by American commander and billionaire Jared Isaacman and pilot Scott Poteet, a close associate of the businessman.
Mr. Isaac previously went to space in 2021 on another SpaceX-chartered mission, Inspiration4, for which Ms. Gillis trained.
Altitude: 1400 km
The four adventurers underwent intensive preparation for this five-day mission, which has three main objectives, in addition to the forty experiments that are conducted on board the ship.
First, you have to reach an altitude of 1,400 kilometers, the farthest a crew has been since the Apollo missions to the moon. For comparison, the International Space Station (ISS) operates at an altitude of about 400 kilometers.
First civilian spacewalk
A laser communication test between the spacecraft and SpaceX's Starlink satellites is also planned. But above all, once in low orbit, the famous spacewalk should be broadcast live.
Since the ship – the Dragon capsule – is not equipped with SAS, the entire crew will be exposed to the vacuum of space when its hatch opens. Two passengers will remain on board, while two others will take turns exiting.
After this first Polaris mission, a second similar mission is planned. The third should be the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s massive rocket currently under development, a heavy launcher designed for trips to the moon and Mars.
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