Washington: SpaceX has delayed the historic launch of Polaris Dawn, which will be the first all-civilian crew space mission to include a commercial spacewalk. The early Tuesday morning launch had to be aborted and rescheduled for an early Wednesday launch — reportedly due to a technical problem linked with a helium leak.
Mission Details and Crew
The Polaris Dawn mission, commanded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on a Falcon 9 rocket. The flight of SpaceX’s Dragon will reach a height that no human mission has gone to in 50 years or more – 870 miles (1,400 kilometers). This will include the first-ever commercial spacewalk, where the crew will wear the newly developed SpaceX extravehicular activity suits.
Mission Commander and Crew
Mission Commander Jared Isaacman will lead the four-member team to include:
Scott Poteet, mission pilot and retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel
Sarah Gillis, mission specialist and lead space operations engineer at SpaceX
Anna Menon, mission specialist and medical officer, also a lead space operations engineer at SpaceX
The crew members have trained for several months on simulator time, skydiving, and scuba diving in preparation for the mission.
Mission Objectives and Innovations
Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned missions under the Polaris program, a joint venture between Isaacman and SpaceX. According to current strategic goals, the mission could be expected to test new technology and operationally pave the way for further advancement in the human space exploration vision of SpaceX.
During this mission:
They will also pass through the Van Allen radiation belt, a highly radiated area.
This will be a commercial spacewalk, meaning the time spent outside the spacecraft will be between 15 and 20 minutes.
These next-generation EVA spacesuits will be tested with heads-up displays and helmet cameras.
Conduct around 40 experiments on human health with regard to staying in space.
It also will test laser-based satellite communication-to better the pace of communication in space via SpaceX’s Starlink network.
Future Missions and Programs for Space Exploration
The Polaris Dawn mission will splash down off the coast of Florida. Future Polaris missions will also make use of the Dragon capsule, while the third mission is scheduled to be the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s new-generation rocket, Starship, expected to move along plans for Mars colonization.
Delays Hit Historic Polaris Dawn Mission Key Points to Note
It has been delayed because of a technical problem related to a helium leak.
The Polaris Dawn will fly to an altitude that no crewed mission has reached in decades.
