SpaceX delays launch of Polaris Dawn, mission that will provide first private spacewalk

“Teams are closely investigating a ground-level helium leak,” Elon Musk’s company X wrote on social media. Helium is a non-flammable gas used to seal fuel lines. The company indicated that there were additional launch options for the same Wednesday or Thursday.

On the tip of the Falcon 9 rocket Dragon capsule SpaceX reaches a maximum altitude of 1,400 kilometers. This will be the farthest distance for a manned mission in almost half a century since the Apollo lunar projects.

Isaacman, the mission commander, will direct the team members towards their main objective: first spacewalk non-governmental in history, which will be equipped with new spacesuits developed by SpaceX for use in outer space, called EVA. “It’s going to be a super-exciting mission,” confirmed the magnate, CEO and founder of SpaceX. Elon Musk

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During the spacewalk, scheduled for the third day of the mission, the crew will use advanced spacewalking vehicles equipped with head-up displays, helmet cameras and advanced joint mobility systems to exit the spacecraft in pairs, spending 15 to 20 minutes each.

Crew

Along with Isaakman, the crew includes a pilot. Scott Poteetretired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel; Sarah Gilliesa space operations engineer at SpaceX; and a doctor Anna Menonalso a space operations engineer for the company.

The Polaris Dawn crew will also conduct about 40 experiments to learn more about human health behavior during long-term space travel. The team has been preparing for this historic mission for more than two years, training in simulators, skydiving, centrifugal chamber training, diving, and even climbing a volcano in Ecuador.

Polaris Dawn is expected to be the first of three missions in the Polaris program, a collaboration between Isaacman, the founder of the technology company. Shift4 and SpaceX Payments“The idea is to develop and test new technologies and operations to advance SpaceX’s core mission of enabling humanity to travel to the stars,” Isaacman said at a recent press conference.

The businessman did not want to disclose the amount of money he invested in the project, although several reports claim that he paid Musk’s company about $200 million for the mission. Inspiration4 The first fully civilian orbital mission will take place in September 2021.

Polaris Dawn will reach its maximum altitude on its first day, briefly plunging into the Van Allen radiation belt, a region filled with high-energy particles that can cause health problems in people exposed for long periods of time.

The crew will enter an orbit almost three times higher than the orbit International Space StationThe Polaris Dawn mission is expected to end after six days in space and return to Earth on the Florida coast.