SpaceX Company A helium leak this Monday delayed the historic manned mission until Wednesday. Polaris DawnIt will attempt the first commercial spacewalk and will be placed at an altitude not reached in more than 50 years.
It was scheduled to depart at 3:38 a.m. (7:38 GMT) on Tuesday morning. Kennedy Space CenterIn Florida (USA)Now one of the options is on Wednesday at the same time.
SpaceX It also announced two additional launch opportunities for the day within a four-hour window: 5:23 EST (9:23 GMT) and 7:09 EST (11:09 GMT).
“If necessary, simultaneous backup opportunities will be available on Thursday, August 29”Company specified Elon Musk.
“Teams are closely monitoring the helium leak”He pointed out SpaceX On social network X.
“Falcon and Dragon are in good shape and the crew is ready for a multi-day mission in low Earth orbit,” he said.
This is the first of the three tasks a millionaire does Jared Isaacman Purchased from SpaceX For you in 2022 Project Polarisfor an undisclosed amount.
The crew of the Polaris DawnExpected to spend five days in space, completed by a former pilot US Air Force Scott Poteetand with engineers SpaceX Sarah Gillis And Anna Menonwho will serve as Specialist and Flight Medical Officer respectively.
They will travel in a capsule Dragon Launched by rocket Hawk 9Both produced SpaceXIt will automatically begin cruising 12 minutes after takeoff and will maintain an elliptical trajectory throughout its five-day flight.
On the first day of the journey, the Polaris Dawn A reach Earth's maximum altitude is about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles), more than any astronaut has traveled since the end of the program Apollo of Pot in 1972 and 960 kilometers (600 miles) higher than where it was International Space Station (ISS).
On his third day of travel, The Polaris Dawn It plans to carry out what will be the first private spacewalk, which will initially last about two hours and will be done in alternating directions Isaacman And Gillis3.5 meters (12 feet) long cables.
(with information from EFE)