SpaceX's historic private spacewalk is delayed yet AGAIN: Polaris Mission is pushed back for a second time due to 'unfavourable weather'
- SpaceX's flight has been delayed again following yesterday's technical issues
- The launch will now take place no sooner than Friday depending on the weather
SpaceX's historic mission to launch the first ever private spacewalk has once again been left grounded by delays.
The company announced that its daring Polaris Dawn mission would not go ahead with Wednesday's scheduled lift-off due to bad weather.
This comes after an earlier attempt on Tuesday was scrapped due to a helium leak on a line connecting the tower to the rocket.
An alternative launch date has not yet been announced but SpaceX has already ruled out any more attempts on Wednesday or Thursday.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the company wrote: 'Due to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, we are now standing down from tonight and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn.'
SpaceX's daring Polaris Dawn mission (pictured) will be delayed at least until Friday due to bad weather
In a post on X, the company announced that bad weather over the intended splashdown area off the coast of Florida meant they could no longer go ahead with the scheduled lift-off
The Polaris Dawn mission, organised by billionaire Jared Isaacman, had been set to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a four-hour window early Wednesday.
However, at 22:11 ET (03:11 BST), the company said it had been forced to abandon the launch window.
In its statement, SpaceX writes: 'Teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions.'
SpaceX has not provided an alternative launch date for the mission, but with Wednesday and Thursday ruled out, it appears that Friday will be the earliest possible launch.
Billionaire Jared Isaacman explained in a post on X that the mission could not proceed without being 'absolutely sure' of the weather over the reentry site
In a post on X, Mr Isaacman wrote: 'Our launch criteria are heavily constrained by forecasted splashdown weather conditions.
'With no ISS rendezvous and limited life support consumables, we must be absolutely sure of reentry weather before launching. '
Mr Isaacman added that, with conditions currently looking unfavourable, the next launch window would be explained on a 'day by day' basis.
SpaceX has already delayed the mission's lift-off twice before, once on Monday to perform more preflight checkouts and then again on Tuesday due to a helium leak.
This is now the third time that the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket has been delayed since its initial intended launch on Monday
Yesterday, SpaceX called off the launch of the Polaris Dawn Mission at the 11th hour after crew discovered a helium leak on the ground
Considering the all-civilian crew and considerable risks involved in the mission, this may reflect SpaceX's more cautious approach.
In a post on X yesterday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote: 'We are triple-checking everything to make sure there is nothing more we can do to improve crew safety.'
That crew includes mission commander Jared Isaacman, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott 'Kidd' Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.
Mr Isaacman, the founder of the electronic payment company Shift4, bankrolled the mission and selected his personal friend, Mr Poteet, as his mission pilot.
He has declined to say how much he has spent, but it is estimated to be more than $100 million.
During their flight, Mr Isaacman and the rest of the crew will reach an altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometres) - higher than any crewed mission in more than half a century, since the Apollo era.
The mission crew consists of (from left to right) billionaire Jared Isaacman, SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, Mission Specialist, and retired Air Force Lieutenant Scott Poteet,
At peak altitude on the first day of the mission, Polaris Dawn will briefly enter the Van Allen belt, where Earth's magnetic field traps extremely dangerous highly-charged particles.
Then the crew will embark on Polaris Dawn's centrepiece as they undertake the first-ever spacewalk carried out by non-professional astronauts.
Previously, only US astronauts and Russian cosmonauts have performed spacewalks to date, most recently by occupants of the International Space Station, who regularly don spacesuits to perform maintenance and other checks of their orbital home.
On the third day of the mission, Mr Isaacman and the crew will don their newly designed SpaceX Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) suits complete with heads-up displays, helmet cameras, and advanced joint mobility systems.
The centrepiece of the mission is intended to be the first ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts. The crew will step out of the capsule into space at an altitude of 435 miles (700km) above Earth
All of the crew will be wearing the new cutting-edge SpaceX EVA suit (pictured) which features heads-up displays, helmet cameras, and advanced joint mobility systems
At an altitude of 435 miles (700km) above Earth, the crew will take turns to venture out of the spaceship in pairs while the others remain seated to monitor the mission.
To prepare for this moment the crew have undergone more than two years of training, logging hundreds of hours on simulators as well as skydiving, centrifuge training, scuba diving, and summiting an Ecuadoran volcano.
Also on their to-do list are testing laser-based satellite communication between the spacecraft and Starlink, SpaceX's more than 6,000-strong constellation of internet satellites, in a bid to boost space communication speeds, and conducting nearly 40 scientific experiments.
These include tests with contact lenses embedded with microelectronics to continuously monitor changes in eye pressure and shape.
After six days in space, the mission will conclude with the splashdown off the coast of Florida where weather conditions currently prohibit their safe return.
SPACEX CREW DRAGON CAPSULE MEASURES 20FT AND CAN CARRY 7 ASTRONAUTS AT A TIME
The March 2 test, the first launch of U.S. astronauts from U.S. soil in eight years, will inform the system design and operations (Artist's impression)
The capsule measures about 20 feet tall by 12 feet in diameter, and will carry up to 7 astronauts at a time.
The Crew Dragon features an advanced emergency escape system (which was tested earlier this year) to swiftly carry astronauts to safety if something were to go wrong, experiencing about the same G-forces as a ride at Disneyland.
It also has an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) that provides a comfortable and safe environment for crew members.
Crew Dragon's displays will provide real-time information on the state of the spacecraft's capabilities, showing everything from Dragon's position in space, to possible destinations, to the environment on board.
Those CRS-2 Dragon missions will use 'propulsive' landings, where the capsule lands on a landing pad using its SuperDraco thrusters rather than splashing down in the ocean.
That will allow NASA faster access to the cargo returned by those spacecraft, and also build up experience for propulsive landings of crewed Dragon spacecraft.
