The Polaris Dawn mission, a five-day trip to the upper reaches of Earth’s orbit, was scheduled for liftoff on Tuesday before a helium leak was discovered forcing a 24-hour delay.
Launch of Polaris Dawn mission delayed
Polaris Dawn won’t happen until Tuesday after a 24-hour delay.
- The Polaris Dawn crew will attempt to reach higher altitudes than humans have traveled since NASA’s Apollo program in the 1970s and will also conduct the first commercial spaceflight.
- The Falcon 9 rocket carrying Dragon is scheduled to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida between 3:38 a.m. and 7:09 a.m. Wednesday.
- “Falcon and Dragon remain healthy and the crew remains ready for a multi-day mission in low Earth orbit,” SpacX said on social media.
The SpaceX capsule carrying four commercial astronauts in hopes of conducting a pioneering space mission will not launch until at least Wednesday morning.
The Polaris Dawn mission, an ambitious five-day journey into the upper reaches of Earth’s orbit, was scheduled for liftoff on Tuesday before a helium leak forced a delay, SpaceX said. said Monday night On social networking site X.
When the crew launches aboard the SpaceX Dragon, it will be the second mission to space Billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman, who funded the work along with Elon Musk’s company. Isaacman previously entered orbit aboard Inspiration 4 in 2021, becoming the first private orbital spaceflight.
Isaacman will command A group of people That includes the pilot Scott “Kid” Poteet and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis And Anna MenonBoth are working professionals. During the mission, the Polaris Dawn crew will attempt to reach higher altitudes than humans since NASA’s Apollo program in the 1970s and will also conduct the first commercial spacewalk.
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how tall Record orbital and spacewalk goals for the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission
When will Polaris Dawn be launched?
Falcon 9 rocket carrying Dragon is about to depart 3:38 a.m. to 7:09 a.m. Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The launch was delayed since the Polaris Dawn crew arrived in Florida last week — to give ground crews time to “closely monitor a ground-side helium leak” on a piece of equipment designed to separate from the rocket. Take off, SpaceX He said In X.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which is competing with SpaceX’s Dragon for NASA approval to carry out routine orbital missions, suffered a helium leak during its journey to the International Space Station. The leak, combined with thruster problems, required NASA to halt the crew’s return to Earth on the Starliner.
SpaceX, however, appears very confident that the helium leak will not threaten the immediate launch of its own proven craft, which has already been reliably carrying astronauts into orbit since 2020.
“Falcon and Dragon remain healthy and the crew continues to prepare for a multi-day mission to low-Earth orbit,” the agency said.
If another mission scrub is needed, the launch could still take place Thursday morning, according to SpaceX.
What is the Polaris Dawn mission?
As NASA and other space agencies set their sights on deep space exploration, including places like Mars, the crew plans to spend five days on behalf of SpaceX testing orbital technology.
On the crew’s first day in orbit, they’ll blast off 870 miles above the surface — higher than any human has traveled since NASA’s Apollo lunar program ended in the 1970s. The route will take the capsule through the treacherous inner reaches of Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts before descending into a new cruise orbit 435 miles above Earth.
The Van Allen Belts are one of the biggest dangers for future astronauts going deep into space. But for future missions to the Moon and Mars to be possible, astronauts can fly them safely.
While in orbit, the crew will complete about 40 science experiments — many of them to understand the human body’s reactions to long space missions — and test a new laser-based satellite communications system using Starling.
Menon, who hails from Houston, also plans to read a children’s book she co-wrote.Kisses from space” – inspired by his experience preparing for the Polaris Dawn mission – to his two young children in orbit.
On the sixth day of the mission, the SpaceX vehicle will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down at one of seven sites off the coast of Florida.
Conducting a dangerous spacewalk
Without a doubt, the climax Polaris Dawn mission Come day three, the crew hopes to become the first non-governmental astronauts to complete a space mission.
Complex orbital maneuvers often take place in craft equipped with airlocks that negate the need to lower the entire capsule.
But since the Dragon doesn’t have an airlock, the entire spacecraft must depressurize when the hatch opens. Although only Isaacman and Gillis plan to exit the craft, the entire crew will still be exposed to the vacuum of space.
For this reason, all four astronauts will wear extra-vehicular activity (EVA) suits designed by SpaceX to receive oxygen through tethers. The surgery is expected to take about two hours Test the skills of the suit For SpaceX.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]