Historic Private Spacewalk Plans Stay On Track Despite Delay
SpaceX’s highly anticipated Polaris Dawn mission—a four-person crewed flight aiming to host the first-ever private spacewalk—has been postponed by at least 24 hours due to a helium leak in ground equipment. The announcement came just hours before the scheduled liftoff from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
🚀 The new launch window is set for 3:38 a.m. local time Wednesday (0738 GMT), pending repairs. SpaceX confirmed that both the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule remain “healthy,” and the crew is prepped for their multi-day journey to low-Earth orbit.
Spacewalk Ambitions: A New Era for Civilians
If successful, the mission’s standout moment will occur 48 hours post-launch: a 20-minute spacewalk 700 km above Earth. This marks the first time non-government astronauts will venture outside a spacecraft 🛰️. The team will test SpaceX’s sleek new spacesuits during the risky maneuver.
💡 Fun fact: The technique mirrors the 1965 Gemini mission where NASA astronauts first opened a depressurized capsule to float outside.
Meet the Crew
Billionaire Jared Isaacman (who’s funding the $100M+ mission) and retired Air Force pilot Scott Poteet will conduct the spacewalk. They’re joined by SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. While delays are common in spaceflight, all eyes remain on this boundary-pushing mission 🌌.
