SpaceX Pushes Historic First Commercial Spacewalk by a Day Due to Technical Issue
In a small setback to the commercial space industry, SpaceX was forced to delay the launch of its Polaris Dawn mission by 24 hours due to a helium leak discovered during pre-launch checks. Polaris Dawn is set to make history as the first ever commercial spacewalk, allowing billionaire crew members to venture outside the Dragon spacecraft while in low-Earth orbit.
The mission was originally scheduled for liftoff early on August 27th from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. However, engineers found a leak in the helium system used to fill thermal protection suits with the gas. Additional inspections are now needed before giving the go-ahead. With safety being the top priority for spaceflight, SpaceX officials opted to push back the launch to no earlier than August 28th to address the issue.
Led by serial space entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, the four person crew will spend multiple days conducting various experiments some 370 miles above our planet. A key objective involves Isaacman and mission trainer Sarah Gillis performing spacewalks while wearing SpaceX's newly developed exploration extravehicular activity (EVA) suits. This will mark an important test of capabilities needed for future long duration missions in deep space.
Along with pushing the boundaries of commercial space activity, Polaris Dawn aims to generate valuable scientific data through various life and materials research studies. If all goes well, this mission will set the stage for many more commercial missions to space including space tourism. SpaceX and its crews of pioneering individuals are dedicated to opening the High Frontier for all of humanity.
