July 18, 2025
Trending News

SpaceX Polaris Dawn launch delayed due to helium leak

  • August 27, 2024
  • 0

SpaceX on Monday postponed its historic launch of an all-civilian crew on an orbital trip that would have opened a new chapter in space exploration with the first

SpaceX Polaris Dawn launch delayed due to helium leak

SpaceX on Monday postponed its historic launch of an all-civilian crew on an orbital trip that would have opened a new chapter in space exploration with the first private spacewalk.


The Polaris Dawn mission, organized by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, was scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday morning, but due to a late technical glitch it is now scheduled for Wednesday morning.

“Teams are closely examining a helium leak on the ground side of the Quick Disconnect hose,” Elon Musk’s company wrote to X. “Helium is a non-flammable gas typically used to pressurize fuel lines while the taps connect the turret to the rocket. . .

The SpaceX Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket is set to reach a maximum altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers), higher than any crewed mission in more than half a century since the Apollo era.

Mission Commander Isaacman will lead his four-member crew on the mission’s centerpiece: the first commercial spacewalk equipped with SpaceX’s sleek, newly developed extravehicular space suits (EVA).

Rounding out the team are mission pilot Scott Poteet, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel; mission specialist Sarah Gillis, SpaceX’s lead space operations engineer; and mission specialist and paramedic Anna Menon, who is also SpaceX’s lead space operations engineer.

High radiation zone

The four trained for more than two years to prepare for the landmark mission, spending hundreds of hours in simulators, as well as skydiving, centrifuge training, scuba diving and climbing an Ecuadorian volcano.

Polaris Dawn will be the first of three missions under the Polaris program, a collaboration between SpaceX and Isaacman, founder of technology company Shift4 Payments.

“The goal is to develop (and) test new technologies and operations in support of SpaceX’s bold vision to enable humanity to travel between the stars,” Isaacman said at a recent press conference.

Isaacman declined to disclose his total investment in the project, but reports suggest he paid around $200 million for the September 2021 Inspiration4 mission, SpaceX’s first all-civilian orbital mission.

Polaris Dawn will reach its highest altitude on the first day and briefly enter the Van Allen Radiation Belt, a region filled with high-energy charged particles that could pose a long-term health threat to humans.

The crew will orbit at nearly three times the altitude of the International Space Station, but will fall far short of the record distance of more than 248,000 miles set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970.

Apollo 13 astronauts made a long journey to film around the far side of the moon after an explosion damaged their spacecraft, derailing the planned lunar landing and requiring them to return to Earth without major thrust maneuvers.

New space suits

On day three, the crew will don state-of-the-art EVA suits equipped with screens, helmet-mounted cameras and advanced joint mobility systems and step out of the spacecraft in pairs, each spending 15 to 20 minutes in space 435 miles above the Earth’s surface.

However, because the Dragon capsule has no airlock, even a couple strapped into their seats would be exposed to the vacuum of space.

The next day will be devoted to testing a laser-based satellite link between the spacecraft and SpaceX’s Starlink constellation of more than 6,000 internet satellites to boost space communication speeds.

The crew also plans to conduct up to 40 experiments aimed at improving our understanding of human health during long-duration spaceflight. These include tests with contact lenses containing built-in microelectronics to continuously monitor changes in eye pressure and shape.

After six days in space, the mission will conclude with a landing off the coast of Florida, where a SpaceX evacuation ship will be waiting. The second Polaris mission will also use the Dragon capsule, and the third and final mission will see the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s next-generation rocket prototype Starship, key to Musk’s vision of one day colonizing Mars.

Source: Port Altele

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *