SpaceX again cancels launch of Polaris Dawn missionThis time, Elon Musk’s aerospace company has been forced to postpone the first private spacewalk in history due to adverse weather conditions.
The mission was scheduled to take off at 9:38 Spanish peninsular time, but SpaceX has made this decision because the weather conditions They were not the most suitable for the launch and return of the crew to Earth.. Furthermore, this delay comes one day after another launch attempt planned for this Tuesday, August 27, was cancelled. because there was “a helium leak in the quick disconnect umbilical”.
On the other hand, Jared Isaacman, billionaire founder of the payment platform Shift4, which finances this mission together with SpaceX and is part of the crew, states on the social network X (formerly Twitter) that, “for now, Conditions are not favorable for tonight or tomorrow.“, so the situation will be evaluated “day by day” – implying that there is still There is no set date– He also points out that they must “be absolutely sure of the reentry meteorological conditions before launch.”
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. As of now, conditions are not favorable tonight or tomorrow, so… https://t.co/Zpd3pY5kNF
— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) August 28, 2024
What is the Polaris Dawn mission?
The Polaris Dawn crew, who are expected to They will be in space for five daysis made up of Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet (former US Air Force pilot), Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon (both SpaceX engineers).
All these commanders They will travel aboard a Dragon capsule It will be launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (Florida, United States), and will begin traveling on its own about 12 minutes after takeoff and will maintain an elliptical trajectory throughout its five-day flight.
On the first day of the trip, The crew will reach a maximum altitude above Earth of about 1,400 kilometers.further than any astronaut has traveled since the end of NASA’s Apollo program. And on its third day, the Polaris Dawn mission is scheduled to Conduct the first private spacewalk.
They will also conduct 36 research studies and experiments from 31 partner institutions to improve human health, both on Earth and during long-duration spaceflight, and Starlink laser-based communications to be tested in spaceproviding valuable data for future systems to be used on missions to the Moon and Mars.
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