SpaceX announced Monday that the first private space mission to provide an exit from the vehicle, which was scheduled to take off Tuesday from Florida, has been postponed for at least 24 hours due to a “helium leak.”
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This unique flight is supposed to allow, for the first time, private passengers to leave their module to travel through space, protected only by their suits.
But “SpaceX teams are taking a closer look at the helium leak on the ground,” Elon Musk's company wrote on its X website.
Helium is a non-flammable gas, commonly used to compress rocket fuel.
The mission, called Polaris Dawn, was therefore delayed by 24 hours, until 3:38 a.m. local time on Wednesday, in Florida (7:38 a.m. GMT). SpaceX warned that the launch could be delayed again, either later on Wednesday or Thursday, at the same time.
Four people should have the chance to be the first private passengers to temporarily leave their spacecraft.
Two of the future passengers are SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. They will be accompanied by American commander and billionaire Jared Isaacman and pilot Scott Poteet, a close associate of the businessman.
Mr. Isaac previously went to space in 2021 on another SpaceX-chartered mission, Inspiration4, for which Ms. Gillis trained.
Unprecedented mission
The four adventurers underwent intensive preparation for this five-day mission.
It has three main objectives, in addition to the forty experiments that are conducted on board.
First, go to an altitude of 1,400 kilometers, the farthest a crew has been since the Apollo lunar missions. For comparison, the International Space Station (ISS) operates at an altitude of about 400 kilometers.
A laser communication test between the spacecraft and SpaceX's Starlink satellites is also scheduled.
But first of all, once in low orbit, the famous spacewalk must be broadcast live.
Since the ship – the Dragon capsule – is not equipped with an airlock, the entire crew will be exposed to the vacuum of space when its door opens. Two passengers will remain on board, while two others take turns exiting.
After this first Polaris mission, a second similar mission is planned. The third should be the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s massive rocket currently under development, a heavy launcher designed for trips to the moon and Mars.
