BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – SpaceX has announced a new date for the launch of the historic Polaris Dawn mission next week.
On social media, SpaceX officials announced that the launch will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
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As part of the mission, a four-person crew will go up aboard a Dragon capsule launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center.
The mission is expected to set several milestones over the course of five days, including the first commercial spacewalk, testing in-space communications, reaching a higher altitude than even the International Space Station, and conducting critical research about the impact of long-term space flights on human health.
[MEET THE CREW: Here’s who’s going to space on the Polaris Dawn mission]
The crew includes Mission Commander Jared Isaacman, Mission Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon.
The Polaris Dawn mission and its series of future missions are named after the North Star.
While the original launch date was expected on Aug. 26, SpaceX explained that the new date will give teams more time to complete preflight checkouts ahead of the launch.
The launch window for the Polaris Dawn mission opens on Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. and runs until 7 a.m.
While the 45th Weather Squadron has yet to provide a specific forecast for the launch date, its weekly planning forecast shows high chances of rain and lightning on Tuesday.
News 6 will stream the launch live on ClickOrlando.com.