KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – SpaceX has scrubbed its plans for the Polaris Dawn launch from Kennedy Space Center.
A Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon capsule atop was initially set to launch early Wednesday morning from Launch Complex 39A, with a backup launch window on Thursday.
However, SpaceX announced Tuesday night the company was standing down from its launch opportunities on Wednesday and Thursday. The company has not yet provided a new target date for the mission launch.
“SpaceX teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions,” a release from the company states.
The launch was previously scheduled for Tuesday, but SpaceX announced hours before the window opened that it would delay the launch attempt by 24 hours. According to the company, teams noticed a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect umbilical.
This mission aims to accomplish multiple milestones for space technology, 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.
Four people make up the crew, which includes a tech entrepreneur, two SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force fighter pilot.
[MEET THE CREW: Here’s who’s going to space on the Polaris Dawn mission]
All systems are looking good for tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch of Polaris Dawn. Webcast will go live ~3.5 hours ahead of liftoff on Tuesday, August 27 → https://t.co/WpSw0gzeT0 pic.twitter.com/81xlzKZ9VV
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 26, 2024
The crew’s mission commander, Jared Isaacman, previously flew to space as commander of Inspiration4.
The crew will go further away from Earth than any astronauts since the final Apollo mission, but soaring three-and-a-half times higher than the International Space Station will come with additional risks.
Research chemist Dr. Ken Kremer, who is also the editor of SpaceUpClose.com, told News 6 reporter James Sparvero about the unforgiving environment the Polaris Dawn mission will venture to.
“The radiation could be extreme,” Kremer said. “They could get about three months’ worth of radiation you would have on the ISS during the about three orbits they’re gonna do. We’re talking about, like, seven hours or so. So that’s a lot of radiation in a short amount of time.”
When the crew arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday, commander Jared Isaacman talked more about the risks associated with the bold objective.
“When you go higher into space, that comes with all sorts of potential challenges,” Isaacman said. “You’re putting a lot of energy into your vehicle and then you take it out. But there’s other realities when you’re up there too, which is a completely different micrometeorite orbital debris environment. So a lot of smart people at SpaceX figured out the optimal times for us to launch, which is why we have that launch window.”
The Polaris Dawn mission and its series of future missions are named after the North Star.
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News 6 will stream the launch live at the top of this story when it happens.
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