Historic Polaris dawn mission lifted off today at 5:23 a.m. EDT (0923 GMT) from Launch Complex-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
The Polaris Dawn crew was launched atop the SpaceX’s partially reusable workhorse, the Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 rocket is a two-stage to-orbit rocket developed by SpaceX.
Polaris Dawn is the first-ever private spacewalk mission. The Polaris Dawn mission launch was originally planned to launch on August 26 but the launch was delayed as the company wanted to perform more preflight tests. It was then scheduled to launch on Tuesday, August 27, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida early in the morning.
However, the helium leaks observed on equipment designed to detach from the rocket during the launch delayed the mission by 24 hours i.e. to August 28.
However, the launch was then delayed again and SpaceX ruled out the launch on August 28 or August 29. “Due to unfavourable weather forecasted in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, we are now standing down from tonight and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn,” said SpaceX in a post on X.
Due to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, we are now standing down from tonight and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn. Teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 28, 2024
The Polaris Dawn mission was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The project is a human spaceflight mission funded by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman.
Read: SpaceX fires up the newly developed Raptor 3 engine: silence amongst critics.
Jared Isaacman is the founder and chief executive officer of Shift4 Payments. The crew will consist of three other people, including SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon and Scott Kidd, a former United States Air Force pilot.
After takeoff, the crew will travel into an oval-shaped orbit high enough to plunge the vehicle and crew into the Van Allen radiation belts. This will be the first time that a human will travel so far into space after NASA’s Apollo astronauts. Also, Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis would become the first women to make such a journey.
During this mission, Isaacman will conduct a spacewalk on day 3 of the mission using Extravehicular Activity, or EVA, wearing a spacesuit designed by SpaceX in only 2 and a half years. If successful, this will mark the first private spacewalk.
