SpaceX has delayed the potentially-historic Polaris Dawn commercial spaceflight mission due to unfavorable weather conditions expected for the crew’s return to Earth. The mission, funded by Jared Isaacman along with Elon Musk’s company, aims to send a four-member crew further into space than humans have been in over 50 years. The crew includes pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. The crew was set to embark on the mission, which would include the first-ever commercial spacewalk and testing of SpaceX technology, but the launch has been delayed multiple times.
The latest delay, caused by a helium leak and bad weather forecasts, is the third delay since the crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Despite a successful repair of the helium leak, the weather forecast for the crew’s return to Earth led to the cancellation of the launch. SpaceX has not announced a new launch window yet and will continue to monitor weather conditions. The Polaris Dawn crew plans to spend five days in orbit testing technology for deep-space exploration, including conducting a spacewalk without an airlock and completing scientific experiments to understand the human body’s reactions to long spaceflights. The crew will also test a new laser-based satellite communication system using Starlink. The mission has faced challenges, but the crew remains prepared to wait for the right moment to ensure the mission’s success.
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