SpaceX's first private spacewalk mission scheduled for Friday
Sylvie Claire / September 5, 2024
The lift-off of SpaceX's Polaris Dawn rocket for a first-of-its-kind space mission, including the first private spacewalk in history, is scheduled for Friday after being postponed last week, US authorities announced on Tuesday.
A four-hour launch window is scheduled to open at 03:33 on Fridayfrom NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with further opportunities on Saturday and Sunday, according to the US civil aviation regulator (FAA).
SpaceX, Elon Musk's company, has not yet commented on the new launch window.
Comprising a billionaire, a pilot and two employees, the Polaris Dawn mission had already been postponed by 24 hours after the detection on August 26 of a “helium leak” on a link powering the rocket.
It was then postponed again on Friday “due to an unfavorable weather forecast”, according to SpaceX.
The commander of this five-day mission is American billionaire Jared Isaacman, who has been working with Elon Musk's company for several years.
Among other things, the trip will be used to test SpaceX's very first white, futuristic-looking space suits.
The spectacular spacewalk was to be broadcast live on the third day of the mission.
In other good news for SpaceX after a complicated week, its Falcon 9 rockets, the most widely used by the company, were cleared for takeoff by the FAA on Friday after a rare incident that led to them being grounded.