By Edna-UCLIQ
The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission is now scheduled to launch on Friday. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the mission will have a four-hour launch window.
The window opens at 3:33 a.m. (0733 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Backup launch opportunities are available on Saturday and Sunday.
Elon Musk’s company has not yet commented on this new schedule. Jared Isaacman organized the Polaris Dawn mission.
It aims to reach a peak altitude of 1,400 kilometers. This would be the highest altitude for a crewed mission in over 50 years.
The last such mission was NASA’s Apollo program.
The mission’s highlight will be the first spacewalk by private citizens. A four-member crew of non-professional astronauts will conduct the spacewalk.
They will wear newly developed SpaceX extravehicular activity suits. The spacewalk will mark a significant milestone in private space exploration.
Last week, the launch faced delays. Initially, a technical issue with the launch tower caused a delay. Later, weather constraints affecting the splashdown phase led to further postponements.
Additionally, a separate SpaceX Falcon 9 mission encountered problems. The first stage booster lost its precision upright landing on a drone ship.
This incident led to a temporary grounding of the Falcon 9 rocket. The grounding affected NASA and private companies relying on the vehicle.
The Falcon 9’s grounding has since been lifted. This rocket is crucial for deploying astronauts and satellites into orbit. The Polaris Dawn mission is now moving forward with the updated launch schedule.
SpaceX and Jared Isaacman have yet to provide further details on the mission’s progress. The spacewalk by private citizens remains a key focus of the upcoming mission.
