SpaceX delayed the much-anticipated Polaris Dawn mission, which will see a crew of four attempt the first-ever private spacewalk, due to a helium leak at the launch site.

The issue meant that the planned launch on Tuesday morning was pushed to Wednesday to allow for a thorough investigation of the issue and to implement additional safety checks.

 

In an announcement, SpaceX stated: "Teams are taking a closer look at a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect umbilical.

"Falcon and Dragon remain healthy and the crew continues to be ready for their multi-day mission to low-Earth orbit. Next launch opportunity is no earlier than Wednesday, 28 August."

 

Spacex's CEO and renowned entrepreneur Elon Musk posted on social media regarding the groundbreaking journey, reports the Express US. He said: "An incredible amount of work has gone into this historic mission by an amazing team. We are triple-checking everything to make sure there is nothing more we can do to improve crew safety."

 
 
The flight is called Polaris Dawn and is expected to launch later this year on a Falcon 9 rocket. The crew would spend as many as five days in orbit,The flight will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket ( 
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(Image: Getty))

Furthermore, he highlighted the significance of the mission, tweeting: "Crew safety is absolutely paramount and this mission carries more risk than usual, as it will be the furthest humans have traveled from Earth since Apollo and the first commercial spacewalk! ".

 

Reaffirming their commitment to the schedule, SpaceX aims to maintain the initial early morning launch timing of 3:38 am ET on Wednesday at the storied Launch Complex 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. More options are also on the table with additional lift-off times of 5:23 am ET and 7:09 am ET.

If the preferred launch windows aren't workable, they've got a fallback on Thursday, August 29. Just three days into the space mission, an EVA is scheduled to test out SpaceX's cutting-edge spacesuits.

Designed for deep space escapades and to shield against intense cosmic radiation in the Van Allen belts, these EVA suits are at the forefront of aerospace innovation alongside the Polaris Dawn spacecraft.

Tech mogul Jared Isaacman, a pioneer in private space travel, is commandeering and bankrolling this five-day cosmic voyage. No stranger to the stars after his self-financed 2021 flight on a Crew Dragon craft, Isaacman is the seasoned spacefarer of the group.

Despite recent delays, Isaacman shared from isolation that the team is geared up and waiting for liftoff as soon as the glitch is sorted out.

He stated on X: "The best aerospace engineers in the world are working on the issue, and we promise to put on a great show soon enough. When the call comes, we won't hesitate to strap in."