WASHINGTON, SEPT 4 – SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, a multi-day orbital expedition expected to feature spacewalkers by ordinary citizens, is now scheduled to launch this Friday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The operational plan released by the agency shows a four-hour launch window opening at 3:33 a.m. Friday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, with additional opportunities on Saturday and Sunday. Elon Musk’s company has not yet commented on the new launch schedule.
Organized by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, the Polaris Dawn mission aims to reach a peak altitude of 1,400 kilometers where it is the highest for any crewed mission in the more than 50 years since NASA’s Apollo program.
The mission’s culmination is expected to see the first spacewalk by a four-member crew made up entirely of non-professional astronauts, who will wear SpaceX’s newly created extravehicular activity (EVA) suits.
The launch was delayed twice last week, first due to technical issues with the launch tower and then due to weather problems affecting the landing phase.
To make matters worse, a separate SpaceX Falcon 9 mission lost its first stage booster, where it would normally perform a precise vertical landing on a drone ship.
Such incidents caused the launch to be temporarily halted, after being trusted by NASA and private companies to send astronauts and satellites into orbit. – AFP
