SpaceX is readying to launch its first-ever private space walk — but delayed the take-off for a second time Monday evening after discovering a helium leak.
Billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crew members for the Polaris Dawn mission are now set to launch at 3:38 a.m. on Wednesday.
The mission will head to space via NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew was originally scheduled to blast off Monday, but was delayed until Tuesday to make more time for conducting pre-flight tests. It was then pushed back again after a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect umbilical was discovered.
SpaceX’s VP of Launch Kiko Dontchev said on X that “while it’s a bummer to not step into a launch attempt tonight, I’m very proud of the team for identifying an issue and then digging in.”
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our astronauts and the reliability of our vehicles and operation,” Dontchev said.
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It is also streaming on YouTube and X.
Isaacman will be taking flight along with mission specialist and medical officer Anna Menon, mission specialist Sarah Gillis, and pilot Scott Poteet. Both Menon and Gillis work for SpaceX.
Besides the scheduled spacewalk, the crew will also be conducting a slew of tests on human health in space as SpaceX tries to understand if and how we could viably live in the stars.
The Polaris crew plans to be in space for five days if all goes well.
SpaceX hasn’t said how much they’ve spent on the mission and neither has Isaacman, but the two parties are funding the mission together.
SpaceX said the crew will be “reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown while moving through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt.” At that point, it will be about 870 miles from the Earth’s surface. The space walk will take place at half that distance.