SpaceX has announced that it will delay its Polaris Dawn mission due to a helium leak, with the launch now planned for no earlier than Wednesday, 28th August.
The company, founded by Elon Musk, initially hoped the Falcon 9 launch of Polaris Dawn would take place on Tuesday, August 27th. However, in a recent social post, SpaceX said the event will now be pushed back.
“Teams are taking a closer look at the ground-side helium leak on the quick disconnect umbilical,” the company said on X, formerly Twitter. “Falcon and Dragon remain healthy, and the crew continues to be ready for their multi-day mission to low-Earth orbit.”
The mission is expected to last up to five days and hopes to be the highest Earth orbit ever flown. It is hoped that the mission will also achieve the first commercial spacewalk at around 700km above Earth.
During the mission, the teams will also conduct research on spaceflight and radiation effects on human health.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is believed to be the world’s first orbital class reusable rocket and hopes to cut the cost of space access.
In a similar situation earlier this year, NASA and Boeing had to reschedule the crewed Boeing Starliner launch due to a helium leak.
Read more: Helium leak stalls NASA and Boeing’s Starliner test flight
In a statement, NASA said, “Pressure testing performed on 15th May on the spacecraft’s helium system shows the leak in the flange is stable and would not pose a risk at that level during flight.”
SpaceX’s mission is due to take off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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