The launch of SpaceX’s rocket for a groundbreaking space mission including the first private spacewalk in history, Polaris Dawn, is scheduled to take place Friday after being postponed last week, US authorities announced Tuesday.
A four-hour launch window is scheduled to open at 03:33 (0733 GMT) Friday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with other options Saturday and Sunday, according to the US aviation regulator (FAA).
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has yet to comment on the new launch window.
The Polaris Dawn mission, which includes a billionaire, a pilot and two female employees, had already been postponed for 24 hours after a “helium leak” was detected on August 26 on a connection powering the rocket.
It was then postponed again on Friday “due to unfavorable weather forecasts,” according to SpaceX.
The commander of this five-day mission is American billionaire Jared Isaacman, who has been working with Elon Musk’s company for several years.
The trip is intended to test SpaceX’s very first spacesuits, which are white and have a futuristic look.
The spacewalk, which promises to be spectacular, was to be broadcast live on the third day of the mission.
In another piece of good news for SpaceX after a complicated week, its Falcon 9 rockets, the company’s most widely used, were cleared for takeoff by the FAA on Friday after a rare incident that led to them being grounded.
ia/aem/ube
