Elon Musk-Led SpaceX's Polaris Launch Delayed By After 'Helium Leak'

The much-awaited space expedition, Polaris Dawn's first mission, has been delayed. The SpaceX mission that was slated for launch on August 26 has been pushed back by at least 24 hours.

Polaris Dawn Launch Delayed

The Elon Musk-led space exploration company took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the update. In the post, the company said, "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."

Furthermore, it added, "Next launch opportunity is no earlier than Wednesday, August 28".

This manned mission to space, which involved Jared Isaacman, Kidd Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, is slated to go to the space to conduct the 'first commercial space walk', as Elon Musk himself had termed it. This would be the first time a private company's mission would be to conduct the coveted 'Spacewalk'.

One of the members of the four-member crew, Sarah Gillis, took to X to confirm the postponement. "We’re officially scrubbed for today, but the @SpaceX team is doing awesome work to ensure all systems are 100% ready for launch!".

Safety First

The Polaris Dawn mission involves three expeditions. The first launch will be carried out using the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Crew Dragon Capsule with it. The delayed launch was part of this mission.

Another member of the crew, Jared Isaacman, is the billionaire CEO of Shift4. These developments come on the back of the controversy emerging from the International Space Station (ISS).

The Boeing Starliner mission, which was launched on June 5, took astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to the ISS.

The mission that was supposed to be 8 days long has now become an 8-month-long mission due to the mission's inability to get the astronauts back safely. Now, both astronauts are not expected to return before February 2025.