First-ever private spacewalk delayed by a day: Polaris Dawn mission now set for August 27

Image: Dragon at hangar at pad 39A ahead of Falcon 9’s launch of Polaris Dawn (Image courtesy: SpaceX/X)

The first commercial flight to feature a spacewalk has been postponed by a day. Originally set for August 26, the Polaris Dawn mission will now launch on August 27 at 3:38 am EDT (0738 GMT) aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. If further delays arise, backup launch opportunities are available on August 28.

SpaceX confirmed the change on X (formerly Twitter), saying, "Targeting Tuesday, August 27 for launch of Polaris Dawn, the first of the @PolarisProgram’s three human spaceflight missions designed to advance the future of spaceflight."

The delay, announced by SpaceX, allows extra time for final preflight checks to ensure everything is ready for the mission.

SpaceX wrote in a follow-up post, "The new date allows additional time for teams to complete preflight checkouts ahead of next week’s launch."

Mission Commander Jared Isaacman also commented, "We will happily take an extra day to ensure readiness."

Polaris Dawn mission objectives

The two-day mission aims to reach about 700 kilometers above Earth, the highest Earth orbit ever achieved, since the Apollo program. The crew will perform the first-ever extravehicular activity (EVA) by commercial astronauts, using SpaceX-developed EVA suits. They will conduct 36 research studies and experiments from 31 partners. These studies are designed to advance human health on Earth and during long-duration spaceflights. The mission will test Starlink's laser-based communication system in space, providing data for future space communication systems. Research will focus on understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health. The crew's combined knowledge and passion for spaceflight will contribute to advancing human space exploration. The program also seeks to raise funds for Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Live coverage

The launch can be watched starting about 3.5 hours before liftoff. The webcast will be available on SpaceX’s X account (@SpaceX) and other platforms.

The crew

The crew includes Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet, Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis, and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon. This will be their first spaceflight, while Jared Isaacman, the mission commander, previously led the Inspiration4 mission. Notably, this mission features two SpaceX employees, Gillis and Menon, as part of the crew.

Spacewalk Animation

SpaceX also unveiled a new computer animation showing what the Polaris Dawn spacewalk will look like.

"The rendering gives a solid sense of what it’ll be like. Dragon’s forward hatch should generally point towards Earth. The Dracos near the forward bulkhead will be disabled & as we cycle crew members between EV1/EV2, we’ll have opportunities to correct attitude or null rotation during the operation," Isaacman wrote on X.