SpaceX has postponed the launch of a private mission, originally scheduled for earlier this week, to Wednesday. The Polaris Dawn mission aims to achieve the first civilian spacewalk and will take four private citizens to an altitude of 870 miles. Two crew members are expected to exit the Crew Dragon capsule while more than 400 miles from Earth. The delay was due to a leak in the umbilical that loads liquids aboard the rocket. The rescheduled launch is set for Wednesday at 3:38 a.m.
The mission is led by billionaire Jared Isaacman and includes former Air Force pilot Scott "Kidd" Poteet and two SpaceX engineers, Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis. As the capsule lacks an airlock, all four astronauts will wear specially designed space suits capable of sustaining them in the vacuum of space. The Dragon capsule has undergone extensive modifications for this mission. This marks Isaacman's second trip to space; his 2021 flight raised $250 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.