Civilian space-walk flight Polaris Dawn set for Friday after rocket grounding

The Polaris Dawn mission that will feature the first civilian space walk is set for Friday after the Federal Aviation Administration cleared SpaceX to use the rocket that will launch the astronauts into the space.

The five-day trip led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, which has been repeatedly delayed, is scheduled to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center on Friday, with backup launch dates on Saturday and Sunday should the weather prove unfavorable or other problems arise.

The latest delay came last week, when the FAA grounded SpaceX’s fleet of Falcon 9 rockets after the first-stage booster of a Falcon 9 fell over and exploded while trying to land on a barge off the Florida coast. The FAA lifted its order on Friday, paving the way for the Polaris Dawn mission, which will use a Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX said that the first stage had completed 22 launches and returns before the accident. The mishap also ended a streak of 267 successful returns for the Falcon 9 program, which has sharply lower launch costs due its reusable first stage.

The Polaris Dawn mission had been scheduled to launch early last week but was first delayed due to a helium leak in a launchpad hose that pumps helium into the Falcon 9 engines. Unfavorable conditions forecast off the coast of Florida for the splashdown prompted a second delay.

Isaacman, a fintech billionaire, is funding the space journey aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which typically services the International Space Station.

Accompanying him are three other crew members, including two SpaceX employees. The flight will send them to the highest Earth orbit since the Apollo program, and on the third day Isaacman and a second crew member are set to become the first civilians to walk in space.

They will be testing a new generation of form-fitting space suits that SpaceX says will be necessary to colonize the moon and Mars.

Since the mission is not docking with the space station and has limited supplies, weather conditions need to be good for both the launch and splashdown off the Florida coast.