The total duration of the eclipse will be about 4.5 hours
world21 hours ago
The launch of SpaceX's four-person Polaris Dawn mission will be delayed by at least a day because of a helium leak in ground equipment at Kennedy Space Center, the company said on Tuesday, hours before the scheduled liftoff of its Crew Dragon capsule.
The highlight of the five-day mission is expected to come two days after launch, when the crew embarks on a 20-minute spacewalk 700km from earth, in history's first such private spacewalk.
The company now aims to launch the spacecraft, carried by a Falcon 9 booster, at 3.38am (0738 GMT) on Wednesday, it said in a posting on X.
"Teams are taking a closer look at a ground-side helium leak," it added in Tuesday's post. "Falcon and Dragon remain healthy and the crew continues to be ready for their multi-day mission to low-Earth orbit."
Only government astronauts have performed spacewalks to date, most recently by occupants of the International Space Station, who regularly don spacesuits to perform maintenance and other checks of their orbital home.
The first US spacewalk was in 1965, aboard a Gemini capsule, and used a similar procedure to the one planned for Polaris Dawn: the capsule was depressurised, the hatch opened, and a spacesuited astronaut ventured outside on a tether.
Polaris Dawn's crew will be testing SpaceX's new, slimline spacesuits during the spacewalk.
Only two of the four — billionaire Jared Isaacman, mission pilot Scott Poteet, a retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel, and SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, both senior engineers at the company — will leave the spacecraft.
Isaacman, the founder of electronic payment company Shift4, bankrolled the mission; he has declined to say how much he has spent, but it is estimated to be more than $100 million.
The total duration of the eclipse will be about 4.5 hours
world21 hours ago
It means that residents are within a quarter-hour walk or bike ride from everything they need to a lead a good life
world1 day ago
Pezeshkian's remarks came as the Islamic republic marked the anniversary of the September 2022 death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini in police custody
world1 day ago
The superfans stumping for Kamala Harris are not formally affiliated with the artist who unites them
world1 day ago
Around $1.2 billion will be spent on ads for the presidential vote alone, according to ad analyst MediaRadar CMAG
world1 day ago
Young fans queued around the block to get into a preview screening of
world1 day ago
Gaza rescuers say at least 18 killed in Israeli strikes
world1 day ago
The arrest on Sunday of a gunman on Trump's Florida golf course came the same day as more bomb threats poured into Springfield, Ohio
world1 day ago