SpaceX Discovers Starliner-Like Leak Before Launch of Space Tourists

This sounds familiar.

Helium Turn

SpaceX has had to delay the launch of its all-private crew Polaris Dawn mission by at least a day after officials found a helium leak affecting the company's ground equipment at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

"Falcon and Dragon remain healthy and the crew continues to be ready for their multi-day mission to low-Earth orbit," SpaceX wrote in an update on X-formerly-Twitter.

The company also announced that its next launch opportunity is "no earlier than Wednesday."

It's an interesting development — especially considering the service module of Boeing's plagued Starliner spacecraft also suffered multiple helium leaks, including ones detected before launch, and which ultimately forced it to return without its crew on board.

But SpaceX says its latest leak is only affecting "ground-side" equipment, and not the thrusters attached to its Crew Dragon spacecraft or Falcon 9 rocket, so it's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

Nonetheless, it's a reminder that even SpaceX, which has launched just shy of a dozen crewed missions to the International Space Station and come out looking far more competent than its competitor Boeing in recent months, can also suffer from equipment-related launch scrubs.

Scrub Daddy

If everything goes according to plan later this week, SpaceX's mission will see billionaire jet pilot and space traveler Jared Isaacman perform the first-ever private spacewalk alongside fellow crew member and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis.

The mission will also take the crew on a harrowing orbital path through the Earth's radiation belts, exposing their bodies to considerable hazards.

The news comes after SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket failed to deliver a payload of 20 Starlink satellites last month due to an issue affecting the rocket's upper stage. The extremely rare setback led to the Federal Aviation Administration grounding all Falcon 9 rockets while it was conducting its investigation.

Just over two weeks later, the space company was cleared and returned to launching its broadband satellites.

SpaceX's next launch attempt of its Polaris Dawn mission will take place at 3:38 am EDT on Wednesday. The long-awaited spacewalk is expected to occur on the mission's third day, so stay tuned.

More on the launch: SpaceX Preparing to Drain All Air From Spacecraft While Astronauts Are Inside