SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission aiming for history with first private spacewalk

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WASHINGTON – The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, a daring multiday orbital expedition that will feature the first-ever spacewalk by private citizens, is targeting liftoff early Tuesday, though weather could play spoilsport. 
A four-member crew, led by Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Iscaacman, is also aiming to fly deeper into space than any other manned mission in more than half a century, reaching a peak altitude of 1,400 kilometres.
“SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, September 10 at 3:38am ET for Falcon 9’s launch of Polaris Dawn to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida,” SpaceX said in a news release. 
There are two additional launch opportunities within a four-hour window, but the weather is currently only 40 percent favourable. SpaceX will carry a webcast on its website beginning roughly three-and-a-half hours before liftoff.
If they launch, the highlight of the mission will be the first spacewalk composed entirely of non-professional astronauts, who will be wearing sleek, newly developed SpaceX extravehicular activity (EVA) suits outfitted with heads-up displays, helmet cameras, and an advanced joint mobility system.
On the first day of their mission the craft will travel so high that it will briefly enter the Van Allen radiation belt, a region teeming with high-energy charged particles that can pose health risks to humans over extended periods.
The mission has been delayed several times, initially due to a technical issue with the launch tower and since then because of weather constraints.
The Crew Dragon capsule will not dock with the International Space Station, which is why the weather needs to be favorable during both the launch and splashdown phase, around six days after liftoff.