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 434 miles (700 km) from earth, in history’s first such private spacewalk.

The company now aims to launch the spacecraft, carried by a Falcon 9 booster, at 3:38 a.m. (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.”

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