Elon Musk‘s spacecraft manufacturing company SpaceX said late on Thursday that it is yet to zero in on the next opportunity to launch the all-civilian Polaris Dawn mission after multiple delays earlier this week.
What Happened: “Once teams identify the next best opportunity for launch and return of the Polaris Dawn mission, we'll provide an update,” the company said in a post on X while adding that both the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and the Dragon spacecraft which will take part in the mission are healthy.
SpaceX said that the latest weather forecasts continue to be unfavorable for the mission’s safe return from space.
Unlike a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which provides the option to delay the return of astronauts if required, the Polars Dawn mission cannot extend its time in orbit. Hence, they need to ensure that the weather forecast during return is “as favorable as possible” before launch, mission commander and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman said.
“The crew remains in quarantine, staying productive, keeping fit, and ready to launch within approximately 30 hours of receiving a favorable forecast,” Isaacman said in a post on X.
“Space exploration demands patience, resilience, and teamwork.”
Multiple Delays: The Polaris Dawn mission was initially slated to launch on Monday but has been postponed multiple times since owing to a helium leak and unfavorable weather forecast. Musk said on Thursday that SpaceX is prioritizing crew safety given the increased risk associated with the mission.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday also temporarily grounded SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket after a rocket booster that supported a Starlink mission earlier in the day failed to land upright on a droneship at sea and exploded upon returning to Earth, leaving the launch timeline for the Polaris mission further in doubt.
About Polaris: Polaris Dawn is the first of up to three human spaceflight missions planned under the Polaris program founded by Isaacman.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and the all-civilian Polaris Crew composed of four including its mission commander Isaacman, Kidd Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon will spend up to five days in orbit. While Isaacman and Poteet work together at Shift4, Gillis and Menon are SpaceX engineers.
The key objective of the mission is to conduct a spacewalk nearly 435 miles above the Earth — marking the first-ever spacewalk by a commercial company. While space agency NASA routinely conducts extravehicular activities, no private player has attempted it before, making this a landmark mission for SpaceX and commercial spaceflight companies.
Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
Read More:
Photo courtesy: Polaris Dawn
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
