SpaceX announced Tuesday evening that the Falcon 9 launch for the Polaris Dawn mission has been postponed until further notice. The launch was scheduled for Wednesday at 3:38 a.m. ET. “Due to the adverse weather forecast at the Dragon landing areas off the coast of Florida, SpaceX is reversing the Falcon 9 launch opportunities for Polaris Dawn on Wednesday, August 28 and Thursday, August 29,” SpaceX said on its website. While the launch conditions themselves were favorable, officials are concerned about conditions when the mission is scheduled to return. Wednesday’s cancellation is the third in a series of delays announced by SpaceX. SpaceX originally postponed Monday’s launch attempt to allow more time for inspections, then postponed Tuesday’s launch due to a helium leak. The mission added risk, a new communications system, exposure to a radiation belt, and new spacewalk suits, all adding up to a zero-sum margin for bad weather, ground system issues, or booster failure, said Don Platt, a professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. “You know, if you look back to the 1960s, both the Russians and the U.S. had problems with early spacewalks. With spacesuits that were too puffy, or face masks that were foggy… it wasn’t easy. It’s a very different environment than here on Earth,” Platt said. There is currently no set launch date for the Polaris Dawn mission. SpaceX said its teams will continue to monitor the weather for favorable launch and return conditions. The all-civilian crew of four is expected to travel to high orbital altitudes, where they will conduct a series of experiments and also conduct the first-ever commercial spacewalk. Learn more about the historic mission at the link below. >> Polaris Dawn Mission: Everything You Need to Know About SpaceX’s Crew Flight Launching From Central Florida
SpaceX announced Tuesday evening that the launch of the Polaris Dawn mission on the Falcon 9 rocket has been postponed until further notice.
The launch was scheduled for Wednesday at 3:38 a.m.
“Due to the expected adverse weather conditions at the Dragon landing areas off the coast of Florida, SpaceX has decided to cancel Falcon 9 Polaris Dawn launch opportunities on Wednesday, August 28 and Thursday, August 29,” SpaceX said on its website.
Although conditions were favorable for the launch itself, officials are concerned about conditions when the mission is scheduled to return.
Wednesday’s cancellation is the third in a series of delays announced by SpaceX. SpaceX originally postponed Monday’s launch attempt to allow more time for inspections, then postponed Tuesday’s launch due to a helium leak.
“This mission added risk, a new communications system, exposure to a radiation belt, new spacewalk suits, all of which added up to zero margin for bad weather, ground system problems, or booster failure,” said Dr. Don Platt, a professor at the Florida Institute of Technology.
“You know, if you look back to the 1960s, both the Russians and the United States had problems with early spacewalks. Spacesuits would get too puffy, or face masks would get foggy… It wasn’t easy. It’s a very different environment than here on Earth,” Platt said.
At this time, a launch date for the Polaris Dawn mission has not been set. SpaceX said its teams will continue to monitor the weather to ensure favorable launch and return conditions.
The four-person crew, made up entirely of civilian astronauts, is expected to travel to extreme orbital altitudes, where they will conduct a series of experiments, as well as the first-ever commercial spacewalk.
To learn more about this historic mission, please visit the link below.
>> Polaris Dawn Mission: Everything You Need to Know About SpaceX’s Crew Flight Launching From Central Florida
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