Falcon Heavy rises off of LC-39A early in the afternoon on October 14, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / TOT
NASA and SpaceX began Europa Clipper’s journey to Jupiter and its moon Europa aboard a Falcon Heavy this afternoon from Kennedy Space Center. Launch was at 12:06 PM EDT under bluebird skies and pleasant temperatures.
Falcon Heavy in flight on October 14, 2024 carrying the Europa Clipper probe for NASA.
Photo: Charles Boyer / TOT
At 1:11 PM EDT, SpaceX confirmed the successful deployment of Europa Clipper, with the probe now heading towards Mars to begin its looping journey through the solar system.
Europa Clipper now begins a roughly six-year 1.8 billion mile journey to the Jovian system which will include two gravity assists and flybys around the Sun before it reaches its destination.
Once it arrives in its orbit around Jupiter, Europa Clipper will perform nearly fifty flybys of Europa, where its instruments will scan the Jovian moon’s oceans for potential signs of life. To date, this is the largest planetary probe NASA has ever flown, and in NASA’s estimation, Europa Clipper would cover an entire regulation basketball court.
Europa Clipper’s 5.5 year path to Jupiter. Graphic: NASA
By The Numbers
Today’s launch was the eleventh Falcon Heavy launch, all from LC-39A. To date, each mission has been successful.
Today’s launch was the last Falcon Heavy slated to fly for this year and some months into 2025: the heavy lifter has the VIPER lunar rover, the NASA Lunar Gateway PPE & HALO mission along with two Space Force missions on the dock for next year, but this far in advance it is impossible to know when payloads will be ready.
This was the sixth and final flight for the two side-boosters, B1064 and B1065, which one year ago today supported NASA’s Psyche mission, as well as three missions for the US Space Force and one for Hughes Electronics.
Overall, it was the 184th orbital (and beyond) launch from historic Launch Complex 39A.
Launch Replay
Next Launch
Space fans in Florida won’t have to wait long for the next launch. Now that the FAA has cleared Falcon 9 to resume commercial Falcon family launches, SpaceX plans to resume Starlink launches from Space Launch Complex 40 overnight tonight when it launches Starlink 10-10. The launch window opens at 1:34 AM EDT and closes at 5:26 AM the same day.
Date: NET October 15, 2024
Organization: SpaceX
Mission: Starlink 10-10
Rocket: Falcon 9
Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Window: 1:24 AM – 5:26 AM EDT
Payload: Starlink satellites
Falcon Heavy liftoff on October 14, 2024 Photo: Ed Cordero, Florida Media Now
NASA and SpaceX plan to send the Europa Clipper probe on its way to the Jovian system aboard Falcon Heavy on Monday, October 14, 2024. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:06 PM EDT from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center.
At A Glance
Mission: Europa Clipper
Date: NET October 14, 2024
Launch Window: 12:06 PM EDT
Weather: 95% Go on the primary launch day
Organization: NASA / SpaceX
Rocket: Falcon Heavy
Trajectory: Eastward
Launch Site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center
Booster Landing: none, all cores expended
Payload: the Europa Clipper probe
Destination: Jupiter
Should weather or technical reasons prevent the launch from proceeding Monday, additional opportunities exist to launch the probe every day until November 6. Each day, there is one instantaneous window for launch, meaning no long holds to wait for better conditions.
Due to performance requirements, the three Falcon cores will be expended, meaning that there will be no landings at Landing Zone 1 in Cape Canaveral or on drone ships stationed downrange.
Payload
Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission. It will study Europa, one of the Galilean moons, through a series of flybys while in orbit around Jupiter. Measuring some 100 feet from edge to edge, NASA states that the probe is roughly the size of a basketball court.
Artist’s depiction of the Europa Clipper probe with Jupiter to the rear. Credit: JPL / NASA
Arrival at Jupiter orbit is planned for April 2030, and according to NASA, “In 2031 [Europa Clipper] will start making 49 science-focused flybys of Europa while looping around the gas giant. The orbit is designed to maximize the science Europa Clipper can conduct and minimize exposure to Jupiter’s notoriously intense radiation.”
Europa Clipper will be surveying for conditions suitable to support life during those flybys after scientists predicted that a salty ocean lies beneath Europa’s icy surface. Those oceans have more water than Earth’s oceans combined.
Europa Photo: NASA
Weather
The 45th Weather Squadron of Space Launch Delta 45 has listed a 5% Probability of Violation for tomorrow’s launch, which means that the weather is expected to be 95% GO at launch time.
Retrieved 13 OCT 2024 at 6PM EDT
Trajectory
Eastwards, relatively speaking. Europa is destined for a path to Jupiter roughly along the orbital plane of other planets, so it will take a path that lines up with the equator.
SpaceX will also have a livestream of the launch on their website: Europa Clipper. Coverage will start about about twenty minutes prior to liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
For official updates regarding launch times, NASA’s Europa Clipper site is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Next Space Flight an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play. They are also on the web: nextspaceflight.com.
Liftoff of Falcon Heavy of June 25, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Tot
Launch Viewing: In Person
This is a mid-day launch from LC-39A, and that means the best places to view the launch are in northern Titusville or on the Kennedy Space Center proper.
Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center is offering a “Feel The Heat” package from the Banana Creek Viewing Site, which is approximately 3.75 miles from the launch pad. Tickets are $250 per person. Should anyone choose to use this option, an early arrival at the Visitors Center is strongly advised.
Playalinda Beach is closed due to damage from Hurricane Milton. Via the National Park Service: “Canaveral National Seashore is including Apollo & Playalinda beaches within the boundary while we assess damage from Hurricane Milton for the safety of our visitors and staff.”
Cocoa Beach, Cocoa Beach Pier, Jetty Park Pierwill have indirect views, meaning that liftoff will not be visible, but after the rocket clears the pad and any ground obstructions, you will be able to see Falcon Heavy ascending clearly assuming there are no clouds between you and the rocket.
A Falcon Heavy launching from Kennedy Space Center earlier this year. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
The launch schedule for the Europa Clipper mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy remains uncertain today after Hurricane Milton’s passing through the Space Coast region.
Effects of Hurricane Milton
Originally scheduled to launch on October 10, the launch was postponed in advance of Hurricane Milton’s approach and the payload and rocket were both secured for the approaching storm.
Today, a little more than a day after Milton’s surviving eye wall passed through the Space Coast region, NASA and SpaceX are checking for damage to the facilities on the base.
According to NASA, “Once the winds subsided to a safe level [yesterday], the center’s Ride Out Team and engineering teams began initial checkouts to ensure bridges are safe and useable. Later, a larger assessment team will thoroughly check the entire center.”
The eye of Hurricane Milton as it passed over the east coast of Florida on October 10th. Data: National Weather Service, KLMB weather radar, Tilt 1.
Part of that check will of course be the LC-39A infrastructure used to launch Falcon Heavy, as well as other buildings and infrastructure necessary to support the launch. That will also include areas not on Kennedy Space Center proper, for example, the Space Launch Delta 45 supports launch tracking, safety and weather, and they too much give the all-clear prior to a launch. (UPDATE: Space Launch Delta 45 issued an all-clear at 2PM October 11)
From the US Space Force, post-Milton. Photo: Space Launch Delta 45
The eye of the storm went offshore somewhere near Titusville and Kennedy Space Center about 4 AM EDT on Thursday, but the region continued to experience sustained winds well into the day before finally subsiding late in the afternoon.
Extremely Tentative Plans For Sunday
Neither NASA nor SpaceX have officially announced a launch date for Europa Clipper, with NASA saying yesterday that “The agency’s Europa Clipper launch team will schedule an official launch date when teams from NASA and SpaceX are able to perform their assessments, and confirm it’s safe to launch. Teams are working to protect launch opportunities no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 13.”
The agency added that the launch window for this mission extends until November 6th.
Weather should not be a problem for the launch team from Sunday onward into next week, as the general weather forecast for the region calls for sunny skies.
National Weather Long-Term forecast for Cape Canaveral Retrieved Friday, October 11th at 12:45 PM EDT
Launch Licensing?
The FAA currently has a hold on the Falcon family launches while the company investigates a second-stage anomaly with Crew 9, but that will not be a problem for this launch as it will be licensed by NASA.
Talk of Titusville reached out to the FAA for clarification, and they replied, “An FAA license is not required for space activities the government carries out for the government, such as some NASA or Department of Defense launches. The Europa Clipper mission is being done by and for NASA.”
As such the FAA’s required investigation will not be a factor for this launch.
Crew 9 Astronauts Aleksandr Vladimirovich Gorbunov and Nick Hague greeted reporters and NASA personnel yesterday at the old Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
The NASA/SpaceX Crew 9 astronauts have arrived at Kennedy Space Center.
Crew 9 Final Preparations Set To Begin.
After landing on a chartered Gulfstream G-550 flight from Houston, the crew will begin final preparations for their upcoming flight aboard a Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon to the International Space Station, slated to launch no earlier than Thursday, September 26th, at 02:05 PM EDT.
They were greeted by Kelvin Manning, deputy director, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and Dana Hutcherson, deputy program manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program as well as a large contingent of reporters.
After answering questions from the press, Hague and Gorbunov left to enter quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at KSC. They will also complete a dry dress rehearsal of the mission, will align their resting and waking periods to match mission requirements and will also practive other launch and free-flight procedures that will be needed during the early part of their mission.
Aleksandr Vladimirovich Gorbunov and NASA Astronaut Nick Hague greeted reporters and @NASA personnel yesterday at the old Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC. They launch NET Thursday 2:06 PM EDT. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Dana Hutcherson gave more information on pre-launch preparations, “Our teams will also gather on Monday for the flight readiness review ahead of the launch. This launch will mark the first time a human spaceflight mission will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40, and our NASA and SpaceX teams have been working hand in hand with our Space Force mission partners. This is a huge increase in capability for us. With two pads now rated for human spaceflight, we now have operational flexibility with SpaceX to deconflict launches at both 39 A and SLC 40.”
An uncrewed Falcon 9 launching from Space Launch Complex 40. The site has seen over 250 launches through the years, but never a crewed flight. That will change as soon as this week. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Integration Of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams Into Crew 9
Due to issues with the Boeing Crewed Flight test and the subsequent shift of CFT astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Expedition 72 and Crew 9, the two astronauts who flew to ISS aboard Starliner will be returning to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon — a spacecraft neither of the two have previous flight experience with.
This reporter asked Crew 9 Commander Nick Hague when the integration of the two members would start:
Nick Hague comments on integrating the two Crew 9 astronauts already on Crew 9 Video via NASA liverstream. Members of the press waiting for Crew-9s arrival. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of TitusvilleThe crew and support personnel arriving at KSC’s SLF on September 22, 2024 aboard a Gulfstream G-550 charter flight. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
In a letter to leaders of the relevant Congressional committees that manage commercial space activities and their subsequent regulation, SpaceX informed the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transport (AST) of what it labels as “relatively minor license updates, with no bearing on public safety” with sufficient notice that the FAA should have been able to process the changes long before any alleged violations took place.
SpaceX also reiterated its commitment to safety multiple times in the letter. This is borne out by its very long record of conducting launches safely, not only in terms of the general public’s safety but also the safety of the operational launch pads in Florida and the federal facilities they are within.
Recap of Proposed Fines
To recap, the FAA proposed fines for what it deemed as violations of SpaceX’s launch licenses:
That SpaceX operated a launch using an unapproved communications plan for the June 18, 2023 PSN MFS Satria launch.
The launch was conducted from the company’s new launch control center at HangarX on Roberts Road at KSC rather than their previous LCC located adjacent to the Space Florida’s offices just outside the security gates at the south end of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
That the company did not conduct required launch readiness polling two hours prior to the PSN MFS Satria launch.
That the company operated an unapproved propellant farm for launch from LC-39A.
In response, SpaceX stated that they had given adequate notice of the communications plan changes and that the FAA was unreasonably slow in processing the submitted changes. The company noted that it had sent the revisions on May 2, 2023, that it asked for feedback and progress updates on several occasions and that when the FAA stated there were “too many [changes]” for it to complete the review of the new plan by the targeted date.
In response, SpaceX states that they submitted a greatly simplified plan revision that changed only the LCC location. They add that the FAA failed to review this new plan by saying that “SpaceX had not provided it with enough notice” — despite the original plan being submitted some six weeks earlier.
T-Minus Two Hour Launch Readiness Poll
The FAA alleged that SpaceX did not conduct a required readiness poll at the T-minus two-hour mark for the PSN MFS Satria launch on June 18, 2023.
SpaceX’s reply was simple: there is no requirement in the regulations for a two-hour poll and that it conducted the necessary readiness poll later in the countdown prior to propellant loading on the launch vehicle.
Propellant Farm
In their notification of the proposed fines, the FAA stated that SpaceX utilized an unapproved propellant farm at Launch Complex 39-A prior to the Echostar 23 launch.
SpaceX states that it moved the propellant farm to a safer location inside the security perimeter of LC-39A (while KSC is secured, the launch pads are fenced with a higher level of security within) the pad area. They also noted that the move had been approved by Federal Range Safety authorities prior to its first use, and finally that the FAA approved a waiver for this move less than a month later prior to the Crew-7 launch.
They also point out that the FAA is “on console” (in the launch control loop) for these launches and despite the company using an “unapproved” propellant farm that the FAA raised no objection and allowed the launch to proceed.
SpaceX Implies The Need For Congressional Intervention
By sending their responses to Congress, it is clear that SpaceX is deeply frustrated at the pace the FAA is processing launch licenses and license updates. They say as much when they say that “for well over a year now, SpaceX has voiced its concerns with the FAA’s inability to keep pace with the commercial space industry.”
Without saying so in the letter, it is also clear that SpaceX is calling on Congress to act, either by providing the FAA with more resources to process launch licenses in a more timely manner, or to streamline the license process in order for it to move faster, or most likely, both.
Whether Congress will act on this remains to be seen.
SpaceX’s September 18 Letter
For those interested in reading the letter SpaceX counsel sent to Congress:
Polaris Dawn launches aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 at Kennedy Space Center earlier today. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
After several days of frustrating weather that kept the mission on the ground, SpaceX and the crew of Polaris Dawn were able to thread the needle through a rainy night and launch their five-day mission this morning from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center.
Polaris Dawn on the launch pad. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX plans to launch Polaris Dawn early tomorrow morning from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, with four astronauts aboard a Crew Dragon.
The launch is scheduled for 3:38 AM EDT, with two additional launch opportunities within a four-hour window at 5:23 AM EDT and 7:09 AM EDT. If, for some reason, the launch does not happen tomorrow morning, backup opportunities are available on Wednesday, September 11th at the same times.
Falcon 9 on the launch mount at LC-39A with a storm approaching from the west this morning. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Booster B1083 will be making its fourth flight on this mission. It has been in service since March, 2024 when it launched the Crew-8 mission from KSC. Its two other flights were Starlink missions.
At A Glance
Mission: Polaris Dawn
Date: NET September 10, 2024
Launch Window: 03:38 AM – 07:09 AM EDT*
Weather: 40% Go during the primary launch window
Organization: SpaceX / Polaris Program
Rocket: Falcon 9
Trajectory: Northeast
Launch Site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center
Booster Landing: ASDS ‘ Just Read the Instructions’
Payload: Crew Dragon ‘Resilience’ with four crew members
The US Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron has slightly less than a 50/50 chance that weather will be acceptable for tomorrow morning’s launch attempt, rating the Probability Of Violation at 60%. They also list moderate concerns through the ascent corridor, where good conditions are critical in the event of a launch abort.
via the 45th Weather Squadron. Retrieved 3:00 PM EDT September 9, 2024
Trajectory
Northeastwards, at around 51.8 degrees.
Launch spectators on the southeastern coast may get a view of the launch as it ascends from Kennedy Space Center — depending on local conditions and clouds between them and the rocket.
Payload
Crew Dragon Resilience, with four astronauts aboard: Jared Isaacman, Mission Commander; Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Mission Pilot; Sarah Gillis, Mission Specialist; and Anna Menon, Mission Specialist and Medical Officer.
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Polaris Dawn. This will also be available on the X platform. Coverage will start about 3.5 hours prior to liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
For official updates regarding launch times, SpaceX.com is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Next Space Flight an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play. They are also on the web: nextspaceflight.com.
Launch Viewing: In Person
Given that this is a launch from Kennedy Space Center with no booster return to the Cape, Max Brewer Bridge and the northern Tistusville parks on Washington Avenue (US1) are your best bets: Space View Park, Rotary Riverview Park and others.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Cape Canaveral National Seashore will be closed for the evening, but if the launch pushes past 6AM EDT, those areas should be open.
Polaris Dawn on the launch mount at LC-39A on August 28, 2024, after the launch was called off for the day. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX has called off the Polaris Dawn launch of Falcon 9 until at least Friday, August 29th. The company announced shortly after 10 PM EDT that it was standing down for the night, and stated on its website that its next attempt would be no earlier than the end of the week:
Those areas would be of vital importance in the unlikely event of an in-flight abort that forced Crew Dragon and the Polaris Dawn crew to land downrange in the seas off of the Florida coast. With unacceptable conditions there, the launch was scrubbed roughly 5.5 hours before L-0.
The launch vehicle and crew remain healthy and safe, and a new launch date will likely be announced soon.
Due to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, we are now standing down from tonight and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn. Teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions
Repairs on Helium Quick-Disconnect Completed Earlier Tuesday
SpaceX completed repairs on the faulty quick-disconnect Helium supply line earlier in the day with alacrity, as repairs were completed by early afternoon. Shortly afterward, around 2 PM, Falcon was raised to a standing launch condition. Unfortunately, weather conditions offshore in the abort zone necessitated a two-day stand-down hours later.
SpaceX launch crew effecting repairs on the faulty Helium QD system on August 27, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Polaris Dawn’s Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon on the launch mount at LC-39A today at Kennedy Space Center. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX plans to launch Polaris Dawn early tomorrowUPDATE: Wednesday morning from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, with four astronauts aboard a Crew Dragon.
The launch is scheduled for 3:38 AM EDT, with two additional launch opportunities within a four-hour window at 5:23 AM EDT and 7:09 AM EDT. If, for some reason, the launch does not happen tomorrow morning, backup opportunities are available on Wednesday, Update: Thursday August 29, at the same time.
Booster B1083 will be making its fourth flight on this mission. It has been in service since March, 2024 when it launched the Crew-8 mission from KSC. Its two other flights were Starlink missions.
Crew Dragon ‘Resilience’ awaits astronauts to board later this evening at Pad LC-39A. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
At A Glance
Mission: Polaris Dawn
Date: NET August 28, 2024
Launch Window: 03:38 AM – 07:09 AM EDT*
Weather: 80% Go during the primary launch window
Organization: SpaceX / Polaris Program
Rocket: Falcon 9
Trajectory: Northeast
Launch Site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center
Booster Landing: ASDS ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’
Payload: Crew Dragon ‘Resilience’ with four crew members
There is a favorable forecast for tonight’s launch from the 45th Weather Squadron. They are calling for a 15% Probability of Violation of weather criteria, meaning there is an 85% chance the weather is acceptable for the launch.
(Updated to reflect latest forecast on 27 August)
Trajectory
Northeastwards, at around 51.8 degrees.
Launch spectators on the southeastern coast may get a view of the launch as it ascends from Kennedy Space Center — depending on local conditions and clouds between them and the rocket.
Payload
Crew Dragon Resilience, with four astronauts aboard: Jared Isaacman, Mission Commander; Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Mission Pilot; Sarah Gillis, Mission Specialist; and Anna Menon, Mission Specialist and Medical Officer.
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Polaris Dawn. This will also be available on the X platform. Coverage will start about 3.5 hours prior to liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
For official updates regarding launch times, SpaceX.com is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Next Space Flight an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play. They are also on the web: nextspaceflight.com.
Launch Viewing: In Person
Given that this is a launch from Kennedy Space Center with no booster return to the Cape, Max Brewer Bridge and the northern Tistusville parks on Washington Avenue (US1) are your best bets: Space View Park, Rotary Riverview Park and others.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Cape Canaveral National Seashore will be closed for the evening, but if the launch pushes past 6AM EDT, those areas should be open.
Polaris Dawn’s Crew: (L-R) Jared “Rook” Isaacmen, Sarah Gillis, Anna Menon and Scott “Kid” Poteet. Photo: Jon Kraus / Polaris Program
The crew for the upcoming privately crew flight of Polaris Dawn mission arrived at Kennedy Space Center earlier this week and are now in final preparations for their upcoming flight aboard a Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon.
The Polaris Dawn launch window opens at 03:38 AM EDT Tuesday August 27 and extends until 07:10 AM the same day. If for some reason the launch is called off Tuesday, the next opportunity is Wednesday, August 28 using the same times.
Once aloft, the mission is planned to last five days.
Jared Isaacman Photo: John Kraus / Polaris Program
“After more than two years of training, we are excited to embark on this mission,” said Jared Isaacman, commander of the Polaris Dawn mission earlier this week.
“We are incredibly thankful for this opportunity and to the thousands of SpaceX engineers who have contributed to this endeavor. We hope the results from our mission will accelerate SpaceX’s vision to make life multiplanetary and support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and its efforts to improve global survival rates for childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Throughout our mission, we will aim to inspire humankind to look up and imagine what we can achieve here on Earth and in the worlds beyond our own.”
Isaacmen will be joined by Sarah Gillis, Anna Menon and Scott “Kid” Poteet on the Polaris Dawn mission, which plans to eventually fly at an orbital attitude of ~700 km (~435 miles) above the surface of the Earth, the highest since Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon flew Gemini 11 to a 1,373 km (~853 miles) in 1966.
To provide a bit of contrast, the International Space Station orbits the Earth at around 400 km (~250 miles), and the Hubble Space Telescope is at 515 km (320 miles). Polaris Dawn will be above both.
The mission also plans to conduct the first all-private spacewalk. All four astronauts will don new spacesuits built by SpaceX for this mission, while two will actually exit the depressurized Falcon 9.
Rendering of the Polaris Dawn Spacewalk Graphic: Polaris Program
“The idea is to learn as much as we possibly can about this suit and get it back to the engineers to inform future suit design evolutions,” Isaacman said Monday at Kennedy Space Center.
During their spacewalk, the crew will conduct tests to provide data that will provide SpaceX engineers with in-flight data of each suit’s performance, strengths, and weaknesses. That, in turn, will inform improvements, allowing SpaceX teams to produce and scale the suit for future long-duration missions.
LASER-based Space Communication
The mission will also test a new communications system while in flight. Using optical-based transmitters and receivers, Polaris Dawn will link with Starlink satellites, which will then link to Earth.
This will provide greater bandwidth than the current TDRSS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System) system used by current American spaceflights and of course ISS with military usage also being an important role for the system.
The TDRSS system. Graphic via Wikimedia
TDRSS has been in place since the 1980s, and while it has been a robust and reliable form of communication, its services are limited by the amount of usage for ISS, crewed flights, and other missions.
Currently, TDRSS provides about 6 Megabit per second in the S-band and 800 Mb/s in the Ku/Ka bands. That’s roughly what a home with cable broadband gets, and while that’s a decent amount of broadband, it is very busy and does no have a great deal of additional capacity.
The LASER links to Starlink will provide more bandwidth and multiple connections, giving more data flow to and from the Earth. With the growth of commercial spaceflight and the promise of commercial space stations in the near future, clearly a new system is needed.
Medical Experiments
Polaris Dawn will conduct at least forty human health experiments while in orbit, providing vital data to SpaceX about the physiological changes and effects of spaceflight on the human body, which in turn will help the company and others prepare future astronauts for long-duration flight both in orbit but also on the moon and for flights to and from Mars.
While it would be easy to overlook these experiments, new data on spaceflight and humans can only add to the knowledge already gathered through the years, particularly on ISS. The results that Polaris Dawn astronauts provide will confirm or question previous results, for example, and that can only improve the lives of future astronauts.
Talk of Titusville will be providing full coverage of the Polaris Dawn flight. Be sure to check back over the next few days for crew biographies, launch previews and more!
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