The Polaris Dawn crew can breathe a sigh of relief now that the SpaceX rocket that will one day soon launch them into orbit has been once again cleared for takeoff.
Regulators with the Federal Aviation Administration had grounded the company's Falcon 9 rocket last week after it experienced a fiery landing mishap following a successful orbital satellite delivery. The launch moratorium cast further uncertainty over the future of the groundbreaking Polaris Dawn mission, whose commercial crew plans to hitch a ride to space aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule perched atop a Falcon 9.
But it wasn't long until SpaceX was back in business.
By Friday, the FAA cleared the Falcon 9 for launches even as the agency's investigation into failed landing continues, according to Florida Today, a USA TODAY Network publication. Within hours, SpaceX resumed its launch routine with another Starlink satellite delivery.
As for Polaris Dawn, SpaceX has not yet made any announcements about a new launch date despite an FAA operations plan that lists a launch window as early as Friday.
The FAA grounded the Falcon 9 rocket last week in order to investigate why a rocket booster from an uncrewed SpaceX mission tipped over and exploded early Wednesday upon returning to Earth.
The rocket booster failure occurred in the early morning hours during a delivery of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
While the overall mission appeared to be a success, the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket failed to properly land on the uncrewed drone ship named “A Shortfall of Gravitas.” Instead, the booster exploded, sending flames billowing around the doomed booster, which then tumbled onto its side.
On Friday, the agency, which licenses commercial rocket launches, cleared SpaceX for further launches while the investigation continues.
"The SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle may return to flight operations while the overall investigation of the anomaly during the Starlink Group 8-6 mission remains open, provided all other license requirements are met," the FAA said in a statement provided to FLORIDA TODAY.
By Saturday, SpaceX declared itself back up and running by sending a Falcon 9 rocket soaring into the predawn Florida sky.
The launch, a Starlink mission, occurred from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 and traveled in a northeast trajectory, carrying 21 Starlink internet satellites to orbit.
Another Starlink launch lifted off just over an hour afterward from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California.
Just because the Falcon 9 is cleared to fly, that doesn't mean the highly-anticipated Polaris Dawn mission will be launching anytime soon.
SpaceX has been looking for a viable window to launch the four commercial astronauts into orbit, where the crew hopes to become the first commercial spacefarers to conduct a spacewalk. But the mission requires a good weather forecast not only for launch, but for the crew's return five days later when they splash down off the coast of Florida.
Since Polaris Dawn is not docking with the International Space Station, the crew is entirely reliant on the resources they have in the Dragon. That makes planning for a safe return during a set time period crucial.
Concerns about unfavorable weather during the crew's return is what prompted the third and most recent delay of the Polaris Dawn launch last week. SpaceX has said that it continues to monitor the forecast to look for favorable weather conditions; as of the company's most recent update Thursday on social media site X, the Falcon 9 and Dragon remained vertical on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center.
Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman arrived with his crew more than two weeks ago in Florida to prepare for the launch. Isaacman, who funded the mission along with Elon Musk's company, will command a crew that includes pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, both of them mission specialists.
The crew's ambitious spaceflight will attempt to take them to higher altitudes than humans have traveled since NASA's Apollo program in the 1970s. While in orbit, the Polaris Dawn crew also will conduct the first-ever commercial spacewalk and test SpaceX technology that could set the stage for future deep space exploration.
Contributing: Rick Neale, Florida Today
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