SpaceX aborts Starlink launch attempt as Polaris Dawn still in waiting pattern
SpaceX called off a Wednesday launch attempt for a Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral because of downrange weather for the booster recovery while the Polaris Dawn mission from Kennedy Space Center remains on hold also because of weather concerns for its eventual landing site.
The Starlink launch, though, has another shot to fly on Thursday, when a Falcon 9 with 21 Starlink satellites could lift off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 during a four-hour window that runs from 8:35 a.m.-12:35 p.m.
Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a 70% chance for good launch conditions Thursday.
The first-stage booster for the flight is making its 15th trip to space with a targeted landing downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship Just Read The Instructions.
It marks the 62nd flight from the Space Coast in 2024 with all but four coming from SpaceX.
Awaiting the green light to fly still is SpaceX’s next crewed mission, Polaris Dawn, aiming to fly billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crewmates riding in the Crew Dragon Resilience on a five-day orbital mission launching from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A.
Because their trip isn’t docking with the International Space Station like most other Dragon missions, SpaceX has to sign off on weather for both the launch date and the return date with seven potential landing spots off the coast of Florida in either the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic.
“We are still waiting for that good wx window,” Isaacman posted on X on Tuesday.
Staying busy in quarantine with some formation flying, timeline review, staying fit and focused on the mission ahead. Grateful for the amazing team and this incredible opportunity. Big launch day is getting closer. https://t.co/273eEpwzII pic.twitter.com/OxkbhZYVNi
— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) September 1, 2024
Over the weekend, he and his crew flew around the Space Coast in Isaacman’s Polaris Ghost Squadron flight demonstration team jets.
“Staying busy in quarantine with some formation flying, timeline review, staying fit and focused on the mission ahead. Grateful for the amazing team and this incredible opportunity. Big launch day is getting closer,” he posted.
SpaceX’s last Polaris Dawn mission update was on Aug. 29 after it had scrubbed two potential attempts because of weather.
“Latest forecasts continue to show unfavorable weather conditions in the areas along Florida’s coast where Dragon would splash down upon returning from space. Once teams identify the next best opportunity for launch and return of the Polaris Dawn mission, we’ll provide an update. Falcon 9 and Dragon remain healthy and vertical on the pad at 39A,” according to the post.
Despite that, the Federal Aviation Administration and Eastern Range keep updating potential launch times, shifting with the latest targets aiming for early Saturday at 3:38 a.m. with backups at 5:23 a.m. and 7:09 a.m. and backups during the same times early Sunday and Monday.
The mission is the first of up to three for the Polaris Program funded by a partnership between Isaacman and SpaceX. Isaacman has already flown once with SpaceX back in 2021 on the Inspiration4 mission.
His crew for Polaris Dawn features two SpaceX employees, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, as well as Isaacman’s friend and former Air Force pilot Scott Poteet. Gillis will join Isaacman in an attempt to perform the first commercial spacewalk on day three of the mission.