{"id":10029,"date":"2024-08-27T00:11:14","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T16:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/launch-delay-spacex-pushes-polaris-dawn-astronaut-launch-due-to-splashdown-weather-concerns\/"},"modified":"2024-08-27T00:11:14","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T16:11:14","slug":"launch-delay-spacex-pushes-polaris-dawn-astronaut-launch-due-to-splashdown-weather-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/launch-delay-spacex-pushes-polaris-dawn-astronaut-launch-due-to-splashdown-weather-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Launch delay: SpaceX pushes Polaris Dawn astronaut launch due to splashdown weather concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_67168\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67168\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67168\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240826_Polaris_Dawn_prelaunch_MC-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240826_Polaris_Dawn_prelaunch_MC-1.jpg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240826_Polaris_Dawn_prelaunch_MC-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240826_Polaris_Dawn_prelaunch_MC-1-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240826_Polaris_Dawn_prelaunch_MC-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67168\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft stand ready to launch the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission from Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center is set for no earlier than 3:38 a.m. EDT (0738 UTC) on Aug. 27, 2024. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><em>Update 10:18 p.m. EDT: SpaceX is foregoing launch opportunities on both Wednesday and Thursday \u201cdue to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon\u2019s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A commercial astronaut mission of historic firsts will remain on the ground for at least a couple more days. Late Tuesday night, SpaceX blamed poor weather around the State of Florida during the period when the Crew Dragon spacecraft would be returning from its on orbit voyage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDue to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon\u2019s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, SpaceX is standing down from Falcon 9\u2019s launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn on Wednesday, August 28 and Thursday, August 29,\u201d the company explained. \u201cSpaceX teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is the second delay for the five-day, free-flying mission. The Polaris Dawn mission, led by billionaire-entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, will go further than humans have ventured since the conclusion of the Apollo missions more than 50 years ago. They will also conduct the first commercial spacewalk in history.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX was originally poised to launch the mission Tuesday morning, but opted to delay the mission launch by 24 hours. The rocket was lowered to a horizontal position around 5 p.m. EDT (2100 UTC) on Monday for \u201cadditional pre-launch checkouts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After 8 p.m. EDT, the company said, \u201cTeams are taking a closer look at a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect umbilical. Falcon and Dragon remain health and the crew continues to be ready for their multi-day mission to low-Earth orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Isaacman elaborated on why their launch hinges so much on the weather nearly a week from now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3\">Our launch criteria are heavily constrained by forecasted splashdown weather conditions. With no ISS rendezvous and limited life support consumables, we must be absolutely sure of reentry weather before launching,\u201d Isaacman wrote. \u201cAs of now, conditions are not favorable tonight or tomorrow, so we\u2019ll assess day by day. As Elon mentioned, Polaris Dawn is a challenging mission with critical objectives, so we\u2019ll wait for the best opportunity to ensure success. Sometimes, the hardest journeys require the most patience, and we\u2019re ready to wait for the right moment. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3\">\u201cWe know many have traveled to see the launch, and we\u2019re grateful for your support. Alongside @SpaceX, we\u2019ll do our best to keep you posted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Isaacman is joined in the flight by Pilot Scott \u201cKidd\u201d Poteet; Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon; and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis. Menon and Gillis will become the first SpaceX employees to travel to space.<\/p>\n<p>When it\u2019s able, a Falcon 9 rocket supporting this mission will liftoff from Launch Complex 39A. Spaceflight Now will have live coverage of the mission beginning about 4 hours prior to liftoff.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CzVVSxAXicw\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Menon, who journals often, said she\u2019s looking forward to chronicling this journey for more than just her own memories.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI strive to capture a number of things. Especially as we get close to flight, this has been really obvious, time is fast, it\u2019s flying and our days are action-packed leading up to the mission, but especially leading up to launch,\u201d Menon told Spaceflight Now in July. \u201cI try to get down the details because I know I will look back one day and it\u2019ll be pretty blurry, I suspect. I try to get down the details so that one day I can step my mind back into it and remember all the nuances of this experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut then I also try to capture my feelings and the experiences I\u2019m feeling with my crew mates and this fantastic team at SpaceX so that I cannot just transport myself back into the technical details, but also the emotions of going through this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Polaris Dawn will be the second time Isaacman journeys to space and the second time the CEO of Shift4 Payments serves as a mission commander aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Isaacman will also become the second person to fly aboard a Dragon twice, following Axiom Space astronaut Michael L\u00f3pez-Alegr\u00eda\u2019s second flight on Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt takes a massive team effort to bring a mission like Polaris Dawn to life. Together, we\u2019re making incredible progress for the future\u2014both in space and here on Earth,\u201d Isaacman wrote in a social media post following the conclusion of the mission readiness review Monday morning. \u201cWe can do both.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1827904509042897116&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2024%2F08%2F26%2Flive-coverage-spacex-to-launch-polaris-dawn-astronauts-on-falcon-9-rocket-from-the-kennedy-space-center%2F&amp;sessionId=c6fca772f3ec7173ad16f6ce0d74cdcd33024c6c&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1827904509042897116\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782461289654439407=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">It takes a massive team effort to bring a mission like Polaris Dawn to life. Together, we\u2019re making incredible progress for the future\u2014both in space and here on Earth.<\/p>\n<p>We can do both. https:\/\/t.co\/iOuBuTFJHG<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) August 26, 2024<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Falcon 9 rocket supporting the mission, tail number B1083 in the SpaceX fleet, will launch for a fourth time on this flight. It previously supported the Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station as well as sending two batches of SpaceX Starlink internet satellites into low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n<p>With the Crew Dragon spacecraft stacked on top, the launch vehicle stands at 65 m (213.3 feet) tall. Named \u2018Resilience,\u2019 the Dragon will be making its third trip to space after launching both the Crew-1 mission and Inspiration4, Isaacman\u2019s first voyage beyond Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Because Resilience will be launched into a 190 x 1,200 km (118 x 746 mi.) orbit at a 51.6 degree inclination, B1083 will land on the SpaceX droneship, \u2018A Shortfall of Gravitas,\u2019 about 9.5 minutes after liftoff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe @PolarisProgram mission readiness review just finished and we are currently go for launch in just over 24 hours,\u201d SpaceX founder Elon Musk wrote in a social media post. \u201cCrew safety is absolutely paramount and this mission carries more risk than usual, as it will be the furthest humans have traveled from Earth since Apollo and the first commercial spacewalk!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf any concerns arise, the launch will be postponed until those concerns are addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1827969979334926371&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2024%2F08%2F26%2Flive-coverage-spacex-to-launch-polaris-dawn-astronauts-on-falcon-9-rocket-from-the-kennedy-space-center%2F&amp;sessionId=c6fca772f3ec7173ad16f6ce0d74cdcd33024c6c&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1827969979334926371\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782461289654439407=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The @PolarisProgram mission readiness review just finished and we are currently go for launch in just over 24 hours.<\/p>\n<p>Crew safety is absolutely paramount and this mission carries more risk than usual, as it will be the furthest humans have traveled from Earth since Apollo and the\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/4TEwupwldQ<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2024<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Record distance<\/h4>\n<p>During the first day of the flight, the rocket will raise its apogee \u2014 the highest point in the orbit \u2014 to 1,400 km (870 mi.). At that distance, the Polaris Dawn crew will have flown further from Earth than any humans since the end of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re going into this environment, you\u2019re dealing with totally different realities than, for example, when you would go to the space station,\u201d Isaacman said in a prelaunch briefing. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of energy going into the vehicle, it\u2019s a lot of energy to take out of the vehicle when you\u2019re coming back home. It\u2019s a different radiation environment. It\u2019s a different micrometeorite orbital debris environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, we stand to learn quite a bit from that in terms of human health, science and research. If we get to Mars someday, we\u2019d love to be able to come back and be healthy enough to tell people about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67133\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67133\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67133\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240819_Polaris_Dawn_orbit.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240819_Polaris_Dawn_orbit.jpg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240819_Polaris_Dawn_orbit-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240819_Polaris_Dawn_orbit-678x381.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240819_Polaris_Dawn_orbit-768x433.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67133\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A graphic illustrating the apogee of the Polaris Dawn mission\u2019s orbit. Graphic: SpaceX\/Polaris Program<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The distance will also give Gillis and Menon the distinction of the women who have traveled the furthest from Earth to date. NASA astronaut Christina Koch will break that record when the Artemis 2 mission launches for a journey around the Moon no earlier than September 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Gillis joined SpaceX as it was refining its human spaceflight program leading up to the Demo-2 mission in May 2020, crewed by former NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Doug Hurley. She said being a part of the mission to prepare Dragon to endure the impacts of the van Allen Radiation Belts and for the first commercial spacewalk has been a great, full-circle moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd so it\u2019s been so cool over the last two years to to almost start that process again, like it\u2019s a different, different development program where we\u2019re adding an entire nitrogen repress system into the spacecraft. We have to make sure there are the right mobility aids to support a crew member performing the EVA,\u201d Gillis said. \u201cIt\u2019s been really, really cool and really special for me, given my context on why the Dragon is the way it is, but now getting to actually help develop a brand new spacesuit and test how it integrates into the spacecraft and how it actually can support a spacewalk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo that\u2019s been something that\u2019s really, really cool for me to participate in in the last two years.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Spacewalking on Skywalker<\/h4>\n<p>The mission highlight for many people, both within SpaceX and the Polaris Program and beyond, will be the spacewalk happening on the third day of flight.<\/p>\n<p>Because the Crew Dragon doesn\u2019t have an airlock, the entire vehicle will be brought down to vacuum during the spacewalk. Isaacman and Gillis will physically exit the Dragon capsule, one at a time, with the support of a hand-and-foot-rail system, called \u2018Skywalker.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The homage to the \u2018Star Wars\u2019 franchise follows the naming of the rocket itself, the Falcon 9, which is a hat tip to the Millennium Falcon, seen throughout the films.<\/p>\n<p>Much of the training over the past two-and-a-half years has been working on the prebreathe protocols to purge nitrogen from their systems. The process will start about an hour after they arrive on orbit and continue slowly over a couple of days before flight day three rolls around.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67169\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67169\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67169\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240826_Polaris_Dawn_prelaunch_MC-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240826_Polaris_Dawn_prelaunch_MC-2.jpg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240826_Polaris_Dawn_prelaunch_MC-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240826_Polaris_Dawn_prelaunch_MC-2-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20240826_Polaris_Dawn_prelaunch_MC-2-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67169\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience stands atop the Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A ahead of the launch of the Polaris Dawn mission. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThis prebreathe is really designed to help mitigate the risk of decompression sickness when we actually go to vacuum in the spacesuits,\u201d Gillis said. \u201cOver the course of about 45 hours, we\u2019ll actually slowly drop the cabin pressure and raise the oxygen concentration to help mitigate the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The entire spacewalk will last around two hours and SpaceX intends to livestream the event using the various cameras placed around the Dragon spacecraft. Speaking as someone who trains astronauts on working with the capsule and the spacesuits, Gillis said she\u2019s eager to field test them herself on orbit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think most interestingly is what is that actually like in space? It\u2019s end to end. You know, we started from design concept through to actually experiencing that on orbit. And so I\u2019m really, really interested to see what we learn from doing the EVA, what ways we need to modify our training for the for future spacewalks,\u201d Gillis said. \u201cBut it should be really interesting to see that that full design evolution come come together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Poteet said the training that he and his crew mates experienced from the teams at SpaceX gives him great confidence in the mission that lies ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpending thousands of hours in the simulator is what helped build our confidence for dealing with any scenario that Melissa decided to throw at us,\u201d Poteet said, referring to one of the SpaceX trainers. \u201cIt was very challenging\u2026 but experiencing those and trying to identify what is wrong and then how do we work together to solve those issues certainly built our confidence to be able to handle those very low probability (scenarios) on orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K_fyMaO1wkk\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft stand ready to launch the Polaris Dawn commercial astronaut mission from Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center is set for no earlier than 3:38 a.m. EDT (0738 UTC) on Aug. 27, 2024. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now Update 10:18 p.m. EDT: SpaceX is foregoing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1297,235,1156,479,720,1298,1299,1300],"class_list":["post-10029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-anna-menon","tag-crew-dragon","tag-crew-dragon-resilience","tag-falcon-9","tag-jared-isaacman","tag-polaris-dawn","tag-sarah-gillis","tag-scott-kidd-poteet"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10029"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10029\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}