Polaris Dawn: SpaceX eyes Tuesday morning launch for ambitious mission from Cape Canaveral
After two weeks of waiting in quarantine at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the all-civilian Polaris Dawn crew finally has a new target launch time.
SpaceX is targeting a 3:38 a.m. Tuesday liftoff for the privately funded Polaris Dawn orbital mission, which features an adventuresome spacewalk. The Falcon 9 rocket will launch from pad 39 at KSC.
However, a SpaceX tweet reported weather conditions are only forecast to be 40% favorable for the late-night liftoff — "and conditions at the possible splashdown sites for Dragon’s return to Earth remain a watch item."
"This is a big improvement over the last two weeks. We are getting closer to getting this mission to orbit," Polaris Dawn mission commander Jared Isaacman said in an 11:33 p.m. Monday tweet.
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FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live coverage of the Polaris Dawn launch attempt will start about 11:30 p.m. Monday at floridatoday.com/space. We'll link to SpaceX's mission webcast, which should begin about 3? hours before liftoff.
The Polaris Dawn mission is expected to last five days. Crew members are mission commander and Shift4 founder Isaacman; pilot Scott "Kidd" Poteet, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who flew F-16 Fighting Falcons; and two SpaceX lead space operations engineers: mission specialist/medical officer Anna Menon and mission specialist Sarah Gillis.
"During their multi-day mission to orbit, Dragon and the crew will endeavor to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown since the Apollo program and participate in the first-ever extravehicular activity (EVA) by commercial astronauts wearing SpaceX-developed EVA suits," SpaceX officials said in the launch date announcement.
"They will also conduct 36 research studies and experiments from 31 partner institutions designed to advance both human health on Earth and during long-duration spaceflight, and test Starlink laser-based communications in space," the announcement said.
The Polaris Dawn crew members were initially scheduled to lift off on their five-day journey on Aug. 27, but a helium leak at the launch pad scrubbed that attempt.
And poor Dragon capsule oceanic splashdown conditions have been cited for the ensuing days of delay — as the Atlantic Ocean tropical storm season continues heating up. The spacecraft will target splashdown at one of seven sites off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center is now tracking three systems, including potential Tropical Storm Francine in the Gulf of Mexico.
Forecasters expect Francine to swirl to life Monday near the western Gulf of Mexico coastline. Meteorologists predict this system will strengthen into a hurricane by mid-week, with maximum flooding potential centered in southern Louisiana.
What's more, a system in the central tropical Atlantic creeping westward has a 60% chance of tropical formation within the next seven days, the NHC reported.
For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Polaris Dawn: SpaceX targets early Tuesday liftoff from Cape Canaveral
