SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission targeting this week for launch

SpaceX has announced that the Polaris Dawn mission is targeting Tuesday, September 10 at 3:38 a.m. ET. This is the latest launch window both partners are exploring after numerous delays.

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the human crew will liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The company is now posing two launch opportunities including a four-hour window at 5:23 a.m. ET and 7:09 a.m. ET. The mission can also transition to the second day at the same launch window.

This will be the fourth flight for the booster, which was previously used to liftoff Crew-8 mission. After stage separation, it will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

This mission is a new step in commercial spaceflights and aims to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown by a commercial mission. SpaceX will use its custom Dragon capsule to take these astronauts to space including Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon.

The crew will research the effect of spaceflight and space radiation on human health. Then the crew will attempt the first-ever extravehicular activity at approximately 700 kilometers above Earth.

The crewmates will wear SpaceX-designed EVA spacesuits, an upgrade from the current-gen intravehicular suit. Furthermore, the crew will test Starlink laser-based communication in space to gather important data for space missions.

Despite these important milestones, the mission continues to get postponed due to various reasons. We’ll have to see what happens through this new launch window.

(source)