(Credit: SpaceX / John Kraus)
SpaceX is delaying its Polaris Dawn launch until further notice due to poor weather conditions in Florida, the Elon Musk-led space company said early Wednesday.
"Due to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, we are now standing down from tonight and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn," SpaceX said. "Teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions."
Parts of Florida are expected to see rain and thunderstorms for the next week. The Polaris Dawn launch is taking place in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Thunderstorms and rain around the launch area are likely until at least September 3, according to National Weather Service predictions, so Polaris Dawn might not get a new launch date until at least after that time. Hurricane season can be a challenging time for space launches, which are very dependent on decent weather conditions for safe landings when needed.
"Our launch criteria are heavily constrained by forecasted splashdown weather conditions," explains Jared Isaacman, the billionaire executive funding and leading the mission, who will be one of its four astronauts. "With no ISS rendezvous and limited life support consumables, we must be absolutely sure of reentry weather before launching. As of now, conditions are not favorable tonight or tomorrow, so we’ll assess day by day."
The Polaris Dawn mission plans to send its human crew into low-Earth orbit, which is about 621 miles above the planet. The mission goals include to test out new technology, spend up to five days in orbit, attempt a spacewalk, and study space exposure's impacts on human health.
While weather concerns stopped its astronaut launch, SpaceX was able to launch nearly two-dozen Starlink satellites into orbit early Wednesday. It deployed 21 Starlink satellites, 13 of which have its direct-to-cell capabilities, the company said. SpaceX has launched over 6,900 satellites into Earth's orbit in total, with about 6,300 of them currently operational.
"Polaris Dawn is a challenging mission with critical objectives, so we’ll wait for the best opportunity to ensure success," Isaacman said on the indefinite delay. "Sometimes, the hardest journeys require the most patience, and we’re ready to wait for the right moment."