SpaceX Grounded Before Start of the Polaris Dawn Mission

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For the second time in two months, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch has had problems, leading to a temporary grounding of the rocket by the Federal Aviation Administration. In the latest case, a rocket booster crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after a successful launch of Starlink satellites.

As a result of the malfunction, the privately-funded Polaris Dawn mission scheduled for this Friday will most likely need to be delayed. One of the goals for the Polaris Dawn mission is a spacewalk, which will be the first private space walk to date.

Of greater concern is the role of the Falcon 9 in upcoming International Space Station launches, be it crewed or uncrewed. With the Boeing capsule stuck at the station, SpaceX is currently the one game in town for NASA’s station needs.

Space Quote: NASA’s North Star Means Boeing Astronauts to Return to Earth on SpaceX Capsule

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Image (Credit): Boeing Starliner attached to the ISS. (NASA)

“Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine. A test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine. The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our North Star…I’m grateful to both the NASA and Boeing teams for all their incredible and detailed work.“

–Statement by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson regarding NASA’s decision to return Boeing’s Starliner to Earth without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the spacecraft. Instead the two astronauts will remain on the International Space Station (ISS) until February 2025 when they will return to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

One More Wrinkle Related to the Starliner Delay

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Credit: NASA

As if NASA needed another issue with the Boeing Starliner stranded at the International Space Station (ISS), the media (particularly the Indian media) is now reporting that one of the Starliner astronauts is having eyesight issues.

According to one media source, Astronaut Sunita Williams is experiencing eyesight problems that may be linked to her exposure to microgravity. The issue, called Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS), is not an uncommon symptom related to space flight. It can lead to blurred vision over time and worsens over time.

NASA has noted that:

Most astronauts’ eyes and brain structure change in space…Weightlessness causes blood and cerebrospinal fluid to shift toward the head. This fluid shift is believed to be the underlying cause of the eye and brain structural changes…The longer they are in space, the more they may be impacted. Many astronauts only experience effects in space, but some changes may be permanent in some astronauts.

This has only become an issue now that an 8-day tour has turned into a potential 8-month tour. This Gilligan’s Island tour needs to come to an end so that the ISS can return to regular operations.

Image (Credit): Scene from the television show Gilligan’s Island. (CBS Television Network)

Progress MS-28/89 Spacecraft Docks with the ISS

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Image (Credit): The Progress MS-28 cargo spacecraft approaches the ISS on Saturday, August 17, 2024. (NASA)

The Progress MS-28 (or Progress 89 per NASA) spacecraft successfully attached itself to the International Space Station (ISS) yesterday so that three tons of supplies could be unloaded.

As with previous resupply spacecraft, it will remain attached to the station for the next six months before being ejected back towards Earth where it will burn up in the atmosphere.

Pic of the Week: Russian Launch to Resupply the ISS

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Image (Credit): The launch earlier today of the Progress MS-28 cargo spacecraft to the ISS. (TASS Russian News Agency)

This week’s image is from earlier today when the Russian’s successfully launched its Progress MS-28 cargo spacecraft via a Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). The resupply mission was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome located in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft will rendezvous with the ISS on Saturday.

Note: NASA identifies the mission as Progress 89.