Polaris Dawn launch postponed Wednesday and Thursday because of offshore splashdown forecast
SpaceX officials have called off Polaris Dawn launch attempts Wednesday and Thursday, citing unfavorable weather forecasted in the Dragon capsule's splashdown area off the Florida coastline.
Switching gears swiftly, SpaceX announced the uncrewed Starlink 8-6 mission will lift off at 2:54 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in lieu of Polaris Dawn. Backup opportunities will remain available until 4:48 a.m., if needed.
No new Polaris Dawn target launch date was announced after SpaceX's stand-down announcement at 10:11 p.m. Tuesday. The scrub occurred more than five hours before targeted liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Next, "teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions."
"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. As of now, conditions are not favorable tonight or tomorrow, so we’ll assess day by day," Polaris Dawn mission commander Jared Isaacman said in a Tuesday night tweet.
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"As Elon mentioned, Polaris Dawn is a challenging mission with critical objectives, so we’ll wait for the best opportunity to ensure success. Sometimes, the hardest journeys require the most patience, and we’re ready to wait for the right moment. We know many have traveled to see the launch, and we’re grateful for your support," Isaacman said.
The postponement marked the second straight evening that SpaceX scrubbed Polaris Dawn's launch. Crews found a groundside helium leak Monday night on an umbilical line at pad 39A.
"For this mission we have the additional constraint of having acceptable recovery weather as a criteria for launch. The teams work hard evaluating it, to ultimately ensure we can return the crew home safely," Haley Esparza, SpaceX manager of astronaut operations, said in a Tuesday night tweet.
The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron's Polaris Dawn forecast, which was issued Tuesday, warned of a low-to-moderate risk of poor weather along the Dragon's ascent corridor on Wednesday and Thursday.
The mission is projected to last about five days, ending with atmospheric re-entry and a Dragon splashdown at one of seven sites off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean.
National Hurricane Center meteorologists are monitoring a potential area of low pressure in the central tropical Atlantic Ocean that has a 20% chance of organizing into a tropical system within the next seven days. This area is expected to move westward at 10 mph to 15 mph.
For the latest news and launch schedule 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 launch called off Wednesday-Thursday due to weather
