Polaris Dawn finally lifted off this morning after a long series of weather delays. The four private astronauts will spend five days in orbit with the goal of flying higher than any previous Earth-orbiting human spaceflight mission and conducting the first commercial spacewalk. They bring to 16 the number of human beings currently in orbit and three more are scheduled to launch tomorrow, which will set a new record.
NASA today cleared the Europa Clipper mission for launch next month. The decision on whether or not to launch has been up in the air for the past several months after the agency learned that transistors on the spacecraft might not be as radiation-hardened as they thought. Tests since then have demonstrated they are fine and the mission will proceed as planned.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of September 8-14, 2024 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule undocked from the International Space Station at 6:04 pm ET Friday and landed in New Mexico six hours later just after midnight Saturday. That brings to an end the Crew Flight Test although the crew — NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — are not aboard. Concerns about Starliner’s thrusters led NASA to decide to leave them on the ISS and bring Starliner back to Earth empty.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule is two days away from returning to Earth after an eventful crewed flight test. NASA said today they will close the hatches tomorrow with undocking set for Friday afternoon. The weather is looking good for landing in New Mexico six hours later, but even if there is a delay for any reason, they will not be reopened until Starliner is back on terra firma. Helium leaks and thruster failures led NASA to decide to bring Starliner home empty instead of carrying the two NASA astronauts who were aboard when it launched.
Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com from August 26-September 1, 2024 including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of September 1-7, 2024 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess until September 9 except for pro forma sessions.
The FAA today allowed SpaceX to resume launches of the Falcon 9 rocket while investigation continues into the failed landing of a first stage earlier this week.
NASA announced today that NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will be the two Crew-9 members who get to remain on the September mission to the International Space Station. NASA is reducing the crew size because two of the seats are needed to return the NASA astronauts who flew to the ISS on Boeing’s Starliner Crew Flight Test. Zena Cardman, who had been assigned as Commander, and Stephanie Wilson, a mission specialist, will have to wait for another assignment.
NASA decided today that the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test mission will return to Earth on September 6. The spacecraft will be empty when it lands in New Mexico instead of bringing back the two NASA astronauts who were aboard when it launched. Worries that the thrusters may not perform as planned led the agency to decide to leave the astronauts aboard the International Space Station until they can return on an alternative spacecraft, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, in February.