NASA’s Crew-6 docked to the International Space Station on March 3 after solving another problem with a hook in the SpaceX Crew Dragon nose cone. SpaceX had to send a software update to override data that indicated Hook 5 was not properly positioned after verifying that it was, in fact, OK. An earlier issue with the same hook, one of 12, forced ground controllers to use a backup system to open the nose cone after the spacecraft reached orbit a day earlier. A faulty sensor was blamed in both cases.

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Liftoff of four crew members to the International Space Station went off without a hitch at 12:34 am ET this morning. It was the second try, following a scrub on Monday caused by a technical problem with ground equipment. This time the launch went perfectly and Crew-6 is in orbit and on the way to a docking about 24 hours from now.

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NASA and SpaceX will try again to launch the next crew to the International Space Station in a few hours at 12:34 am March 2. The first attempt was scrubbed early Monday morning due to a ground equipment issue. The four-person Crew-6 aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour will replace Crew-5. In a post-departure news conference from the ISS today, Crew-5 shared what they are looking forward to most when they get back to Earth.

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NASA announced today that Nicky Fox is the new head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Like her predecessor, Thomas Zurbuchen, she is a heliophysicist who studies the Sun and its influence on the solar system. Zurbuchen brought her into NASA to head SMD’s heliophysics division in 2018. She is only the second woman to lead SMD.

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NASA and SpaceX had to scrub the launch of Crew-6 about two minutes before launch due to a technical problem with the Falcon 9 rocket — the TEA-TEB ingiter fluid for the Merlin engines. Another attempt is tentatively scheduled for March 2 at 12:34 am ET pending resolution of the TEA-TEB issue.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of February 26-March 4, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week, although the House meets only Monday-Wednesday.

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The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command is reimagining how it procures launch services amid dramatic changes in the launch marketplace. A draft Request for Proposals spells out the new approach where companies will be able to bid in one of two “lanes” for single launches similar to those for commercial customers or a five-year block buy with more demanding requirements. SSC will hold an industry day next week to explain the plan and gather input before releasing the final RFP.

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Vice President Kamala Harris met with members of the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group yesterday. No big announcements emerged, but the space community is eagerly awaiting action by Harris on recommending what agency should be assigned “mission authorization” to regulate novel space activities, a topic of discussion at the UAG meeting earlier in the day.

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Russia’s Soyuz MS-23 lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on time this evening enroute to the International Space Station. No one is aboard this flight. It is being sent to replace the damaged Soyuz MS-22 and bring that crew home later this year. Soyuz MS-22 and a Russian cargo spacecraft, Progress MS-21, both sprang leaks in their coolant systems over the past two months. Russian engineers closely examined Progress MS-23 and are confident it will not encounter the same fate.

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NASA and SpaceX decided today to delay the launch of the next Crew Dragon for one day as they continue work on a number of items. The February 26 launch is now set for February 27 at 1:45 am ET. At the same time, NASA confirmed its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, will launch the uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on Thursday evening.

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