The Polaris Dawn mission has etched its name in the annals of space history, marking a significant milestone in human spaceflight. After a groundbreaking five-day journey, the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, carrying a crew of four astronauts, splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico at 3:37 a.m. ET on Sunday. This mission not only showcased the capabilities of commercial space travel but also achieved several remarkable feats, including the world’s first commercial spacewalk.

A Historic Splashdown

The Crew Dragon capsule landed off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida, concluding a mission that saw its crew reach unprecedented heights. Polaris Dawn achieved an orbital altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers), the highest ever reached by humans since the Apollo program, surpassing the previous record set by NASA’s Gemini 11 mission in 1966, which reached 853 miles (1,373 kilometers).

Upon re-entry, the spacecraft faced extreme temperatures of up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,900 degrees Celsius) due to the pressures and friction of traveling at 17,000 miles per hour (27,000 kilometers per hour). However, the Crew Dragon’s advanced heat shield ensured the astronauts remained safe and comfortable throughout the descent. Once the capsule hit the water, it bobbed momentarily before rescue crews aboard a vessel dubbed the “Dragon’s Nest” retrieved it, completing a meticulous safety check before the crew disembarked.

Groundbreaking Achievements

The Polaris Dawn crew consisted of mission commander Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Shift4 Payments; former US Air Force pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet; and SpaceX operations engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis. This mission was the first of three planned in the Polaris program, intended to push the boundaries of human spaceflight.

One of the most significant highlights of the mission was the first-ever commercial spacewalk. Conducted on the third day, both Isaacman and Gillis exited the spacecraft in a groundbreaking extravehicular activity (EVA). With the absence of an airlock in the Crew Dragon, the entire cabin was depressurized, exposing all four crew members to the vacuum of space. Gillis, at just 30 years old, became the youngest person to participate in a spacewalk, while the mission set a new record for the number of individuals simultaneously exposed to space, totaling four.

Scientific Exploration

The Polaris Dawn mission also focused on scientific research, particularly studying the effects of space radiation on the human body. By flying through parts of the Van Allen radiation belt, the crew aimed to gather valuable data that could inform future long-duration space missions, including potential journeys to Mars.

The mission kicked off with a rigorous pre-breathing protocol to reduce nitrogen levels in the crew’s bodies, mitigating the risk of decompression sickness during the planned spacewalk. Over the course of the mission, the cabin pressure was gradually decreased from 14.5 to 8.6 pounds per square inch, while oxygen levels were increased to prepare for the EVA.

Breaking Barriers for Women in Space

Notably, Menon and Gillis broke records by flying further from Earth than any women before them. Their participation in this historic mission highlights the increasing role of women in space exploration, paving the way for future generations of female astronauts.

The Polaris Dawn mission represents a pivotal moment in commercial spaceflight, illustrating the potential of private companies to lead the way in exploring new frontiers. As SpaceX continues to innovate and push the boundaries of what is possible, the accomplishments of the Polaris Dawn crew serve as a reminder of humanity’s enduring quest to explore the cosmos.

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Conclusion

The Polaris Dawn mission has set the stage for a new era in space exploration, showcasing the capabilities of commercial ventures and the resilience of the human spirit. As we look forward to the upcoming missions in the Polaris program, the accomplishments of this crew will undoubtedly inspire future explorers to reach for the stars.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/15/science/spacex-polaris-dawn-splashdown-landing/index.html

Sources: Polaris Dawn, SpaceX, Wikipedia, CNN

The science section of our news blog STM Daily News provides readers with captivating and up-to-date information on the latest scientific discoveries, breakthroughs, and innovations across various fields. We offer engaging and accessible content, ensuring that readers with different levels of scientific knowledge can stay informed. Whether it’s exploring advancements in medicine, astronomy, technology, or environmental sciences, our science section strives to shed light on the intriguing world of scientific exploration and its profound impact on our daily lives. From thought-provoking articles to informative interviews with experts in the field, STM Daily News Science offers a harmonious blend of factual reporting, analysis, and exploration, making it a go-to source for science enthusiasts and curious minds alike. https://stmdailynews.com/category/science/

– a former astronaut details what that means for NASA, Boeing and the astronauts still up in space

Michael E. Fossum, Texas A&M University

Boeing’s crew transport space capsule, the Starliner, returned to Earth without its two-person crew right after midnight Eastern time on Sept. 7, 2024. Its remotely piloted return marked the end of a fraught test flight to the International Space Station which left two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, on the station for months longer than intended after thruster failures led NASA to deem the capsule unsafe to pilot back.

Wilmore and Williams will stay on the International Space Station until February 2025, when they’ll return to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

The Conversation U.S. asked former commander of the International Space Station Michael Fossum about NASA’s decision to return the craft uncrewed, the future of the Starliner program and its crew’s extended stay at the space station.

What does this decision mean for NASA?

NASA awarded contracts to both Boeing and SpaceX in 2014 to provide crew transport vehicles to the International Space Station via the Commercial Crew Program. At the start of the program, most bets were on Boeing to take the lead, because of its extensive aerospace experience.

However, SpaceX moved very quickly with its new rocket, the Falcon 9, and its cargo ship, Dragon. While they suffered some early failures during testing, they aggressively built, tested and learned from each failure. In 2020, SpaceX successfully launched its first test crew to the International Space Station.

Meanwhile, Boeing struggled through some development setbacks. The outcome of this first test flight is a huge disappointment for Boeing and NASA. But NASA leadership has expressed its support for Boeing, and many experts, including me, believe it remains in the agency’s best interest to have more than one American crew launch system to support continued human space operations.

NASA is also continuing its exchange partnership with Russia. This partnership provides the agency with multiple ways to get crew members to and from the space station.

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As space station operations continue, NASA and its partners have enough options to get people to and from the station that they’ll always have the essential crew on the station – even if there are launch disruptions for any one of the capable crewed vehicles. Having Starliner as an option will help with that redundancy.

What does this decision mean for Boeing?

I do think Boeing’s reputation is going to ultimately suffer. The company is going head-to-head with SpaceX. Now, the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft has several flights under its belt. It has proven a reliable way to get to and from the space station.

It’s important to remember that this was a test flight for Starliner. Of course, the program managers want each test flight to run perfectly, but you can’t anticipate every potential problem through ground testing. Unsurprisingly, some problems cropped up – you expect them in a test flight.

The space environment is unforgiving. A small problem can become catastrophic in zero gravity. It’s hard to replicate these situations on the ground.

The technology SpaceX and Boeing use is also radically different from the kind of capsule technology used in the early days of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.

NASA has evolved and made strategic moves to advance its mission over the past two decades. The agency has leaned into its legacy of thinking outside the box. It was an innovative move to break from tradition and leverage commercial competitors to advance the program. NASA gave the companies a set of requirements and left it up to them to figure out how they would meet them.

What does this decision mean for Starliner’s crew?

I know Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams as rock-solid professionals, and I believe their first thoughts are about completing their mission safely. They are both highly experienced astronauts with previous long-duration space station experience. I’m sure they are taking this in stride.

Prior to joining NASA, Williams was a Naval aviator and Wilmore a combat veteran, so these two know how to face risk and accomplish their missions. This kind of unfavorable outcome is always a possibility in a test mission. I am sure they are leaning forward with a positive attitude and using their bonus time in space to advance science, technology and space exploration.

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Their families shoulder the bigger impact. They were prepared to welcome the crew home in less than two weeks and now must adjust to unexpectedly being apart for eight months.

Right now, NASA is dealing with a ripple effect, with more astronauts than expected on the space station. More people means more consumables – like food and clothing – required. The space station has supported a large crew for short periods in the past, but with nine crew members on board today, the systems have to work harder to purify recycled drinking water, generate oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from their atmosphere.

Wilmore and Williams are also consuming food, and they didn’t arrive with the clothes and other personal supplies they needed for an eight-month stay, so NASA has already started increasing those deliveries on cargo ships.

What does this decision mean for the future?

Human spaceflight is excruciatingly hard and relentlessly unforgiving. A million things must go right to have a successful mission. It’s impossible to fully understand the performance of systems in a microgravity environment until they’re tested in space.

NASA has had numerous failures and near-misses in the quest to put Americans on the Moon. They lost the Apollo 1 crew in a fire during a preflight test. They launched the first space shuttle in 1981, and dealt with problems throughout that program’s 30-year life, including the terrible losses of Challenger and Columbia.

After having no other U.S. options for over 30 years, three different human spacecraft programs are now underway. In addition to the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the Boeing Starliner, NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission, is planned to fly four astronauts around the Moon in the next couple of years.

These programs have had setbacks and bumps along the way – and there will be more – but I haven’t been this excited about human spaceflight since I was an 11-year-old cheering for Apollo and dreaming about putting the first human footprints on Mars.

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Michael E. Fossum, Vice President, Texas A&M University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The science section of our news blog STM Daily News provides readers with captivating and up-to-date information on the latest scientific discoveries, breakthroughs, and innovations across various fields. We offer engaging and accessible content, ensuring that readers with different levels of scientific knowledge can stay informed. Whether it’s exploring advancements in medicine, astronomy, technology, or environmental sciences, our science section strives to shed light on the intriguing world of scientific exploration and its profound impact on our daily lives. From thought-provoking articles to informative interviews with experts in the field, STM Daily News Science offers a harmonious blend of factual reporting, analysis, and exploration, making it a go-to source for science enthusiasts and curious minds alike. https://stmdailynews.com/category/science/

NASA will provide live coverage of the upcoming activities for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft departure from the International Space Station and return to Earth. The uncrewed spacecraft will depart from the orbiting laboratory for a landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

Starliner is scheduled to autonomously undock from the space station at approximately 6:04 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 6, to begin the journey home, weather conditions permitting. NASA and Boeing are targeting approximately 12:03 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 7, for the landing and conclusion of the flight test.

NASA’s live coverage of return and related activities will stream on NASA+, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA programming through a variety of platforms including social media.

Ahead of Starliner’s return, NASA will host a pre-departure news conference at 12 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 4, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA’s Commercial Crew and International Space Station Program managers and a flight director will participate.

To attend the pre-departure news conference in person, U.S. media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 3, at jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov or 281-483-5111. To join the pre-departure news conference by phone, media must contact the NASA newsroom no later than two hours prior to the start of the call.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight, arriving at the space station on June 6. As Starliner approached the orbiting laboratory, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters. For the safety of the astronauts, NASA announced on Aug. 24 that Starliner will return to Earth from the station without a crew. Wilmore and Williams will remain aboard the station and return home in February 2025 aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Wednesday, Sept. 4

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12 p.m. – Starliner pre-departure news conference from NASA’s Johnson Space Center on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

Friday, Sept. 6

5:45 p.m. – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

6:04 p.m. – Undocking

10:50 p.m. – Coverage resumes for deorbit burn, entry, and landing on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

Saturday, Sept. 7

12:03 a.m. – Targeted landing

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1:30 a.m. – Post-landing news conference with the following participants:

• Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington
• Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida
• Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station, NASA Johnson
• John Shannon, vice president, Boeing Exploration Systems
• Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program

Coverage of the post-landing news conference will stream live on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

To attend the post-landing news conference in person, U.S. media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 12 p.m., Sept. 6. To join the post-landing news conference by phone, media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than one hour prior to the start of the event.

See full mission coverage, NASA’s commercial crew blog, and more information about the mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew