>After today’s successful launch of Crew-9, Falcon 9’s second stage was disposed in the ocean as planned, but experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn. As a result, the second stage safely landed in the ocean, but outside of the targeted area. > >We will resume launching after we better understand root cause

Steve Stich states at today's Crew-9 news conference that Dragon has a new contingency capability if all 4 parachutes fail; the SuperDracos will ignite prior to splashdown.

The Crew-8 return to Earth will also have this capability.

(He said this about 20 minutes after the start of the stream.)

Welcome to the SpaceX Crew-9 Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

Time to pick up Butch and Suni!

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-09-28, 17:17:21 | | --- | --- | | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-09-28, 13:17:21 (ET) | |Docking scheduled for (UTC)| | | Mission | Crew-9 | | Launch site | LC-40, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA. | | Booster | B1085-2 | | Landing | LZ-1 | | Dragon | C212-4 (Freedom) | | Commander | Nick Hague 🇺🇸| | Mission Specialist | Aleksandr Gorbunov 🇷🇺| | Mission success criteria | Successful launch and docking to the ISS |

Note: This mission is launching with two empty seats for returning Barry E. Wilmore 🇺🇸 and Sunita Williams 🇺🇸 from the ISS.

Webcasts

| Stream | Link | | --- | --- | | NASA | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKXtysRx0b4 | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvMUVxflvxI | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eKnPK5RswM | NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLZpj_rtzEo | Everyday Astronaut | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X67-Y-jJx40 | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnQO8rN4nq8 | SpaceX | | The Space Devs |

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight, c/SpaceX, and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 1st crewed Dragon launch from SLC-40

☑️ 45th launch from SLC-40 this year

☑️ 11 day turnaround for this pad

☑️ 46th landing on LZ-1

☑️ 24th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (if successful)

☑️ 354th Falcon Family Booster landing

☑️ 93rd Falcon 9 mission this year, 379th Falcon 9 mission overall

☑️ 94th SpaceX mission of 2024, 394th mission overall (excluding Starship flights)

☑️ 96th SpaceX launch this year, 408th SpaceX launch overall (including Starship flights)

Mission info

• NextSpaceflight mission page
• SpaceX mission website

> SpaceX Crew-9 is the ninth operational crewed rotation mission of a Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. The original intended crew comprised Commander Zena Cardman, Pilot Nick Hague, Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov. > > NASA has since decided to launch Crew-9 with only 2 crew members to allow the 2 Starliner CFT crew to return on Crew-9. The mission's commander will be Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov will be a mission specialist.

Starlink Group 9-8 launch out of SLC-4E in California currently scheduled for 2024-09-25 04:01 UTC, or 2024-09-24 21:01 local time (PDT). B1081-10 to land on Of Course I Still Love You.

• NextSpaceflight page
• SpaceX mission page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRklRPky5tQ
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Yy3P2Y7FA
• NASASpaceflight:
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac5oqqnQ3eQ
• SpaceX: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1838789456331223071
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLxKu_vyCeU

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1837613770736390558

Previous post on the topic: FAA fines SpaceX for launch license violations

ARS Technica article

Response on the situation from David Harris, SpaceX VP legal: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1836765012855287937

Expand for tweet contents

> For nearly two years, SpaceX has voiced its concerns with the FAA’s inability to keep pace with the commercial spaceflight industry. It is clear that the Agency lacks the resources to timely review licensing materials, but also focuses its limited resources on areas unrelated to public safety. > > These distractions continue to directly threaten national priorities and undercut American industry's ability to innovate. > > ! > > ! > > ! > > !

SpaceNews article: SpaceX letter criticizes FAA for “systemic challenges” in launch licensing

Starlink Group 9-17 launch out of SLC-4E in California currently scheduled for 2024-09-20 13:50 UTC, or 2024-09-19 06:50 local time (PDT). B1075-13 to land on Of Course I Still Love You.

• NextSpaceflight page
• SpaceX mission page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJrDoL5OA78
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeU4fcHq77Q
• NASASpaceflight:
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjAjk68Z7HE
• SpaceX: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1837125621203288194
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXTOEnNAXws

> The FAA announced Sept. 17 that it notified SpaceX of $633,009 in proposed fines for violating terms of its launch licenses during the June 2023 Falcon 9 launch of the Satria-1, or PSN Satria, broadband satellite and the July 2023 Falcon Heavy launch of Jupiter-3, or EchoStar-24, broadband satellite. Both launches were successful. > > For the Satria-1 launch, the FAA said in its enforcement notice to the company that SpaceX had requested in May 2023 changes to its communications plan to allow the use of a new launch control center at the company’s “Hangar X” facility at the Kennedy Space Center and to skip a poll of launch controllers at two hours before liftoff. > > The FAA notified SpaceX shortly before the scheduled launch that it would not be able to approve those changes and modify the license in time, although the enforcement notice did not state why. SpaceX went ahead and used the Hangar X control center and skipped the “T-2 hours” poll for the launch.

> A month later, SpaceX conducted the Falcon Heavy launch of Jupiter-3, but nine days before the launch the company requested a modification to its launch license to allow it to use a new tank farm for RP-1 fuel at KSC’s Launch Complex 39A, according to a separate enforcement notice. > > The FAA notified SpaceX two days before the scheduled launch that the agency would not be able to modify the license in time, but SpaceX nonetheless used the new tank farm for the launch. The agency said it proposed to fine SpaceX the maximum $283,009 for that violation.

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-09-17, 22:50 | | --- | --- | | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-09-17, 18:50 (EDT) | | Launch site | SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA | | Booster | B1067-22 | | Landing | Just Read the Instructions | | Payload | Galileo FOC FM26 & FM32 | | Customer | ESA/EUSPA | | Mission success criteria | Successful delivery of payload to MEO |

Webcasts

| Stream | Link | | --- | --- | | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib_SNrBKOng | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPLDpwpXy5M | NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TBeAMl-aEc | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3rqB8fFOOM | SpaceX | https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1836173431122907318 | The Space Devs |

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 21st consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (if successful)

☑️ 44th launch from SLC-40 this year

☑️ 5 days, 13:58:00 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 38 day turnaround for B1067

☑️ 92nd landing on JRTI

☑️ 350th Falcon Family Booster landing, 361st Falcon recovery attempt

☑️ 90th Falcon 9 mission this year, 376th Falcon 9 mission overall

☑️ 91st SpaceX mission of 2024, 391st mission overall (excluding Starship flights)

☑️ 93rd SpaceX launch this year, 404th SpaceX launch overall (including Starship flights)

Mission info

• SpaceX mission page
• NextSpaceflight mission page

>Galileo is a global navigation satellite system that went live in 2016, created by the European Union through the European Space Agency (ESA) and operated by the European GNSS Agency (GSA). The €10 billion project is named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. One of the aims of Galileo is to provide an independent high-precision positioning system so European nations do not have to rely on the US GPS, or the Russian GLONASS systems, which could be disabled or degraded by their operators at any time. > >The use of basic (lower-precision) Galileo services is free and open to everyone. The higher-precision capabilities are available for paying commercial users. Galileo is intended to provide horizontal and vertical position measurements within 1-metre precision, and better positioning services at higher latitudes than other positioning systems. Galileo is also to provide a new global search and rescue (SAR) function as part of the MEOSAR system. > >The first Galileo test satellite, the GIOVE-A, was launched on 28 December 2005, while the first satellite to be part of the operational system was launched on 21 October 2011. By July 2018, 26 of the planned 30 active satellites (including spares) were in orbit. Galileo started offering Early Operational Capability (EOC) on 15 December 2016, providing initial services with a weak signal and reached Full Operational Capability (FOC) in 2019. The full Galileo constellation will consist of 24 active satellites, which is expected by 2021. It is expected that the next generation of satellites will begin to become operational after 2025 to replace older equipment, which can then be used for backup capabilities.

Infographic source: rykllan

https://x.com/_rykllan/status/1835310267904741878

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• B1061 is the current flight leader at 22 flights. (B1062 reached 23 but failed recovery)
• B1067 in second place with 21 flights
• B1063 in third place with 20 flights.
• B1069 and B1071 tied for 4th place at 18 flights.
• B1073 in 5th place at 17 flights.

https://x.com/_rykllan/status/1835310271939723447

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Polaris Dawn Flight Day 4 Update: https://x.com/PolarisProgram/status/1834747047872020550

Expand for full tweet contents

> After an exciting and historic spacewalk on Thursday, September 12, the crew spent the majority of their Flight Day 4 focused on science and research. Polaris Dawn partnered with 31 institutions from across the world to create a robust and diverse science research portfolio throughout their time in space. > > A few of the studies the crew has focused on since arriving on-orbit have included assessing the effects of microgravity on the human airway and veinous system in addition to examining how blood flow restriction alters blood flow in space using ultrasound and smart watches. > > As humans become a spacefaring civilization, having the proper support system in the event of medical emergencies is key. The Polaris Dawn crew tested out Tempus Pro, a commercial off-the-shelf device that can collect and integrate measurements of health – including blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, temperature, and more – along with ultrasound imaging capabilities. The crew was able to use it to assess and compare vital sign data collected pre-flight to that collected during their time on-orbit. > > The crew is also working with several partners to study the effects of microgravity on ocular health to help contribute to both preventative and post-diagnosis treatments associated with Spaceflight Associated Neurocular Syndrome (SANS), which many astronauts have experienced from their time in space. Check out the science and research video we shared earlier today to learn more about what the crew has been up to! > > The crew also continued to test and demonstrate Starlink aboard Dragon. One of the biggest tests of connectivity includes the ability to quickly share files. Earlier in the week, the crew recorded Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis playing “Rey’s Theme” by John Williams on the violin. Once complete, the crew successfully sent the files down to Earth over Starlink to help create this special music event named "Harmony of Resilience." > > Teams on Earth synced Gillis’s video and audio with various recorded orchestral performances around the globe, including in Los Angeles, which was attended by legendary composer John Williams and the entire Polaris Dawn crew. These performances were conducted from mid-2023 to early 2024. > > The crew wrapped their day and are gearing up for their final day on-orbit, during which more research and Starlink testing will be conducted. > > ! > > ! > > ! > > !

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Polaris Dawn Flight Day 5 Update: https://x.com/PolarisProgram/status/1835137806877729172

Expand for full tweet contents

> Polaris Dawn Flight Day 5 Update > > The crew’s final full day on-orbit was dedicated to furthering and finalizing the scientific goals of the Polaris Dawn mission, connecting with one of their training teams, and catching-up with the SpaceX family. > > Two of the day’s scientific highlights focused on preventative and life-saving studies – from identifying and understanding the risk of kidney stone formation while living in microgravity to developing and validating CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) procedures aboard the Dragon spacecraft. > > Throughout the day, the crew continued to test Starlink, including a 40+ minute, uninterrupted video call with SpaceX teams back on Earth, which took place as Dragon orbited across the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Cape of Good Hope. The plaser in Dragon’s trunk and the partner Starlink satellite for the event maintained their laser link during 16 Draco thruster firings. > > The crew also connected with members of the Air Force who helped train them for a week of solo skydiving at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. > > Before settling in for their last sleep period of the mission, the crew took some time to connect with their families and began preparing Dragon’s cabin for reentry and splashdown. > > Dragon and the crew are set to return to Earth and splash down off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida on Sunday, September 15 at 3:36 a.m. ET. Stay tuned to @SpaceX on X for a livestream of the crew’s return. > > !

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Splashdown scheduled for 2024-09-15 07:36 UTC: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1835054184892448779

Webcast links:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-nBvB-0M64
• Spaceflight Now:
• NASASpaceflight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cthjJdniQlM
• The Launch Pad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtZl85XHZGo
• SpaceX: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1835202095781495050
• The Space Devs:

Polaris Dawn Flight Day 3 Update: https://x.com/PolarisProgram/status/1834329942043271268

>Early Thursday morning at 7:58 a.m. ET, the Polaris Dawn crew successfully completed the world’s first spacewalk – also known as an extravehicular activity (EVA) – from Dragon at 732.2 km above Earth. > >Shortly after arriving in space on Tuesday, the crew began a two-day pre-breathe process, designed to prevent decompression sickness while also preparing the crew for the environment inside the EVA suits by gradually lowering Dragon’s cabin pressure and increasing the oxygen concentration. > >Then on Thursday, the crew donned their suits and initiated Dragon seat rotation, suit tare, and the heads-up display and helmet camera checkouts. The 106-minute spacewalk officially began at 6:12 a.m. ET when suit pressurization started, the nitrogen purge was initiated, and pure oxygen (O2) was flowing into the suits. A secondary flow of oxygen primarily helped provide cooling to the suits, which would come in handy during the spacewalk. > >Once suit leak checks were complete, the crew and ground teams gave the go for Dragon to initiate venting, which took the cabin’s pressure down from ~8 psi to below 1 psi – nearly to the vacuum of space. Simultaneously, Dragon repositioned its trunk to face the sun ahead of the hatch opening. > >Mission Commander Jared Isaacman opened the hatch and for the first time, four astronauts were simultaneously exposed to the vacuum of space. Jared and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis separately exited the spacecraft and individually performed a series of suit mobility demonstrations to test the performance of the spacesuit in the vacuum environment of space. Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet and Mission Specialist Anna Menon remained seated, managing suit umbilicals and monitoring vital support systems and telemetry on Dragon’s displays. > >Upon completion of their individual EVAs, the hatch was closed, Dragon re-pressurized to 14 psi, cabin oxygen and pressure levels confirmed, officially completing the suit testing alongside the first commercial spacewalk and the first EVA from a Dragon spacecraft. > >Throughout the EVA, stunning visuals were afforded by Dragon’s cameras and the spacesuits helmet cameras as the crew orbited between 184.9 x 732.2 km above Earth. > >Following the spacewalk, the crew took time to rest and recuperate, enjoying a well-deserved meal before posting from space for the first time on X using Starlink high-speed internet. The crew concluded the day by connecting with their families and settling in for their sleep period ahead of Flight Day 4.

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Starlink Group 9-6 launch out of SLC-4E in California currently scheduled for 2024-09-13 01:45 UTC, or 2024-09-12 18:45 local time (PDT). Booster 1071-18 to land on Of Course I Still Love You.

• NextSpaceflight page
• SpaceX mission page

Webcasts:

• Space Affairs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1s13TgnWIk
• Spaceflight Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1FzpqxdHDw
• NASASpaceflight:
• The Launch Pad:
• SpaceX: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1834406385418993826
• The Space Devs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWNmw6rSfVM

| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-09-12, 08:52 | | --- | --- | | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-09-12, 04:52 (EDT) | | Launch site | SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA | | Booster | B1078-13 | | Landing | LZ-1 | | Payload | BlueBird Block 1 #1-5 | | Customer | AST SpaceMobile | | Mission success criteria | Successful delivery of payload to LEO |

Webcasts

| Stream | Link | | --- | --- | | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBL5U_wwYqw | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oeq5HVrfpFQ | NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oqZtThBoG4 | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqLMETRJ7Ho | SpaceX | https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1834149741481046421 | The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZvfKKyE8jw

Stats

Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:

☑️ 19th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (if successful)

☑️ 43rd launch from SLC-40 this year

☑️ 6 days, 17:19:00 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 41 day turnaround for B1078

☑️ 44th landing on LZ-1

☑️ 348th Falcon Family Booster landing, 359th Falcon recovery attempt

☑️ 88th Falcon 9 mission this year, 374th Falcon 9 mission overall

☑️ 89th SpaceX mission of 2024, 389th mission overall (excluding Starship flights)

☑️ 91th SpaceX launch this year, 402nd SpaceX launch overall (including Starship flights)

Mission info

• SpaceX mission page
• NextSpaceflight mission page

>This mission will launch the first 5 commercial satellites in AST SpaceMobile’s cellphone-compatible broadband constellation. In orbit, they will provide connectivity for smartphones outside cellular coverage in partnership with mobile network operators (MNOs). > >The satellites use AST & Science's patented technologies for connecting to cellphones in a space environment for their SpaceMobile constellation. Each satellite will deploy a 10 m diameter phased array antenna with an area of 64 meters squared consisting of numerous identical sub-antenna modules to connect directly to standard mobile phones.

Polaris Dawn Flight Day 2 Update: https://x.com/PolarisProgram/status/1834035322608328747

>The Polaris Dawn crew began Flight Day 2 with an incredible milestone – Dragon reached an apogee of more than 1,400 kilometers, marking the farthest humans have traveled in space since the completion of the Apollo program over 50 years ago. Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon also became the first two women to have travelled this far in space! Mission Commander Jared Isaacman also passed the torch to the NASA Artemis crew, saying he’s looking forward to their upcoming flight. > >After completing six orbits of Earth at this altitude, Dragon performed a series of descent burns to reach an orbit of ~190 x 700 km for Thursday’s spacewalk while simultaneously continuing to safely lower its interior’s pressure, bringing the cabin environment closer to conditions required for the EVA. The crew also spent a few hours demonstrating the suit’s pressurized mobility, verifying positions and accessibility in microgravity along with preparing the cabin for the EVA. > >In addition to EVA prep, the crew conducted a series of activities on-orbit, including time dedicated to science and research. The crew focused on monitoring initial changes to eye sight and ocular health, studying how fluid shifts and exposure to microgravity affect blood flow, and assessed how medications are processed by the body while on-orbit. > >The entire crew met with representatives from Folds of Honor — an organization providing educational scholarships to spouses and children of America's fallen and disabled military service-members and first responders — honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of the United States. > >Anna then read her book, Kisses from Space, to a group of St. Jude patients and her family, followed by a Q&A session. Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson East joined the crew via video transmission to host the book reading. > >Jared, Kidd, Sarah, and Anna ended their day with individual family calls conducted over Starlink connections and preparing a special message for fans later in the mission before settling in for a good night’s sleep ahead of tomorrow’s world-first commercial spacewalk. > >! > >! > >! > >!

Spacewalk is currently scheduled for 09:58 UTC, per SpaceX.

Webcasts

| Stream | Link | | --- | --- | | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmaEloJtgxc (scrub) | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daEIqRJLLr8 | NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAUQOTyaXb8 | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X-aGkOGSwQ (scrub) | SpaceX | https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1834154037606056327 | The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwCLN2riHE4

Polaris Dawn Flight Day 1 Update: https://x.com/PolarisProgram/status/1833648070011109784

>The Polaris Dawn crew completed their first day on-orbit, also known as Flight Day 1. After a successful launch by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:23 a.m. ET, the crew took off their spacesuits and began their multi-day mission. > >Shortly after liftoff, the crew began a two-day pre-breathe protocol in preparation for their anticipated spacewalk on Thursday, September 12 (Flight Day 3). During this time, Dragon’s pressure slowly lowers while oxygen levels inside the cabin increase, helping purge nitrogen from the crew’s bloodstreams. This will help lower the risk of decompression sickness (DCS) during all spacewalk operations. > >About two hours into Flight Day 1, the crew enjoyed their first on-orbit meals before engaging in the mission’s first science and research block and testing Starlink, which lasted about 3.5 hours. > >Dragon made its first pass through the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), a region where Earth’s magnetic field is weaker, allowing more high-energy particles from space to penetrate closer to Earth. Mission control operators and the crew worked closely to monitor and respond to the vehicle’s systems across all high-apogee phases of flight, particularly through the SAA region. > >Mid-day, the crew settled in for their first sleep period in space, during which Dragon will perform its first apogee raising burn. Orbiting Earth higher than any humans in over 50 years, the crew will rest for about eight hours ahead of a busy day on Flight Day 2. > >Most excitingly, during its first orbit, Dragon reached an apogee of approximately 1,216 kilometers, making Polaris Dawn the highest Dragon mission flown to date. Following a healthy systems checkout, the crew and mission control will monitor the spacecraft ahead of the vehicle raising itself to an elliptical orbit of 190 x 1,400 kilometers at the start of Flight Day 2.