Launch of Falcon 9 & Polaris Dawn!
Polaris Dawn and Dragon at 1,400 km above Earth – the farthest humans have traveled since the Apollo program over 50 years ago
Astronauts orbiting Earth on the Polaris Dawn mission are working with Australia’s #Antarctic expeditioners to advance human health in space and on Earth. More https://antarctica.gov.au/news/2024/antarctic-research-supports-healthy-space-for-astronauts/
All lowering burns are now complete and Dragon is orbiting Earth at ~195 x 737 km9:00 AM · Sep 11, 2024
Following the first apogee boost, the mean elements had an apogee of 1395.6 km. The first apogee in the new orbit was at 0111:20 UTC, with an standard height of 1400.0 km (moment of maximum distance from geocenter); the max geoid height was 1408.3 km at around the same time.
The above values were derived using the Space Force TLE and applying the SGP4 algorithm.
A second TLE set from Space Force with a later epoch gives very slightly lower values (1399.5 km and 1407.8 km respectively).
For comparison, the best data I have for Gemini 11 suggests an apogee of 1374.0 km (standard height) with a geoid height maxium of 1377.9 km. However this is not an SGP4 dataset and perturbations are not taken into account - could be 2 km off. Clear that Polaris Dawn was higher.
Orbiting Earth on board Dragon, the Polaris Dawn crew talked with families of @FoldsofHonor, an organization providing educational scholarships to spouses and children of America's fallen and disabled military service-members and first responders 🇺🇸
Join Polaris Dawn's @annawmenon for an on-orbit reading of her book alongside her family and patients from @StJude ✨Published by Penguin Random House, Kisses from Space was authored by Anna Menon and Keri Vasek and was illustrated by Andy Harkness.After her book reading, Anna and the entire Polaris Dawn crew held a Q&A with St. Jude patients to discuss the crew’s ongoing mission 👩🚀🧑🚀👩🚀🧑🚀
Polaris Dawn Flight Day 2 UpdateThe 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.
On Thursday, September 12 the Polaris Dawn crew will attempt the first-ever spacewalk – also known as an extravehicular activity (EVA) – from Dragon. The EVA is targeted to start at 5:58 a.m. ET. If needed, a backup opportunity is available on Friday, September 13.A live webcast of this mission will begin about one hour prior to the beginning of the spacewalk, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.SPACEWALK OVERVIEWWhile traveling in an elliptical orbit of ~190 x 700 km around the Earth, the Polaris Dawn crew will complete a pre-breathe process, perform suited mobility tests and inspections, and initiate pressurization checkouts prior to performing a final suit leak check and committing to the spacewalk.Dragon’s cabin pressure will slowly lower to vacuum prior to hatch opening. Once opened, all four crewmembers will be exposed to the vacuum of space. Mission Commander Jared Isaacman (EV1) will exit Dragon, perform a series of mobility tests in the newly-designed SpaceX EVA suit, and return to Dragon’s cabin. Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis (EV2) will perform the same series of actions and, after re-entering Dragon, close the spacecraft’s hatch. Mission Pilot Kidd Poteet and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon will monitor vital support systems throughout the operation.After hatch closure, Dragon will slowly repressurize while oxygen and nitrogen levels return to normal. The entire spacewalk operation is expected to take approximately two hours.
All systems are looking good for the Polaris Dawn crew to perform the first spacewalk from Dragon today. The EVA webcast begins at 4:55 a.m. ET → https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=polarisdawn
