NASA is waiting to see if there will be “schedule impacts” to the next mission of astronauts aboard SpaceX after a rocket failure last week, the agency said in a recent statement.
SpaceXFalcon 9’s Falcon 9 rocket had a rare anomaly during the Starlink satellite launch on Thursday (July 11). The second stage of the rocket failed to work as plannedblocking the broadband connection satellites in an unusual orbit. While SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating why this happened, An International Space Station (ISS) mission is under scrutiny.
Falcon 9 is also used for sending NASA astronaut missions to the ISS aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The next planned attempt, known as Crew-9, was to send four astronauts in mid-August. The group will replace Crew-8, which has been on the ISS since March for a mission expected to last about half a year.
“Crew safety and mission assurance are top priorities for NASA,” agency officials said in an emailed statement late Friday (July 12), adding that they “will provide updates on the agency’s missions, including potential impacts on schedule, if any, as more information becomes available.” SpaceX, the statement added, is providing information to NASA while the investigation into the anomaly continues.
Connected: The FAA is investigating a failure of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket
ISS missions, which typically last six months, have built-in flexibility if they need to stay longer in space space. However, SpaceX is the only fully certified spacecraft to send astronauts into space from US soil.
The other manned variant is that of Boeing Starliner, but has not yet been approved for operational ISS launches. A test mission known as Crew Flight Test is currently aboard the ISS with two astronauts. The Starliner is certified to return The Earth, but only in case of emergency; a complex investigation continues after the Starliner had problems leaking helium and thrusters after docking with the ISS on June 6. The mission was only supposed to last 10 days, but due to the problems, no landing date has been set yet.
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In addition, SpaceX sends a portion of vital resupply missions to the ISS via its Dragon cargo spacecraft. Cargo Dragon also uses the Falcon 9 rocket. The latest such docking, SpaceX’s 30th, was held on March 4 with food, supplies and experiments for the crew of Expedition 70/71.
However, other spacecraft can send cargo to the ISS, including Northrop Grumman’s Swan and Russia Progress. The next Progress launch is scheduled for August 15, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos announced last week through the state news agency TASS.
Besides the ISS, SpaceX is also set to send a commercial astronaut mission into space this month with Crew Dragon and Falcon 9. Known as Polar dawneffort — funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman — plans a high-Earth orbit mission that will include the first commercial space walk. Isaacman is traveling with the same vehicles into space in 2021 on another mission he funded, called Inspiration4.
“SpaceX has had an incredible track record with the Falcon 9. I can say from personal experience that they are very transparent when problems arise,” Isaacman said in post to X, formerly Twitter, last week. “I have no doubt that they will come to terms quickly and ensure that the most cost-effective and reliable launch vehicle continues to deliver payloads into orbit.” As for Polaris Dawn, we will fly when SpaceX is ready and with full confidence in the rocket, spacecraft and operations.”
