September 6 is going to be a busy day for space missions. If all goes well, the world will be keeping a close eye on two highly anticipated space missions this Friday – first the return of Boeing’s Starliner, and second the launch of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission.
Here’s everything you need to know about both these missions:
Starliner will return on September 6
Boeing’s Starliner will separate from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, September 6, and return without its crew members – NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.
NASA said in a statement on August 30 that the Starliner will be “autonomously undocked” from the space station at around 6:04 pm on Friday (or 3:30 am Indian Standard Time on Saturday) to begin its journey home when weather conditions are favorable.
After undocking, the Starliner is expected to take about six hours to reach the landing zone at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. The Starliner is expected to land on Earth around 9:30 am (IST) on Saturday, September 7.
Meanwhile, Starliner crew members Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will remain at the space station in February 2025 aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew of NASA’s Crew-9 mission.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams made their first manned flight aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5. During their flight, a helium leak was detected in the spacecraft. In addition, problems were also found in the spacecraft reaction control thrusters.
SpaceX Polaris Dawn launch
The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission will mark the first spacewalk by private citizens.
The Federal Aviation Administration document shows the Dawn mission is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center at 1:03 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6. An operations plan released by the agency also shows backup opportunities on Saturday and Sunday.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Polaris Dawn mission from Florida. The Dragon and Polaris Dawn crew will stay in orbit for five days. SpaceX boss Elon Musk called the mission “historic.”
The four-member crew of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission consists entirely of non-professional astronauts. This mission will be the first human spaceflight for pilot Kid Poteat, mission specialist Sarah Gillis, and mission specialist and medical officer Anna Menon. SpaceX said this will also be the first time two SpaceX employees will be part of a human spaceflight crew.
During these five days they will work towards the following objectives:
The launch in August was delayed twice, first because of a technical problem at the launch tower and then because of weather-related constraints affecting the splashdown phase.
“Due to forecast unfavorable weather at Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, SpaceX is pushing back Polaris Dawn’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities on Wednesday, Aug. 28 and Thursday, Aug. 29. SpaceX teams will continue to monitor the weather for favorable launch and return conditions,” Polaris Dawn said on its website.
Physics.org said the matter was further complicated because “SpaceX Falcon 9 missions lost a separate stage booster, which typically makes a precise upright landing on a drone ship.”
