The Very First EVA By Private Astronauts Is Conducted from SpaceX's Resilience Capsule...

SpaceX

Polaris Dawn Crew Tests New Suit and Completes First Commercial Spacewalk (Press Release)

LOS ANGELES, California – The Polaris Dawn crew, after launching into space earlier this week, completed the first commercial spacewalk at 4:58 am EDT today. Wearing newly-designed SpaceX extravehicular activity (EVA) suits, the crew began their approximately two-hour operation at 3:12 a.m. EDT while traveling at 17,500 miles per hour in an elliptical orbit of 190 x 700 km above the Earth. This spacewalk represents an important milestone of the Polaris Program, a developmental program designed to further the advancement of human spaceflight.

The crew began preparations for the spacewalk shortly after liftoff, through a two-day pre-breathe process designed to prevent decompression sickness by slowly acclimatizing the crew to lower pressures while slowly increasing oxygen levels within the spacecraft’s cabin. Once complete, the crew began preparations for the spacewalk, which included donning their EVA suits, completing suit leak checks, and venting Dragon down to vacuum.

After opening the hatch, the Polaris Dawn crew became the first four astronauts to be exposed to the vacuum of space at the same time. Over the next approximately twenty minutes, Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis egressed the vehicle, completed a series of tests designed to evaluate the suit’s mobility, thermal systems and the Dragon mobility aid “Skywalker” before returning to the cabin and closing the hatch. Mission Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon supported Isaacman and Gillis throughout the entire operation monitoring vital support systems.

Once the hatch was closed, Dragon was re-pressurized, cabin oxygen and pressure levels confirmed, and the crew was able to remove their EVA suits, officially completing the suit testing alongside the first commercial spacewalk and the first EVA from a Dragon spacecraft. The crew was supported throughout the entire EVA by SpaceX teams in Hawthorne, California.

During the spacewalk, Isaacman reflected on the experience: “SpaceX, back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.”

Over the last two years, the Polaris Dawn crew worked alongside SpaceX engineers throughout the development of the EVA suit. The suits underwent hundreds of hours of testing, including in a pressure and vacuum chamber to validate the pre-breathe protocol as well as EVA suit performance. First unveiled in May 2024, the EVA suit evolved from SpaceX’s Intravehicular Activity (IVA) suit.

The new EVA suit provides greater mobility, a state-of-the-art helmet heads-up display (HUD) and camera, new thermal management textiles, and materials borrowed from SpaceX vehicles – specifically, Falcon’s interstage and Dragon’s trunk. All of these enhancements to the EVA suit are part of a scalable design for the millions of spacesuits required to help make life multiplanetary.

“Today’s EVA was the first time four humans were exposed to the vacuum of space while completing the first-ever commercial astronaut spacewalk from a commercially-produced spacecraft in commercially-produced extravehicular activity suits,” said Stu Keech, Vice President of Dragon at SpaceX. “This incredible milestone is all thanks to the hard work of the crew and many SpaceX teams, all focused on a goal of making life multiplanetary.”

Source: Polaris Program

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SpaceX


SpaceX


SpaceX

SpaceX's Resilience Capsule Embarks on the Most Distant Crewed Spaceflight Since Apollo 17 in 1972...

SpaceX

Polaris Dawn Successfully Launches to Earth’s Orbit and Begins Five-Day Mission (Press Release)

Groundbreaking Mission Set to Achieve Many Milestones for Commercial Spaceflight

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – On September 10, the crew of Polaris Dawn began their historic mission aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to expand commercial space exploration at 5:23:49 AM EDT as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“Today’s successful launch of Polaris Dawn highlights that the future of human spaceflight is happening now,” said Jessica Jensen, Vice President of Customer Integration and Operations at SpaceX. “What the crew and Dragon aim to achieve over the next few days – from the first-ever commercial spacewalk in newly-designed EVA suits to traveling the farthest in Earth’s orbit since the Apollo program over 50 years ago to testing Starlink – all of this contributes to SpaceX’s aim to help humanity have greater access to space on our way to returning to the Moon, traveling to Mars, and beyond.”

Since the announcement of Polaris Dawn in February 2022, the crew completed more than two years of essential training activities, to prepare them for the landmark mission. This included centrifuge operations, hundreds of hours of Dragon simulations, skydiving, survival training, high-performance aircraft piloting, Zero-G flight training, altitude training, as well as classroom academics and medical testing. Additionally, and especially important for Polaris Dawn, the crew received extensive EVA training, both underwater and suspended operations, as well as the associated medical training.

The combined test, development and training program has prepared the crew for these important mission objectives:

- Flying higher than any previous Dragon mission to date and reaching the highest Earth orbit ever flown while moving through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt at an orbital altitude of 190 x 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from Earth’s surface – or more than three times higher than the International Space Station. This will be the highest altitude of any human spaceflight mission in Earth’s orbit in more than a half-century since the Apollo program;

- Attempting the first-ever commercial spacewalk. This will take place at an elliptical orbit of 190 x 700 kilometers (435 miles) above Earth in newly-developed SpaceX EVA spacesuits. During the spacewalk, the crew will conduct a series of tests that will provide necessary data that will allow SpaceX teams to produce and scale for future long-duration missions. The crew worked with SpaceX engineers throughout suit development, testing various iterations for mobility and performance (along with mobility aids and systems procedures), and conducted operations inside vacuum chambers to validate pre-breathe protocols and the readiness of the EVA suit;

- Testing laser-based satellite communication using optical links between the Dragon spacecraft and Starlink satellites, revolutionizing the speed and quality of space communications;

- Conducting nearly 40 experiments for critical scientific research designed to advance our knowledge of human health both on Earth and during future long-duration space flights.

After completing the up-to-five-day journey, the Polaris Dawn team will reenter Earth’s atmosphere to splash down off the coast of Florida.

Additional details will be revealed leading up to, during, and after the mission via the Polaris Dawn website and social media channels, including other first-of-their-kind events to be held and shared while in orbit.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® is the official charitable partner of Polaris Dawn and fundraising for St. Jude will be integrated into various aspects of the mission. DORITOS®, a PepsiCo Foods brand, is making a significant donation to St. Jude and will join this historic mission. IWC Schaffhausen will also support the mission through its specially-designed and donated Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Polaris Dawn” watch, which will be worn on the flight before being auctioned to benefit St. Jude.

Source: Polaris Program

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Polaris Program


SpaceX

Calypso Returns Home, Completing an Incomplete Crew Flight Test to the ISS...

NASA

NASA, Boeing Welcome Starliner Spacecraft to Earth, Close Mission (News Release)

NASA and Boeing safely returned the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft following its landing at 10:01 p.m. MDT on September 6 at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, concluding a three-month flight test to the International Space Station.

“I am extremely proud of the work our collective team put into this entire flight test, and we are pleased to see Starliner’s safe return,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Even though it was necessary to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the most extreme environment possible. NASA looks forward to our continued work with the Boeing team to proceed towards certification of Starliner for crew rotation missions to the space station.”

The flight on June 5 was the first time that astronauts launched aboard the Starliner. It was the third orbital flight of the spacecraft, and its second return from the orbiting laboratory. Starliner will now ship to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for inspection and processing.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program requires a spacecraft to fly a crewed test flight to prove that the system is ready for regular flights to and from the orbiting laboratory. Following Starliner’s return, the agency will review all mission-related data.

“We are excited to have Starliner home safely. This was an important test flight for NASA in setting us up for future missions on the Starliner system,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “There was a lot of valuable learning that will enable our long-term success. I want to commend the entire team for their hard work and dedication over the past three months.”

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched on June 5 aboard Starliner for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. On June 6, as Starliner approached the space station, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters. Following weeks of in-space and ground testing, technical interchange meetings and agency reviews, NASA made the decision to prioritize safety and return Starliner without its crew.

Wilmore and Williams will continue their work aboard station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew, returning in February 2025 with the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

The crew flight test is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit. This is already providing additional research time and has increased the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity testbed, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

Components for the Next Three SLS Flights Are Now in Florida...

NASA

New Hardware for Future Artemis Moon Missions Arrive at NASA Kennedy (News Release)

From across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Gulf of Mexico, two ships converged, delivering key spacecraft and rocket components for NASA’s Artemis campaign to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

On September 3, ESA (European Space Agency) marked a milestone in the Artemis III mission as its European-built service module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft completed a transatlantic journey from Bremen, Germany, to Port Canaveral, Florida, where technicians moved it to nearby NASA Kennedy. Transported aboard the Canopée cargo ship, the European Service Module—assembled by Airbus with components from 10 European countries and the U.S.—provides propulsion, thermal control, electrical power, water and oxygen for its crews.

“Seeing multi-mission hardware arrive at the same time demonstrates the progress we are making on our Artemis missions,” said Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We are going to the Moon together with our industry and international partners and we are manufacturing, assembling, building and integrating elements for Artemis flights.”

NASA’s Pegasus barge, the agency’s waterway workhorse for transporting large hardware by sea, ferried multi-mission hardware for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the Artemis II launch vehicle stage adapter, the “boat-tail” of the core stage for Artemis III, the core stage engine section for Artemis IV, along with ground support equipment needed to move and assemble the large components. The barge pulled into NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B Turn Basin on Thursday.

The spacecraft factory inside NASA Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building is set to buzz with additional activity in the coming months. With the Artemis II Orion crew and service modules stacked together and undergoing testing, and engineers outfitting the Artemis III and IV crew modules, engineers will soon connect the newly-arrived European Service Module to the crew module adapter, which houses electronic equipment for communications, power and control, and includes an umbilical connector that bridges the electrical, data and fluid systems between the crew and service modules.

The SLS rocket’s cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter connects the core stage to the upper stage and protects the rocket’s flight computers, avionics and electrical devices in the upper stage system during launch and ascent. The adapter will be taken to Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building in preparation for Artemis II rocket-stacking operations.

The boat-tail, which will be used during the assembly of the SLS core stage for Artemis III, is a fairing-like structure that protects the bottom end of the core stage and RS-25 engines. This hardware, picked up at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, will join the Artemis III core stage engine section housed in the spaceport’s Space Systems Processing Facility.

The Artemis IV SLS core stage engine section arrived from NASA Michoud and will also transfer to the center’s processing facility ahead of final assembly.

Under the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, establishing long-term exploration for scientific discovery and preparing for human missions to Mars. The agency’s SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, and supporting ground systems, along with the human landing system, next-generation spacesuits and rovers, and Gateway, serve as NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / John Ben Smegelsky

Dream Chaser's Detachable Storage Platform Achieves a Big Milestone on the Path to Launch...

Sierra Space

Sierra Space Shooting Star® Cargo Module Completes Acoustic Testing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (Press Release)

LOUISVILLE, Colo. – Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company and defense tech prime that is Building a Platform in Space to Benefit Life on Earth®, announced today the successful completion of acoustic testing on its Shooting Star® cargo module at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, moving the spacecraft a significant step closer to launch readiness. The test, the first of its kind to be conducted inside the Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF), replicated the intense acoustic stresses that Shooting Star will need to withstand during a Vulcan Centaur rocket launch to the International Space Station (ISS).

During the Direct Field Acoustic Test (DFAN), the test team placed stacks of purpose-built loudspeakers – each one a highly-engineered acoustic device – in 21-ft-tall columns surrounding the spacecraft. Their goal was to test whether the structural elements of Shooting Star could withstand the acoustic environment of a launch on a Vulcan Centaur rocket. Over a four-day period, test engineers blasted the spacecraft with a controlled sound field that was 10,000x higher in intensity than the volume of a typical rock concert, recreating the sonic intensity of a launch.

Shooting Star withstood acoustic levels greater than 140 dB for several minutes at a time, proving its flight worthiness.

“Our innovative Shooting Star cargo module offers the capability to deliver additional capacity, flexibility and power to a wide range of missions,” said Sierra Space CEO, Tom Vice. “In our first mission, Shooting Star will carry critical science, food and cargo to the International Space Station for NASA, and our cargo modules will continue to play an integral role in bringing supplies to space as we build a Low-Earth Orbit economy through commercial spaceflight.”

Shooting Star attaches to the aft of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser®, adding 7,000 lbs. of supplemental cargo capacity to the spaceplane, while its solar arrays and thrusters provide power and additional propulsion to both spacecraft. The acoustic testing at Kennedy Space Center was performed with a mobile setup provided by West Virginia-based Acoustic Research Systems, Inc.; it was the first time onsite acoustic testing has ever been conducted inside the SSPF, NASA’s historic staging location for space station-bound components.

“Our goal is to accurately simulate real world launch conditions to make sure Sierra Space’s Shooting Star cargo module is ready for its first mission to the International Space Station,” said ARS CEO, Jeremiah Leiter. “The ARS team rose to the challenge, setting up a mobile configuration onsite at Kennedy Space Center – for the first time ever inside the Space Systems Processing Facility – providing Sierra Space with critical acoustic qualification testing. We look forward to supporting Sierra Space with the upcoming Dream Chaser acoustic test.”

ARS used a total of 48 acoustic devices during the cargo module testing. The company’s Neutron™ System is an industry first, consisting of proprietary, purpose-built acoustic devices made for high-output aerospace acoustic testing. ARS will be using an even larger setup for Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane; the impending test will be the largest payload ever tested with DFAN.

Source: Sierra Space

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Sierra Space


Sierra Space