SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission reportedly experienced an hour-long loss of ground control before two private astronauts exited the Dragon crew capsule for the first commercial spacewalk in history, according to a report by Reuters.
The Polaris Dawn mission launched on September 10, carrying a four-person crew, led by tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman. The billionaire-funded mission, riding aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, reached a maximum orbital altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) above Earth, also setting a new record for Earth-orbit apogee (the farthest point reached away from the planet) for a crewed mission. On September 12, Polaris Dawn became the first private mission to conduct a spacewalk, with two astronauts, including Isaacman, stepping outside a SpaceX capsule for a historic moment that broke new ground for commercial spaceflight.
Things may not have gone as smooth inside SpaceX’s mission control room. An anonymous source told Reuters that a power outage at SpaceX’s California facility caused a loss of ground control, meaning that the mission control team was briefly unable to command the spacecraft. The Polaris Dawn crew members did receive training before launching to space, however, they are not professional astronauts.
“Not having command and control is a big deal,” the anonymous source told Reuters. “The whole point of having mission operators on the ground is to have the ability to quickly respond if something happens.”
Since SpaceX is a private company, the issue was not publicly reported. Commercial space operators that want to launch or reenter within U.S. borders need a license from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ensure the safety of bystanders or nearby property on the ground, but the FAA is not responsible for the safety of the people on board the private spacecraft. That’s because a moratorium approved by Congress in 2004 temporarily prohibited the FAA from issuing regulations to protect the safety of people onboard space launches so as not to overburden the emerging space industry.
NASA has been hiring SpaceX to transport its astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on board its Dragon spacecraft—essentially the same craft used to launch the Polaris Dawn mission. SpaceX did inform NASA of the loss of ground control during the private mission, according to another anonymous source who spoke with Reuters. SpaceX has been NASA’s trusted commercial partner for years, launching nine crews to the orbital space station thus far. In November, however, a NASA safety panel warned SpaceX to focus on crew safety for its commercial trips to the ISS as the company ramps up its spaceflight activities.
President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire space enthusiast Isaacman to lead NASA as the space agency’s new administrator, which could have major implications on the private industry becoming more involved in the national space program. Hopefully by then, crew safety will be regulated on a more formal level to prevent similar incidents from taking place. We’re not holding our breath.
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