SpaceX Experienced Comms Loss with Private Spaceflight Before Significant Spacewalk Event
SpaceX's Polaris Dawn expedition reportedly went through an hour-long phase of losing ground control before two private astronauts embarked on the first-ever commercial spacewalk, as per a piece of news from Reuters.
The Polaris Dawn expedition set sail on September 10 with a team of four, spearheaded by tech tycoon Jared Isaacman. This privately funded mission, soaring aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon, reached a peak altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) above Earth, also establishing a new record for the farthest point reached by a crewed mission in Earth's orbit. On September 12, Polaris Dawn marked history as the first private mission to conduct a spacewalk, as two astronauts, including Isaacman, exited a SpaceX capsule for a groundbreaking instance that elevated commercial space travel.
However, things inside SpaceX's mission control room didn't run as smoothly. A secret insider informed Reuters about a power failure at SpaceX's California facility, which resulted in a loss of ground control, meaning the mission control team couldn't control the spacecraft momentarily. Despite pre-launch training, the Polaris Dawn crew members aren't professional astronauts.
The source revealed to Reuters, "Losing control is a significant issue. Mission operators are there to rapidly respond if an issue arises.”
As a private company, SpaceX chose not to publicize this issue. Non-governmental spaceship operators planning to launch or return within U.S. territories require a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) license, but the FAA doesn't ensure the safety of the people inside private spacecraft. This is due to a ban approved by Congress in 2004 that temporarily halted FAA from issuing regulations to safeguard passengers on space launches, trying to avoid straining the budding space sector.
NASA has been working with SpaceX to ferry its astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) using their Dragon spacecraft. Despite the loss of ground control during the private mission, SpaceX reportedly informed NASA about it, according to another anonymous source speaking with Reuters. NASA has collaborated with SpaceX, sending nine crews to the orbital space station so far. In November, however, a NASA safety panel warned SpaceX to prioritize crew safety for their commercial trips to the ISS, considering their increased spaceflight activities.
President-elect Donald Trump selected space enthusiast Isaacman to head NASA as its new administrator, which could possibly see a more significant role for the private sector in the national space program. Let's hope for better regulation of crew safety to avoid incidents like this in the future. We're not too optimistic, though.
The Polaris Dawn mission, with its focus on advancing commercial space travel, aims to explore the future of space science and technology. Despite the hiccup during the expedition, SpaceX's partnership with NASA for the International Space Station projects underscores the importance of ensuring robust safety measures in the realm of private space exploration, paving the way for a safer and more advanced future of space exploration.
