SpaceX is planning to launch a Starlink flight on Thursday and its groundbreaking Polaris Dawn mission on Friday, marking two significant launches on consecutive days this week.
This particular Starlink mission will be the third since SpaceX experienced an anomaly with its latest Falcon 9 landing as the first-stage toppled. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chose to ground SpaceX flights temporarily, requiring an investigation.
It then chose to allow SpaceX to continue operating Falcon 9 launches in a statement released late last week, where it said an investigation would continue. However, SpaceX would be able to operate Falcon 9 first stages.
The FAA said in the statement:
“The SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle may return to flight operations while the overall investigation of the anomaly during the Starlink Group 8-6 mission remains open, provided all other license requirements are met. SpaceX made the return to flight request on Aug. 29 and the FAA gave approval on Aug. 30.”
Starlink 8-11 Mission Set for Thursday
The Starlink 8-11 mission was set to launch today but was pushed back to Thursday and is set for liftoff at 8:35 a.m. EDT. SpaceX chose to push the launch back due to “unfavorable booster recovery weather conditions in the Atlantic.” The mission will launch from Space Launch Complex pad 40 at Cape Canaveral.
Due to unfavorable booster recovery weather conditions in the Atlantic, the team is resetting Falcon 9’s launch of @Starlink for tomorrow, September 5
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 4, 2024
Polaris Dawn Set for Friday
SpaceX is planning to launch the Polaris Dawn mission on Friday. The FAA has a launch window from 3:33 a.m. to 7:38 a.m. on Friday. The crew is in quarantine at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where they will eventually launch from for a five-day mission.
This mission was also pushed back and delayed due to the Falcon 9 landing anomaly.
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