All SpaceX failures laid bare amid fresh Polaris Dawn delays

SpaceX has postponed its groundbreaking Polaris Dawn astronaut mission multiple times in recent days due to various factors including a helium leak and adverse weather conditions.
The mission, set in Cape Canaveral, Florida, will see Commander Jared Isaacman, ex-F-16 pilot Scott Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, embark on an orbit.
The mission is unique in that it involves civilians as opposed to atronauts and will take the four voyagers higher than any astronauts since the Apollo moon program.
However, SpaceX has repeatedly delayed the mission since the start of the week, with no definitive launch date currently in place.
Adding to the civilian launch’s challenges, Falcon 9 booster 1062 exploded upon landing on a drone ship. As Elon Musk’s firm faces yet another delay to the Polaris Dawn mission, we examine other previous delays and aborted missions it has encountered.

On June 18, a planned launch of a European broadcast satellite by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida was called off just minutes before takeoff.
The Falcon 9 rocket was set to carry SES’s ASTRA 1P satellite into orbit during a nearly three-hour launch window, but the mission was scrapped due to wind conditions, as announced by SpaceX during a live broadcast of the event.
The successful launch eventually took place on June 20, marking the 45th orbital flight from Florida’s Space Coast in 2024.

This incident occured on July 11 during a launch of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Initially, everything went according to plan with the two stages separating on time and the first stage landing on a drone ship about eight minutes after lift-off.
However, the rocket’s upper stage, which was carrying 20 Starlink spacecraft to Low Earth orbit, experienced a liquid oxygen leak that affected the success of the mission.
In an update on July 12, SpaceX stated: “After a planned relight of the upper-stage engine to raise perigee – or the lowest point of orbit – the Merlin Vacuum engine experienced an anomaly and was unable to complete its second burn.
“Although the stage survived and still deployed the satellites, it did not successfully circularize its orbit, but it did passivate itself as normally performed at the end of each mission.
“This left the satellites in an eccentric orbit with a very low perigee of 135 km [84 miles], which is less than half the expected perigee altitude.
“At this level of drag, our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be enough to successfully raise the satellites. As such, the satellites will reenter Earth’s atmosphere and fully demise. They do not pose a threat to other satellites in orbit or to public safety.”

SpaceX launched 23 Starlink satellites into space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on August 12, a day after the launch was aborted during the final minute of the countdown.
No reason was given for the hold-up, with the firm merely stating that the rocket was in good health and “good to go” after the launch was pushed back.
The Falcon 9 first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after lift-off, touching down on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas,” which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX said this was the 17th launch and landing for this particular booster.

Initially poised for an early Monday launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the mission encountered delays, moving to Tuesday, only to be postponed again due to a helium leak.
SpaceX’s statement said: “Teams are taking a closer look at a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect umbilical. Falcon and Dragon remain healthy and the crew continues to be ready for their multi-day mission to low-Earth orbit. Next launch opportunity is no earlier than Wednesday, 28 August.”
The August 28 was also scrapped due to “unfavorable weather” as indicated by SpaceX on Tuesday night through their communication channel.
They said: “Due to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, we are now standing down from tonight and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn. Teams will continue to monitor weather for favorable launch and return conditions.”
As of now, without a confirmed rescheduled date, the countdown is on hold until at least Friday, with both August 28 and August 29 ruled out for takeoff.
Commander Jared Isaacman shared in an update: “Our launch criteria are heavily constrained by forecasted splashdown weather conditions.
“With no ISS rendezvous and limited life support consumables, we must be absolutely sure of reentry weather before launching. As of now, conditions are not favorable tonight or tomorrow, so we’ll assess day by day.
“As Elon mentioned, Polaris Dawn is a challenging mission with critical objectives, so we’ll wait for the best opportunity to ensure success.”

The most recent event involved Falcon 9 booster 1062, which was on its 23rd flight. The rocket, having dispatched 21 Starlink satellites into orbit, tipped over and exploded upon landing on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas.”
This marked the first Falcon 9 landing failure since February 2021.