Goddard Engineering and Technology Directorate

FDF Supports Polaris Dawn

The four-person crew of the Polaris Dawn mission pictured wearing their SpaceX extravehicular activity suits. The crew consists of Pilot Scott Poteet, Mission Specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, and Commander Jared Isaacman.
The four-person crew of the Polaris Dawn mission pictured wearing their SpaceX extravehicular activity suits. The crew consists of Pilot Scott Poteet, Mission Specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, and Commander Jared Isaacman.

The Flight Dynamics Facility’s (FDF) Flight Ops Team supported the Polaris Dawn mission from its launch on September 10th, 2024 through its successful re-entry and splashdown five days later. 

Prior to launch, the Flight Ops Team not only prepared for routine operations but also developed launch abort procedures to handle a variety of contingencies during ascent.  During the mission, the Flight Ops Team provided acquisition data to ensure dependable communications and monitored incoming Dragon Positional Data (DPD) telemetry to make sure that the vehicle followed its required trajectory.

On two occasions, FDF analysts used the DPD data to identify a deviation of Polaris Dawn from its planned trajectory and then provided accurate acquisition data based on those data instead of the SpaceX-generated ephemeris.  Without these critical updates, there would have likely been a gap in communications with a greater risk to the crew.

The FDF team’s flexibility and expertise proved invaluable for this mission enabling Polaris Dawn to meet its mission goals with minimal risk.