Exclusive: Power failed at SpaceX mission control before September spacewalk by NASA nominee

Source: Reuters

December 17, 2024 5:28 PM EST Updated 7 hours ago


WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - A September power outage at a California facility of SpaceX, the space venture of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, caused a loss of ground control for at least an hour during a mission that included the first private spacewalk in history, according to three people familiar with the problem.

The spacewalk, part of SpaceX's five-day Polaris Dawn mission, was carried out by private astronauts including Jared Isaacman, a fellow billionaire and longtime Musk partner who is now nominated by incoming President Donald Trump to be administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA.

The outage, which has not previously been reported, meant that SpaceX mission control was briefly unable to command its Dragon spacecraft in orbit, these people said. The vessel, which carried Isaacman and three other SpaceX astronauts, remained safe during the outage and maintained some communication with the ground through the company's Starlink satellite network.

"Not having command and control is a big deal," one of the people familiar with the problem told Reuters. "The whole point of having mission operators on the ground is to have the ability to quickly respond if something happens." SpaceX and Musk didn't respond to questions from Reuters about the incident.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/power-failed-spacex-mission-control-before-september-spacewalk-by-nasa-nominee-2024-12-17/