posted 08-12-2024 03:09 PM               

First Human Spaceflight to Fly Over Earth's Polar Regions

In the past four years, SpaceX has launched thirteen human spaceflight missions, safely flying 50 crewmembers to and from Earth's orbit and creating new opportunities for humanity to live, work, and explore what is possible in space. Dragon's 46 missions overall to orbit have delivered critical supplies, scientific research, and astronauts to the International Space Station, while also opening the door for commercial astronauts to explore Earth's orbit.

As early as this year, Falcon 9 will launch Dragon's sixth commercial astronaut mission, Fram2, which will be the first human spaceflight mission to explore Earth from a polar orbit and fly over the Earth's polar regions for the first time. Named in honor of the ship that helped explorers first reach Earth's Arctic and Antarctic regions, Fram2 will be commanded by Chun Wang, an entrepreneur and adventurer from Malta. Wang aims to use the mission to highlight the crew's explorational spirit, bring a sense of wonder and curiosity to the larger public, and highlight how technology can help push the boundaries of exploration of Earth and through the mission's research.

Joining Wang on the mission is a crew of international adventurers: Norway's Jannicke Mikkelsen, vehicle commander; Australia's Eric Philips, vehicle pilot; and Germany's Rabea Rogge, mission specialist. This will be the first spaceflight for each of the crewmembers.

Throughout the 3-to-5-day mission, the crew plans to observe Earth's polar regions through Dragon's cupola at an altitude of 425 – 450 km, leveraging insight from space physicists and citizen scientists to study unusual light emissions resembling auroras. The crew will study green fragments and mauve ribbons of continuous emissions comparable to the phenomenon known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), which has been measured at an altitude of approximately 400 - 500 km above Earth's atmosphere. The crew will also work with SpaceX to conduct a variety of research to better understand the effects of spaceflight on the human body, which includes capturing the first human x-ray images in space, Just-in-Time training tools, and studying the effects of spaceflight on behavioral health, all of which will help in the development of tools needed to prepare humanity for future long-duration spaceflight.

Falcon 9 will launch Fram2 to a polar orbit from Florida no earlier than late 2024.

posted 03-31-2025 09:10 PM               

Fram2 private crew launches on first-ever mission over Earth's poles

After more than 60 years and almost 360 missions, a crew of private astronauts has done something never before done in human spaceflight — they headed due south off the launch pad.

The Fram2 crew — named after after the sea ship that first reached Earth's polar regions in the 1800s — are now the first humans to enter a 90-degree circularized orbit such that they will fly over both the North and South poles. While satellites have and continue to follow such a path, Chun Wang, Jannicke Mikkelsen, Rabea Rogge and Eric Philips will be the first humans to see firsthand the top and bottom our planet from space.

posted 04-02-2025 08:51 AM               

The ride to orbit was much smoother than I had anticipated. Apart from the final minute before SECO [second stage engine cutoff], I barely felt any G-forces — it honestly felt like just another flight.

I had imagined it would feel like being in an elevator that suddenly drops, but that sensation never came. If I hadn't set free Tyler, the polar bear zero-gravity indicator, I might not have realized we were already weightless. I think being tightly strapped into our seat buckets made the transition less noticeable.

The first few hours in microgravity weren't exactly comfortable. Space motion sickness hit all of us — we felt nauseous and ended up vomiting a couple of times. It felt different from motion sickness in a car or at sea. You could still read on your iPad without making it worse. But even a small sip of water could upset your stomach and trigger vomiting.

Rabea spent some time on the ham radio, making contact with Berlin. No one asked opening the cupola on the first day — we were all focused on managing the motion sickness. We had a movie night watching our own launch and went to sleep a bit earlier than scheduled. We all slept really well.

By the second morning, I felt completely refreshed. The trace of motion sickness is all gone. We had breakfast, took a few X-ray images, and opened the cupola three minutes after midnight UTC — right above the South Pole.

posted 04-04-2025 11:27 AM               

Fram2 splashes down from first polar orbit mission

The first astronauts to enter a polar orbit around Earth have become the first humans to splash down in the Pacific Ocean in more than 50 years.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft "Resilience" met the waters off the coast of Oceanside, California at 9:19 a.m. local time (12:19 p.m. EDT or 1619 GMT) on Friday (April 4). The landing was the first time that a SpaceX Dragon with astronauts on board splashed down in the Pacific Ocean; the prior crew to do so was NASA's Apollo astronauts as part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

The Fram2 crew completed 55 orbits of Earth, traversing the distance between the poles every 46 minutes.