A SpaceX Falcon 9 topped by Crew Dragon Resilience carrying four civilian astronauts, lifted off at 0146 UTC on Apr. 1, from Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Fram2 mission to polar orbit is commanded by cryptocurrency businessman Chun Wang of Malta, and includes vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen, a Norwegian filmmaker, pilot Rabea Rogge, a German robotics researcher, and mission specialist Eric Phillips, an Australian medical officer.
"Dragon, on behalf of the Falcon team, we're honored to deliver you safely to your polar orbit," Bill Gerstenmaier, vice president of build and flight reliability at SpaceX, told the Fram2 crew shortly after spacecraft separation.
"Enjoy the views of the poles," he added. "Send us some pictures, and our hearts and minds will be flying with you as you go over the poles. Have a great flight!"
The crew will spend the next three to five days circling above the planet's most remote locations, to see the poles like no other human ever has.
The mission aims to conduct 22 scientific experiments, including the first attempt to grow mushrooms in space and the first on-orbit X-ray of a human body.
The crew will also observe and study aurora-like phenomena such as STEVE and green fragments. Other experiments will investigate the effects of microgravity on the human musculoskeletal system during spaceflight.
"Fram2 is the second mission to test laser-based communications using @Starlink," SpaceX announced on X. "The crew will access the internet via a Starlink router installed in the cargo area."
Fram2 is named after the late 19th century Norwegian seafaring ship "Fram," which explored the Arctic and Antarctic regions at the turn of the 20th century. ("Fram" is Norwegian for "forward" or "onward"). The mission carries on the exploration spirit of its ocean-going predecessor.
The mission will end in around five days with a Pacific Ocean splashdown of Resilience — the first for a SpaceX astronaut mission. Its other crewed flights have all landed off the coast of Florida, but the company is shifting Dragon returns to the West Coast to minimize the chances that pieces of the capsule could hurt people or damage property on the way down to Earth.
"Dragon and the crew will launch to a 90° circular orbit from Florida, and travel to ~440 km above Earth to explore the polar regions of our plane," Space announced on X, just before liftoff
"Fram2 is also the second mission to fly with Dragon’s cupola," the company explained. "At nearly 4’ wide, the cupola is the largest continuous window in space, providing 360° views"
